Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ladytaco 's review for:
Once and for All
by Sarah Dessen
2.5/5 Stars
I have been a fan of Sarah Dessen ever since I picked up This Lullaby, back when I was a cynical teenager who mainly chose books based off their covers (*gasp* i know, i know...). However, I have noticed in Dessen's last few books that I have grown tired of her apparent recycling of the same plots/outcomes/writing style over and over. It almost seems as if she follows a checklist for many of her books, so they end of being extremely predictable and in the instance of this book in particular, mostly boring. Typically I can find at least one character that I genuinely love, but this one just left me feeling like eh...that is it, just eh. None of the characters were developed in a way that I really felt a connection to them. Just a few pages in and I could already tell how the book would end as far as the romantic side of things...It did have a few moments that were good, but overall, it fell flat for me and left me disappointed. I was really looking forward to this book, as I do with anything new that Sarah Dessen writes, but alas, I guess I have to wait for her next one and hope for the best. Also, not that this matters, but I really don't like the way they have re-printed most of her old books with new covers...not that I'm judging them based on that (hmmm old habits die hard I suppose!). If you are new to Dessen, try reading Lock and Key, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, This Lullaby, or What Happened to Goodbye.
I have been a fan of Sarah Dessen ever since I picked up This Lullaby, back when I was a cynical teenager who mainly chose books based off their covers (*gasp* i know, i know...). However, I have noticed in Dessen's last few books that I have grown tired of her apparent recycling of the same plots/outcomes/writing style over and over. It almost seems as if she follows a checklist for many of her books, so they end of being extremely predictable and in the instance of this book in particular, mostly boring. Typically I can find at least one character that I genuinely love, but this one just left me feeling like eh...that is it, just eh. None of the characters were developed in a way that I really felt a connection to them. Just a few pages in and I could already tell how the book would end as far as the romantic side of things...It did have a few moments that were good, but overall, it fell flat for me and left me disappointed. I was really looking forward to this book, as I do with anything new that Sarah Dessen writes, but alas, I guess I have to wait for her next one and hope for the best. Also, not that this matters, but I really don't like the way they have re-printed most of her old books with new covers...not that I'm judging them based on that (hmmm old habits die hard I suppose!). If you are new to Dessen, try reading Lock and Key, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, This Lullaby, or What Happened to Goodbye.