"Lock and Key"

Written by Sarah Dessen

Ruby has always fended for herself. Her mother is a drunk and addicted to drugs. So one day when her mom vanishes, she decides to stay at the house and just live on her own. Till her sister figures it out and she is sent to live with her. Her sister, Cora, is very successful. Now Ruby has her own room in an amazing house. She also is going to a private school. She finally feels as if she might have a future.

Nate is the boy next door. He's funny and very attractive. nothing could make this trip any better. But when Ruby and Nate get together why does Nate try to keep her at a distant? Why doesn't Nate let her in his house?

Ruby keeps a necklace that has the key to her and her moms house on her neck at all times. She realizes that she should just throw it away and move on. She soon realizes that Nate is going through a lot more then she thought he was. Ruby decides that sometimes to save yourself you have to save someone else along the way.

My rating: 9/10. I loved this book. It was amazing and very interesting. But the ending really disappointed me. 

-Lynn

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"The Truth About Forever"

Written By Sarah Dessen

Macy is just a normal teenage girl. She does well in school and has a boyfriend. She also is balled up in her safe zone. But the one thing different about her is she isn't looking forward to her summer vacation. She thinks its just going to be a long, hot summer. Her boyfriend, Jason, is going to Brain camp for the summer and the most she has to look forward to is her Job at the Library, which she only has because shes filling in for her boyfriend. Her free time would be spent on SAT vocabulary drills and hanging out with her mother.

Sometimes the best thing for you is the unexpected. For Macy it was a job at Wish, a catering job, with its fun crew. Or how her sister will be remodeling the beach house, a place Macy's mom tried to keep away because of all the memories of Macy's father. She also meets Wes, an artistic boy that always tells the truth. For once in her live Macy finally starts to come out of her safe zone and realizes maybe it isn't better to be safe then sorry.

My favorite part-- When she first starts working for Wish, she learns that her crew is fun and a little chaotic. This is the start of Macy coming out of her shell.

My rating: 9/10. I loved this book. It was amazing. It was good at giving details and getting into the point. But i didn't like how long it took to get to some points in the book. I feel that it was very slow and hard to read in the beginning.

-Lynn

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"Keeping the Moon"

Written By Sarah Dessen

Colie has always been the girl that doesn't fit in. First it was because she was over weight. But once she lost all the weight because of her moms new job at a workout gym, she got picked on for something she didn't even do.

She's sent to stay with her aunt Mira for the summer. Her aunt lives in Colby, North Carolina. She doesn't expect that people will even bother with her since no one back home ever does. But when she gets there she pretty much gets a job at Last Chance Bar and Grill with no effort. There she meets Morgan and Isabel. Two bet friends that are exact opposites of each other. Then she meets Norman, a boy that becomes a good friend to Colie.

Colie realizes that she can be herself with some people while shes there. Isabel and Morgan get to know Colie as the real Cole. Not as the girl that everyone back home thought of her as. They teach her the real meaning of friendship. Norman shows her that you can't just let a friend go when they accept you as you. Her aunt shows her that its okay to be yourself, even if people make fun of you because it. This book is filled with romance, friendship, and a story that will keep you reading. 

My rating: 9/10. I loved this book. But I felt that Sarah Dessen focused to much on introducing the characters at the beginning and didn't focus enough on getting to the point. 

-Lynn

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"Dreamland"

Written By Sarah Dessen

Caitlin has always tried to live up to her sister, Cass. Cass is athletic, has good grades, and she understands Caitlin.On Caitlin's sixteenth birthday, Cass runs away, sending Caitlin into her own little dreamland, where nothing seems to be real. Caitlin starts to become her own person. She joins cheerleading with her best friend Rina. Even though she hates cheerleading, she doesn't quit because for the first time since her sister left, her mom begins smiling. Then Caitlin meets Rogerson, a cute bad boy with whom she begins spending all her time. He's the only one who makes her feel like Caitlin and not Cass's sister. But what will she do when being with Rogerson ends up being worse then being without him? Why won't Caitlin write her sister back? Will Cass ever come home? Is Cass the only one who would understand what shes going through? My favorite part of this book is when the truth about Rogerson finally comes out. It comes fast, but you sit there and think, finally!

My rating: 8/10. I liked the book, and the storyline was compelling. It wasn't, though, one of Sarah Dessen's best written stories.

-Lynn

  

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"What Happened to Goodbye"

Written By:  Sarah Dessen



Picture from:  goodreads.com

Some people may think that having multiple personalities is a physchological disorder. For Mclean Sweet, it's what happens every time she moves to a new place. Mclean used to have a normal home life with married parents that loved each other. When her mom, Katie, had an affair, Mclean left with her dad, Gus, whoworks for a company that buys, fixes, or closes restaurants all over the country. Since leaving with her dad two years ago, Mclean's been in four different towns, four different schools, and has taken on four different names and personalities. Now, in Lakeview, she accidentally calls herself by her actual name for the first time in two years. She doesn't feel as though she knows who she is anymore. In Lakeview, Mclean makes actual friends whom she actually lets into her real life. Throughout the book, Mclean finds herself, a love that may last, and a place to call home. Written by bestselling author, Sarah Dessen, What Happened to Goodbye is a well-crafted, original novel about love, friendship, and the power of finding a place for yourself in this huge, messed-up world. Should be on everyone's must read list.

My rating:  10/10. I found myself experiencing a wide range of emotions while reading this book; sometimes I was moved to tears, and other times I was laughing right along with the characters. I was rooting for Mclean throughout the book to find herself and a home. Dessen kept me coming back for more, and I simply couldn't close the book. 

-Louise

" Along for the Ride"

Written By Sarah Dessen



What do you do when you're in the position where your parents are both smart, and they expect so much of you? Auden is that girl. The only difference is that her parents got a divorce, and her mom's the only one who pushes her to do well in school. When she and her mom get into a fight, she goes to stay with her father for the summer. While there she finally makes friends and, for the first time in her life, doesn’t focus on school. She also meets a boy who has gone through a hard time in the last year. Will she and her mom make up? Will she get into college? What’s going to happen with the boy? Favorite part-- the bicycle metaphor. The focus of the book is the precarious balance between school and friends. 

My rating: 10/10. This is one of my all-time favorite Sarah Dessen books. I couldn't stop reading it. It was written really well, stayed with the storyline and never got off message. It's amazing!

-Lynn

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"Just Listen"

Written By:  Sarah Dessen



Picture From:  goodreads.com

Just Listen is a marvelous read about the life of a teenage model coming into her own skin. Annabel Greene, an in-demand model, is going through life on autopilot. She doesn't have the heart to tell her mom, who lives vicariously through her daughter, that she doesn't want to model anymore. Her sister, Whitney, was also a model, but she developed an eating disorder and now lives back at home with Annabel and her parents. Annabel doesn't have many friends anymore because Sophie, her former BFF, think Annabel slept with her boyfriend-- the truth, however, is much more complicated. Then, Owen Armstrong comes along, changing everything. Annabel doesn't know anyone even remotely like Owen. He is a member of a court-ordered anger management class, a complete music freak, and the host of an early morning radio show. Owen teaches Annabel valuable life lessons, the most important of which is "just listen". Because this is a young adult ROMANCE blog, this book will obviously contain a love story as well. My absolute favorite part of this book is the first time Annabel and Owen really sit down and talk about subjects that aren't facetious. I don't think I've ever experienced such a powerful story in a fiction novel. Sarah Dessen weaves a realistic tale that anyone can relate to. Fans of romance and music alike will find this book pleasing. 

My rating:  8/10. Dessen gets down to the gritty stuff in the life of an anorexic through Whitney, the life of someone with anger management issues through Owen, and the life of a teenage model through Annabel. This book relates to everyone, and the writing is magnificent. However, I found myself only giving Just Listen an 8/10 because the beginning was a lot of background details. This isn't something that keeps me occupied as I like a moving storyline. 

-Louise



"This Lullaby"

Written By Sarah Dessen

Remy has had a lot of boyfriends, and learned everything about boys from her mother who is now working on husband number five. She's the girl who always knows when to give a boy "the talk", right before anything gets too serious. Then she meets Dexter, a cute musician-- their meeting is my favorite part of the book.  Remy spends a lot of time with Dexter, following his band to gigs and pretty much everywhere else he goes. Does she actually like this guy? Or, is she setting him up like she did the others for "the talk"? How will she react when Dexter plays "that song"?  Love romance?  You'll love this!

My rating: 9/10. I loved this book! Once I started reading, I didn't put it down. It's well-written and has a good story line. 

-Lynn

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