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elbowleech 's review for:
The Rest of the Story
by Sarah Dessen
I was a huge Sarah Dessen fan in middle school. Her books always managed to hit every emotional beat perfectly on cue, and I loved them, indulged in them repeatedly... but this one just didn't do it for me. Maybe I've just outgrown the teen romance genre-- I'll have to go back and re-read my favorite Dessen books to be able to tell for sure-- but the characters, the plot, everything felt so average, bland. There were definitely some sweet, classic moments, but the confusing pacing and the frequent use of flashback really prevented me from sinking deeply into the world, or into Saylor. The story was nice enough, but I didn't get the same butterflies I remember getting from her books.
Also, I wasn't a fan of the way Dessen treated her nonwhite characters in this one. They were described only by their race, and they were dropped from the narrative almost immediately after being introduced, which made it feel like they were only really there for the sake of some forced diversity. Either write POC well or not at all, IMO.
Also, I wasn't a fan of the way Dessen treated her nonwhite characters in this one. They were described only by their race, and they were dropped from the narrative almost immediately after being introduced, which made it feel like they were only really there for the sake of some forced diversity. Either write POC well or not at all, IMO.