Book review: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

Like a lot of people, I’m a pretty loyal fan of Sarah Dessen and her books.  Saint Anything is her most recent one, filled with just as much heartbreak and recovering from tragedy as her books tend to be.  This time we follow Sydney, whose family is still reeling from her brother being sent to jail for hitting a kid while drunk driving.

As always, Dessen writes characters well, full of quirks and reason to like them even when they’re being unreasonable (for the most part).  The acceptance of their situation is not rushed; in fact, I felt like it went at the right pace, especially since the story takes place not that long after Peyton was put in jail.  Sydney’s mother is a bit frustrating, with reason to be, though I felt like it was laid on a little bit thick in some parts.

The only problem I really had with the book, though, was something that seems common in Dessen’s books: she loves flipping around in time.  One minute they’re in the present, and another minute there’s a flashback.  Sometimes there’s a flashback within a flashback and I just got completely turned around and confused at just what was going on in the present.  I feel like for how long she’s been around, Dessen could learn to write a bit more linear.

Despite that, though, this is definitely a book I’d recommend.  So happy reading!

Book review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

The Moon and More is the latest book from Sarah Dessen, taking place in Colby, a fictional town that’s been used or mentioned in a lot of her books.  One thing I noticed right away is that the book mentions Colby is an island community, connected by a bridge to the mainland.  I don’t recall it ever being mentioned in the other books that use it, so while it’s kind of nitpicky, I kind of got thrown-off by that since I’d assumed in the past that it was a coastal community.

The book itself succeeds as Dessen’s books always do, however.  The characters are well-developed and have their own personalities and lives, rather than simply living within the context of the book’s plate.  There are certain things about them that could’ve been introduced earlier, such as Emaline’s tendency to go to the gym when she wakes up early.  And I’d also like to congratulate Dessen on working with a plot point that usually annoys me: the love interest became extremely annoying, but rather than Emaline going along with it, or it being unintentional on the author’s part and therefore ignored, it was meant to be that way and Emaline broke up with him rather than going along with it and losing her own identity.

The biggest criticism of the book would probably be that the writing gets repetitive when there’s a lot of dialog.  Dessen formats it the exact same way several times in a row, in a way that’s supposed to be different and quirky but just gets annoying because she keeps using it.

Still a solid read, though, so one I’d say you should pick up.  Happy reading!