This is a fairly uninformed opinion, but as a casual reader of YA I feel like there has been a dearth, of late, of straightfoward, non- high concept/fantasy YA. Sarah Dessen seems like she hails from a class of YA authors from the mid to late aughts that mine realistic, if unusual, situations to examine the poignant emotional minutiae of the teen experience. The Truth About Forever is the sensitive and quietly resonant story of Macy Queen, who had been the first person of her […]
Sing me a lullaby
I follow John Green on Facebook and a few months ago, he posted about Sarah Dessen’s new novel (the name of which escapes me at the moment), and I figured that since I harbor a) a secret love for YA fiction and b) a secret love for John Green, I’d give her a whirl and downloaded This Lullaby, which was what was available from Overdrive. And it was… okay, I guess? The story follows eighteen year old Remy during that magical time between high school […]
Sarah Dessen, Jr.
A few weeks ago, I got my BookBub email of the day, which included this book. The description said, “for fans of Sarah Dessen,” and I said, “hey, I’m a fan of Sarah Dessen. This must be for me.” And I downloaded it. Yesterday I read it in pretty much one sitting during all of the football games that were on in my house. And yes, it had Sarah Dessen-like qualities. But Sarah Dessen is the master, and Robin Benway is just her student. Still […]
In which I compare a lovely YA writer to the master of horror. In a good way.
A few Cannonballs ago (CBR 4?), I went (OK, I tore) through a massive Sarah Dessen phase. I read every single one of her books and pretty much loved them all. And I wondered to myself, hey, where are all of the other Sarah Dessen lovers? Why aren’t my Cannonball protégés reading these books? They would love these books! They are smart and funny and real (sometimes, to a fault), and filled with tough heroines who figure out how to improve their lives. What’s not […]
For All The Invisible Girls
I don’t remember the first book of Sarah Dessen’s I read, or when I read it. She’s one of those authors that I just started reading at some point (probably college, or shortly there after) and never stopped. Her books are these wonderful balms for the soul and they’re the ones I always turn to when I just need to feel better about life. Following her on twitter (http://twitter.com/sarahdessen) had the wonderful side effect of making me love her more. She seems like one of […]
All the torments of a high school girl and more
I had never heard of Just Listen (2006) or Sarah Dessen before reading this book, but it was on the “25 YA Novels Everyone–Even Adults–Should Read” list that I’ve been working my way through. So I picked it up from the library without knowing anything about it. From the outside, Annabel Greene, a junior (?) in high school has the perfect life. She works occasionally as a model, with two model sisters and a loving mom and dad in a great house. But life is […]