Sarah Dessen
June 2nd (UK)/ May 10th (US)
Puffin/ Penguin Books
In the past two years, Mclean Sweet has moved four times. At each stop, she assumes a new persona, but it never quite works. Whether she's an effervescent cheerleader or an intense drama queen, nothing can permanently dispel the turmoil and rage at her mother since her parents' divorce.
Sarah Dessen's novel about a teenager and her restaurant manager father captures the vulnerability that young people often experience after the dissolution of their family. A compelling story; strong characterization; and with a touch of romance.
I love Sarah Dessen. I think this is a fact we've all learned from the past 5 SD reviews I've written, but I still feel the need to make sure you all know. I don't know, it's not like her books are fast-paced or exciting in that sense, they're just.. Lovely. And whenever I finish one I just feel so content, like at that minute, every thing is good. And WHTG was no different.
Mclean was a great character (as practically every Sarah Dessen character is,) and I loved the whole idea of just shedding your skin and who you were and just being a different person in every new town you move to, but at the same time, it was interesting to see the effect it'd had on her, and her sense of identity over time. It was really, really awesome to see Mclean become Mclean. And Dave was lovely too. I love Sarah Dessen's boys! They're so nice. And his parents were just a teensy bit overprotective, but it all worked out for the best in the end. Plus, I love Jason being in the book too! Aww, it was nice of him to have a bit of a happy ending too :)
I think the best character of this book, though, was undoubtedly Deb. I'd heard about her in a lot of reviews I've read, but I wasn't really sure what to expect. What I wasn't expecting was her though! She was ADORABLE. And awesome. She's a drummer, and Acronym-er, and enthusiastic, and lovely, and, just, she needs her own book. I really hope she gets her own book. She needs it :) I can't believe she didn't have friends! She's just, I don't know, amazing! ;)
Mclean's mum kind of annoyed me in the first half though. She genuinely seemed like she thought that the messy divorce wouldn't have any negative effect on her and Mclean's relationship at all. That just kind of annoyed me. It was really naive, and whenever she was getting upset about it? Ugh. But she got better, she started to understand Mclean a bit better.
A lot of the scenes at the restaurant really, really reminded me of Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare's. I freaking love that show! And I really liked Mcleans dad too, and all of the staff at Luna Blu! The model project was really cool too, I loved how it all related to the story, and that bit near the end with the model and Dave and Mclean? CUTEST THING EVAR. ;P
Sarah Dessen is awesome, yet again, and What Happened To Goodbye is cute, sweet and just a nice book to read. 4.5 stars :D
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