Tag: sarah dessen

ARC Book Review: Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Contemporary
Length: 368 pages
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: February 11th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From acclaimed and #1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah Dessen comes a romantic coming-of-age novel about an unassuming girl who learns to stand on her own while falling in love during a life-changing summer.

Finley has always felt most comfortable in someone else’s shadow. Fortunately, she’s got Colin, her magnetic boyfriend, who sweeps her along for activities, friendships, and future plans. Then she goes on a last-minute trip with her distant mom to a family vacation house that Finley didn’t know existed and is now about to be sold.

Her mom was estranged from her own parents and siblings since leaving home for college, and it’s a novelty for Finley to see her aunts and cousins, and to meet the handful of teens who work at the Egg, her aunt’s diner, and make up a found family of their own—including undeniably handsome guitarist Ben.

Then her relationship with Colin goes into freefall, and Finley’s roadmap for life after high school is gone. She has no choice but to live, for the first time, without plans. The longer Finley stays, the closer she gets to the truth about why her mother stayed away—and why she’s brought Finley here now.

And the closer she grows to new friends at the Egg, the more she starts to fall for charmingly awkward, soulful Ben and to realize how much of herself she’s been missing. By the end of the summer, nothing will be the same—for this community or for Finley herself.

Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

DIFFERENT BUT GOOD.

It was a lot of fun to dive back into a Sarah Dessen book. I’ve read multiple of them and can appreciate what themes this story held. While I know I gave it 3.5 stars I can say that I think it’s a genuine young adult book that I would be comfortable with my [future] teens reading. And that is so hard to find these days so credit is due on that fact alone.

What I struggled with was the ending. I felt like one critical scene was skipped over and would have done wonders in showing how far Finley had come over the summer. And then within the closing pages it was just abrupt. There were multiple other threads that weren’t wrapped up and I wanted more from the closing pages.

I thought this held a lot of good moments around cell phone use and being present. I liked seeing Finley adapt and self reflect over her time out in a small town with family. I adored all of the side characters and how much everyone added to the plot. I loved the progression of Finley’s relationship with her mom. The vibes of this book were genuinely solid. The romance is much more in the background and I think added a soft element that was sweet too.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content warnings: a parent with cancer

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Book Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Books
Release Date: June 16th, 2009
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

TEAM STEPMOM.

These were some tough parents to read about. A Dad who brought me to rage induced rants because of his lack of care for his wife and new baby. A Mom who was incredibly stubborn and seemed incapable of seeing other’s view points and was constantly passive aggressive. And they honestly brought the story down for me. I was expecting to see some growth from them (and for Auden to talk it out) but I don’t feel like that happened enough at the end to be satisfied.

I enjoyed the story overall. It’s very much classic/older YA and that’s part of it’s charm. I purely picked this up to watch the movie and am not upset that I did. I liked the friendships that Auden was able to develop. I especially loved her step-mom. Instead of being the usual trope of awfulness, she was a woman stuck in a rough post-partum situation and I liked that they leaned on one another (even if Auden wouldn’t recognize it).

The romance was very lackluster. Honestly it almost felt as if there wasn’t one? It’s a slow burn with little page time. I would have loved a lot more of Eli and how he could have better factored into the story.

A formulaic YA contemporary that is, ya know, perfectly fine.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: teacher/student relationship mentioned (side character), cheating, alcohol consumption, post-partum depression, loss of a friend (side character, but plays central role)

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Book Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult contemporary
Length: 250 pages
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Speak
Release Date: September 1st, 2000
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Wake up, Caitlin

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He’s magnetic. He’s compelling. He’s dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else–her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him? 

BROKE ME.

First reason I picked up this book? Someone commented on one of my Instagram photos telling me about it. Second reason I picked up this book? I have the same name as the MC and have NEVERRRRR gotten to read a book with that fun fact.

And if you’re not one for reading synopsis (I’m not, I usually read it initially then by the time I get to read the book I’ve forgotten it and don’t look at it), let me say, this is not a fluffy Dessen novel. It’s the most mature and serious one I’ve ever read of hers.

Initially, I felt like this book was all about Caitlin’s sister, Cassandra, than it was about Caitlin. This changed. And it changed hard. I was practically in tears listening to this (audio book was good!) because of how much it hurt me listening to what was happening to Caitlin [trigger warning: physically abuse relationship – more details in Overall audience notes].

I felt in physical pain myself because of how Rogerson was treating Caitlin. It was unfathomable and I was upset on so many levels for her. While a very hard hitting novel, it also approached hope and recovery in the last few chapters. I anxiously listened waiting until she was broken free of her bonds to him and had a chance to grieve. The aftermath felt more realistic as well. It wasn’t this immediate, I’m happy again!, it was a process that took months and I loved that it showed that side of therapy.

It’s a very quick and short book that packs a lot in. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone and would caution to please look into the triggers before reading. The pain explored and expressed had me clutching my heart. This was good, raw, and important.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses/make-outs; quick mention of them sleeping together, but no details
  • Violence: see trigger warnings below
  • Trigger warnings: drug abuse, underage drug use, toxic/abusive relationship [physical] with multiple scenes of the main character being harmed, domestic abuse, underage smoking

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Monthly Wrap-Up: July 2019!

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Whoa, things got crazy this month. I read 21 books! I can’t even believe it myself. It’s the dead of summer and I have been able to pick up a lot of reads and had a great month. I am happy I got through so many because August is a big month for new releases on my radar.

  • The Beholder (The Beholder #1) by Anna Bright
  • The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
  • Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness #1) by Tamora Pierce
  • Wicked Fox (Gumiho #1) by Kat Cho
  • Recursion by Blake Crouch
  • When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young [ARC] – (RTC – ☆☆☆)
  • The Traitor’s Kingdom (The Traitor’s Circle #3) by Erin Beaty – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Winner’s Curse (The Winner’s Trilogy #1) [REREAD] – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Titan’s Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • In the Hand of the Goddess (Song of the Lioness #2) by Tamora Pierce – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • Ghostly Echoes (Jackaby #3) by William Ritter – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • Fire Falling (Air Awakens #2) by Elise Kova – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
  • Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire #3) by Michael J. Sullivan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • All Your Perfects by Colleen Hoover – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)
  • The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett – (RTC – ☆☆☆ 1/2)
  • The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (Song of the Lioness #3) by Tamora Pierce – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆)
  • Save the Date by Morgan Matson – (RTC – ☆☆)
  • The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan – (RTC – ☆☆☆☆☆)

Some of my favorites from this month were: The Traitor’s Kingdom, The Winner’s Curse, Fire Falling, & All Your Perfects!

My least favorites this month were: The Beholder, Recursion, and Save the Date.

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