Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Length: 402 Pages
Release: May 2011
Review
I am now up to date with all of Dessen's published novels, which is crazy to me. It has been two years since I started, but still. Where does the time go?
Anyway, back to the book at hand. This was not my favorite of Dessen's novels, but I did really enjoy it. I think that Mclean's struggles through her parents divorce was very realistic and relatable. I have never been that close to a divorce and can only imagine what that would feel like for a young teen, knowing what she knew about the situation. So her identity crisis, while it made her somewhat difficult to connect with at times, was completely understandable.
The parents in this book, the mom in particular, were clueless. How they were so oblivious to their daughter's pain and conflict is beyond me. That said, I do think that there was a good amount of growth in these relationships. You were able to see Mclean come to terms with a lot where this was concerned.
The group of friends that Mclean makes in her new town is a lot of fun. Deb is by far my favorite. I like that she is misunderstood but extremely well rounded. She knows so much but because she is an overwhelming personality people don't react well to her. So much about her reminds me of myself. It was nice to see her being included in a group from which she had always been excluded, and them realizing that she was more than they thought. Dave was also a really nice addition. Dessen is great with slow burn romance and I think it worked well in this case. Mclean needed to come to terms with things in her life before she could really let someone else in, and Dave helped her along the way.
The restaurant side of things gave this one a nice flair. It wasn't the focus of the main story, but even the few glimpses into the workings of the business were fun. And Opal, the manager of Luna Blu, was a nice character to have around. In the beginning I wasn't sure what she would turn into, so I was happy that it turned into a good thing.
The last major thing I want to mention is Jason. He was a minor character here, a boy who worked in the kitchen of Luna Blu (and one of the few that was good at his job). This was the third novel he has appeared in after being a jerk in both The Truth About Forever and Along for the Ride. But here he seems different, more mature. And now I want a novel that features him as our main guy. It would be nice to see one of the formerly rejected boys come back and be the star. So now I have my fingers crossed for that to happen.
Anyway, back to the book at hand. This was not my favorite of Dessen's novels, but I did really enjoy it. I think that Mclean's struggles through her parents divorce was very realistic and relatable. I have never been that close to a divorce and can only imagine what that would feel like for a young teen, knowing what she knew about the situation. So her identity crisis, while it made her somewhat difficult to connect with at times, was completely understandable.
The parents in this book, the mom in particular, were clueless. How they were so oblivious to their daughter's pain and conflict is beyond me. That said, I do think that there was a good amount of growth in these relationships. You were able to see Mclean come to terms with a lot where this was concerned.
The group of friends that Mclean makes in her new town is a lot of fun. Deb is by far my favorite. I like that she is misunderstood but extremely well rounded. She knows so much but because she is an overwhelming personality people don't react well to her. So much about her reminds me of myself. It was nice to see her being included in a group from which she had always been excluded, and them realizing that she was more than they thought. Dave was also a really nice addition. Dessen is great with slow burn romance and I think it worked well in this case. Mclean needed to come to terms with things in her life before she could really let someone else in, and Dave helped her along the way.
The restaurant side of things gave this one a nice flair. It wasn't the focus of the main story, but even the few glimpses into the workings of the business were fun. And Opal, the manager of Luna Blu, was a nice character to have around. In the beginning I wasn't sure what she would turn into, so I was happy that it turned into a good thing.
The last major thing I want to mention is Jason. He was a minor character here, a boy who worked in the kitchen of Luna Blu (and one of the few that was good at his job). This was the third novel he has appeared in after being a jerk in both The Truth About Forever and Along for the Ride. But here he seems different, more mature. And now I want a novel that features him as our main guy. It would be nice to see one of the formerly rejected boys come back and be the star. So now I have my fingers crossed for that to happen.
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