Showing posts with label Sarah Dessen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Dessen. Show all posts

Saturday, July 7, 2012

TGIF - Comfort Reads

TGIF is hosted by Ginger at GReads. Each week a new question is posted for followers to answer on their blogs. This TGIF questions is:
Comfort Reads: Which books do you go to for comfort and familiarity? Is there a type of book you seek out when you're needing that extra bit of comfort in your life?


There are a few specific books that I reread over and over, usually because something about the characters feels familiar or comforting, but also sometimes because I remember reading them for the first time and when I read these books for second or third or fourth times, I can recall how I felt that first time experiencing those particular words.

If I'm in the mood for a comforting book, but don't want to do a reread, I will usually go for some contemporary realistic fiction, mostly coming of age stories or stories where the protagonist gains confidence or self-awareness by the end of the book. There are also some authors I will always go back to, like John Green, Sarah Dessen, Deb Caletti, and Maureen Johnson, because their writing styles feel so familiar to me by now. In high school I would reread all of Caroline B Cooney and Francesca Lia Block's books.



Pictured Above:
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti
Paper Towns by John Green
Tomorrow, Maybe by Brian James
A Time for Dancing by Davida Willis Hurwin
I Can Hear the Mourning Dove by James W Bennett
Samantha Crane on the Run by Linda A Cooney
Echo by Francesca Lia Block
Twins by Caroline B Cooney

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday: Books for People Who Like Sarah Dessen

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Each Tuesday there is a different Top Ten topic to join in on, and you can see past and future topics on their features page. This week's topic is: Books For People Who Liked X Author. For this topic I chose Sarah Dessen, because in high school she was one of the first author's that I really latched onto and enjoyed basically everything she's ever written. So these books are for fans of Dessen who are looking for something new to read.


Top Ten Books for People Who Like Sarah Dessen:


If you liked these books:



Then you will like these books:


The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti


Just Like That by Marsha Qualey


Moonglass by Jessi Kirby


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott


Cracked Up To Be by Courtney Summers


For Keeps by Natasha Friend


The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson


Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti


Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Catching Up, Part Four: Dessen, Johnson, Matson

In part four of Catching Up we have What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson, and Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. I adored all three of these books, they were each filled with fun, humor, adventure and a lot of friendship. Pick any of these up if you are looking for a really good, satisfying read.

What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen
2o11 - Penguin
Read: May 13, 2011
Review: I really loved McLean as a character. I loved her confusion and identity problems. There wasn't an excess of drama in this story, but there was enough conflict to keep my interest, and I loved all of the fun parts with McLean's new friends. Dessen has been a favorite author of mine for a long time, and I love that she can write such wonderful characters and situations without having to rely on high emotions or melodrama. I think this book could definitely benefit teen readers as they may be trying to figure out who they really are themselves.

The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson
2o11 - Harper Teen
Read: May 21, 2011
Review: Maureen Johnson is just so fun to read. And follow on twitter. I went to an author event that she was doing recently for this book, and she is just as funny and random in person, which really made her written humor feel genuine. Ginny has always been a little iffy for me as a protagonist, and at times in this sequel to 13 Little Blue Envelopes I felt like she was just letting things happen to her without really sticking up for herself. I really liked Oliver and feel like Johnson wrote him so well, and he kept making me laugh, especially when he could recite the letters by heart. I love this type of story, a lot of fun adventure, exploring new places and people, all while on a mission. I look forward to many more books from Maureen Johnson.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson
2010 - Simon & Schuster
Read: May 25, 2011
Review: I love, love, love road trip books. Now that I have been on a few road trips myself, these types of books bring back such good memories and get me wanting to go another road trip asap. Amy was such a great portrayal of a girl feeling guilty after her father dies. She refuses to talk about it, or anything of emotional substance really, for a very long time, but slowly opens up to Roger as they became friends and journey across the country. Even though it was cheesey, I really liked the addition of their playlists as they went through each state. A lot of the story was predictable, but I didn't mind, because I really was rooting for Amy and Roger and was so pleased with the ending of the book.

To learn more or purchase these titles:

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Along for the Ride - Sarah Dessen - 2009

Title: Along for the Ride

Author: Sarah Dessen
Year: 2009
Overall: * * * * (4/5)

GoodReads blurb: 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.

Plot: * * * *
Characters: * * * *
Stlye (writing style): * * * * *

My Review: This was also a reread. I enjoyed it as much the second time around as I did the first, and though I remembered most of the plot clearly, there were so many little details about the characters and their interactions that I had forgotten, which made it really fun to be reminded of. Auden is a bit different than a lot of Dessen's characters. She can be very blunt, if only because she hasn't quite figured out that people don't like that, and she really has a hard time being social with people. I had forgotten that Eli has long hair in the book, which made it hard to picture him in my head. I love that almost all of the characters had layers that Auden sort of had to peel off in order for her to see that people aren't just one thing or another.

To Buy: Amazon

Currently reading: Trying to figure that out still...