"can't wait to read this one...I like to save Sarah Dessen books for a long vacation so I can luxuriate in her words"-Walker Grossman
"Reading Sarah Dessen is like walking into an air-conditioned store after a hot, humid day in the sun. Reading Sarah Dessen is also like drinking an ice-cold smoothie after a long, harsh marathon. And finally, reading Sarah Dessen is like eating comfort food: you always know what you're going to get, a tasty, satisfying treat."- Thomas
"I'm afraid I didn't like this one as much as the others. It's because well... it feels a little like I'm reading the same story. Tons of others have mentioned it, but she seems to be sticking to a very strict formula. Which I wouldn't mind too much if the characters didn't seem so similar. They all are so reserved and issue driven. One of the reasons I think that it didn't work so magically in this one was because Eli (the love interest)doesn't get explored enough. He's dealing with some truly heavy stuff and we do see glimpses of vunerability but it's not enough."- Cara
"Sarah Dessen repeats the same plot again and again:
1. ONE SUMMER,
2. AN OLDER TEENAGE GIRL WHO IS REPRESSED IN SOME WAY -- family secrets, personal secrets, others' expectations, her own cynicism or need for control
3. MEETS A WACKY GROUP OF PEOPLE -- long-distant family, a rock band, coworkers, a new group of friends
4. INCLUDING ONE UNUSUAL BOY -- usually artistic in some way
5. SHE DOES SOMETHING UNCHARACTERISTIC OF HER THAT STARTS OR DEEPENS HER RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM -- like confess a secret, or kiss the boy, or take on a job -- something that exposes her for a moment
6. AND THINGS GO ALONG SWIMMINGLY FOR A WHILE as she gets to know the boy and has her original assumptions about the people challenged and develops new skills through her association with them
7. But then, about 1/3 to 1/4 of the way from the end, SOMETHING HAPPENS TO SCREW THINGS UP, usually causing the girl's retreating for some reason into her original repressions/assumptions
8. A CONFRONTATION INVOLVING/REGARDING THE CAUSE OF THE GIRL'S REPRESSION OCCURS.
9. GIRL REUNITES WITH BOY; HAPPINESS INTO FORESEEABLE FUTURE. "-Cheryl
Out of a 1-5 rating scale, 0% of people gave her a 1 and 43% gave the book a 5, giving it an average 4.17 rating. As you can see the reveiws on this book are pretty varied but all the ones I've seen have one thing in common... EVERYONE LOVES THIS BOOK! Even the bad reveiws I have listed there about her repeating her stories( which I actually saw a lot of) ended with "I still loved it". Dessen might be repetitive but she definetly has a loyal fan group who really love her work. Her book Along for the Ride (that I hopefully will finish tonight) is pretty good though. It's not great I'll admit but for someone who likes to read I might recomend it, actually I probably wouldn't but i can see why someone would. The thing is, I really can't seem to get into a book anymore as I explained in my third post (the long one) so it;s not that it;s a bad book at all it's just me not being able to appreciate it.
http://teenbookreview.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/review-along-for-the-ride-by-sarah-dessen/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5664985-along-for-the-ride
I agree that most of her books are based on the same plot.
ReplyDeleteya, i havent read any other of hers so i cant really go based on my opinion, but every comment i've seen has said that.
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