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acg233 's review for:

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
4.0

I've read a couple Sarah Dessen novels before and they've always been cute and fun, but never mind-blowing for me. They all seem to run together in a mix of young love, slightly forgettable heroines and cute boys.

This was not the case with Saint Anything. I can't tell if it's because I'm a bit older now and they are connecting with me in a different way, or if Sarah Dessen just really killed it with this novel. Maybe both?

Positives:

The opposite of instalove: I was actually getting antsy with the lack of romance, believe it or not! But I liked it. I like the waiting and the creation of friendship before romantic attraction. It creates a complexity to the relationship that you wouldn't otherwise get, and in this case it teaches you a lot more about the characters.

The adorable Chathams: They are great. They are all quirky and fun and complex and beautiful. That's all.

Intriguing family dynamics: Intriguing not only with the fun Chathams, as I've mentioned, but also for Sydney's family, dealing with the aftermath of Peyton's accident.

Negatives:

Boring & bland characters: I think Sydney could have been explored more. We get a lot of her feelings about Peyton, but not much development of her as a character otherwise. I know to a certain extent, this is what Dessen intended, but I really couldn't connect with Syndey because there was literally nothing else going on there. Also Mac was great, but he was literally perfect. WHERE ARE HIS FLAWS??