Author: Sarah Dessen (a favorite of mine)
Genre: YA
Summary (from Goodreads, of course): It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.
A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.
In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.
Review: I hesitated to read this book. Yes, Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors but I hadn’t connected with the last one I had read as much as all of the others. I was afraid that I had out grown her work, so I just didn’t try. Boy am I glad I gave in! I loved this book from the beginning. Sarah brings her characters to life within the first few pages. She has a way of letting you get to know them, seemingly intimately, within the first chapters. I also experience the feeling of growing as I read her books and this one did not disappoint. She is an amazing writer, and after ten books, she still knows how girls feel at a certain age and has a wonderful grasp on the family dynamic.
Recommendation: A must read!
Cheers!
alyshamichelle 