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A review by jennifer_
Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
4.0
I enjoyed Saint Anything. Whether it was solely because of the content of the book or because it brought me back to my fifth grade love of Sarah Dessen books, I couldn't tell you. It wasn't a perfect novel, and while there were certainly aspects of it that were less than ideal (Sydney's very questionable first impression of Irv(!), Mac's largely unaddressed body image issues), for the most part this book served its purpose of being an enjoyable summer read. Dessen does a good job of balancing heavy and light issues. Sydney's friendship with Layla is a high point of the book, and her strained relationship with her family is written realistically. I will say that it seems like the issues of more minor characters are mentioned simply to flesh a character out, when it ends up making them fall more flat. Mac's issue with his weight, which seems rather unnervingly like an unaddressed (if not encouraged) eating disorder, is painted as a struggle that he overcame in his past. In general, the overly-perfect, once-fat now-hunk love interest has some potential if done correctly, but it's a rather thin line. Mac's character wasn't terrible, and certain aspects of his low self-esteem carrying over into his new "hot" life made sense, but the fact that his only character flaw was something that was essentially treated as completely overcame felt a little too convenient. I mean, for God's sake, the kid works at a pizza place and is surrounded by family and friends who eat cheese puffs and lollipops every chapter, yet manages to get up every day and run at the crack of dawn while managing a strict diet.
My opinion on Mac is certainly nitpicky, and I don't dislike his and Sydney's relationship. While I usually avoid books with any sort of love-centric plot, Sarah Dessen manages to make it corny in an enjoyable, realistic way (if that makes any sense, lol). I also like the one other subplot relationship between Layla and Eric, and how unlucky-in-love Layla didn't have the storybook ending that it would have been tempting to give her.
Sydney's transition to a new school was rather refreshing too, because I was expecting her to completely ditch her old friends. Even though she connected more with some of the students at her new school, she had a healthy, normal relationship with her friends back at home. Sure, things changed between them and Sydney had to learn to manage the dynamics of the old vs. the new, but it didn't feel quite as cliché as the dumping-all-your-mediocre-friends-upon-finding-a-friend-who-˜understands˜-you trope.
I'm now realizing that this review is getting a little lengthy, and though I have more I could say about Ames and Margaret and David Ibarra I'll leave those opinions to any new readers. TLDR: I enjoyed this book. It was light, and nice, and an easy read. It wasn't flawless, and in a perfect world I would've liked to see some things fleshed out a bit more. Still, I'm glad I read it.
My opinion on Mac is certainly nitpicky, and I don't dislike his and Sydney's relationship. While I usually avoid books with any sort of love-centric plot, Sarah Dessen manages to make it corny in an enjoyable, realistic way (if that makes any sense, lol). I also like the one other subplot relationship between Layla and Eric, and how unlucky-in-love Layla didn't have the storybook ending that it would have been tempting to give her.
Sydney's transition to a new school was rather refreshing too, because I was expecting her to completely ditch her old friends. Even though she connected more with some of the students at her new school, she had a healthy, normal relationship with her friends back at home. Sure, things changed between them and Sydney had to learn to manage the dynamics of the old vs. the new, but it didn't feel quite as cliché as the dumping-all-your-mediocre-friends-upon-finding-a-friend-who-˜understands˜-you trope.
I'm now realizing that this review is getting a little lengthy, and though I have more I could say about Ames and Margaret and David Ibarra I'll leave those opinions to any new readers. TLDR: I enjoyed this book. It was light, and nice, and an easy read. It wasn't flawless, and in a perfect world I would've liked to see some things fleshed out a bit more. Still, I'm glad I read it.