Sarah Dessen
May 11th 2004 (US)
Puffin (US)/ Hodder (UK)
Colie expects the worst when she's sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira while her mother, queen of the television infomercial, tours Europe. Always an outcast -- first for being fat and then for being "easy" -- Colie has no friends at home and doesn't expect to find any in Colby, North Carolina. But then she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe and meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, best friends with a loving yet volatile relationship. Wacky yet wise, Morgan and Isabel help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along.
You guys know that I love Sarah Dessen, and I'm way too impatient to wait for What Happened To Goodbye to come out here (seriously, what do you think I am, a Saint?) so I decided to go a bit old school, and I picked up Last Chance. I chose it because people told me it was a quirkier one of SD's books, and I like quirky characters, and I was not left disappointed.
While I don't think it quite matches up to the amazingness of her books now, I still totally loved it. One thing I love about her books so much is that the romance is never really the focal point of the books. They're prominent, and key to the plot, but they're also a lot about friendship and family, and I just think it's great that she doesn't promote the thought that all girls are pathetic and just fail at life when their pretty little boyfriend is hanging around... *shakes head and sighs in exasperation.*
Colie was pretty different from her other protags, but I liked that. I thought her lip ring was cool, just for the record. And while she could get a bit whingy sometimes, it was great to see her really start to come out of her shell after spending so long hiding. And Norman was adorable! Such a sweet guy, and a great artist! What more do you want?! Plus Isabel and Morgan were great! Isabel with her straight, honest ways who first appeared to be a bit rude but turned out to be pretty nice, and Morgan, with her pretty disastrous relationship... God I hate Mark. He's such an ass. And Mira! She was wonderful! She just didn't give a damn about what people said about her! I love her for that. And I totally respect her for that. If I was in her position, I would be totally upset about it.
Last Chance was a cute, short, Sarah Dessen book that I kind of adored. Seriously, the woman is amazing. I'd read anything if she wrote it. 4.5 stars :D
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