by Sarah Dessen
Read: March 3, 2015
Published: June 4, 2013
Genre: YA Fiction
Series: NA
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? (Amazon)
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Why did you read this book?
I had honestly been putting this one off for quite a while now, almost two years now actually. I've been falling off of the Dessen band wagon, truth be told. However, I couldn't just read all of her books and then not read this one. It'd be blasphemy! (Sort of) Anyway, I've read every single one of Sarah Dessen's books and I couldn't help but eventually read this one.
What did you like about this book?
My favorite part about this book was the little pieces from her other novels scattered throughout. Other people might find this annoying, but for me it was like seeing old friends. It was a moment of 'Oh, I remember you! How are you? It's been too long.' Maybe it's because I met those characters when I was a much younger, much more different, person and it was like seeing myself again. I also love the setting of Colby. Only three of her books (Keeping the Moon and Along for the Ride), including this one, have actually taken place in Colby, NC, but it is also mentioned in a few of her others (well, What Happened to Goodbye for sure...not so sure about the rest). I just love how intertwined all of her books are! Anyway...this book in particular...I loved learning more about Clyde (who was introduced to us in Along for the Ride) and I loved Emaline's younger brother, Benji. But yeah, I mostly loved the setting and a few of the characters. The plot was alright with a hopeful, positive ending, pretty much what we expect in a Sarah Dessen book.
What didn't you like about this book?
Now, I really don't want to sway anyone's feelings about this book. So if you want to give the characters their own chances and not hear what I have to say about them, I suggest you stop reading now. However, if you are perfectly fine with possibly inheriting some of my opinions and don't mind entering a book with preset expectations, by all means, keep reading. Okay...here's your last chance to stop...I warned you! My least favorite part about this book? Theo. I disliked him even more than Emaline's father. With him, I expected him to be a jerk. But I don't understand what Emaline saw in Theo. I didn't like him from the beginning. And maybe that's the way Dessen intended it to be, but I just didn't enjoy any of the parts with Theo in them. In all honesty, I much preferred Luke, even if he didn't say no, no, no to Tallyho.
Bottom Line:
If you are a Sarah Dessen fan, you will enjoy this book. I enjoyed it, although I more than likely won't add it to my shelf. (If you're curious, the Dessen books I do own are The Truth About Forever, Along for the Ride, and What Happened to Goodbye. I also have Just Listen on my Kindle). Although I did enjoy it, it was just a fluff read. It was the usual 'girl about to go to college, relationship drama, and decisions!' plot line. Not exactly riveting stuff. But sometimes a girl just needs a Sarah Dessen book to get by, and that's what this did.
"How weird that must be, to stay the same as everyone else changes." -The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
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