Book 81 - What Happened to Goodbye

My 81st book this year was What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. As with all of her other books, I loved this one. It just took me a long time because of rehearsals for something at my college called Tiger Tunes...long story. Anyway, this book is about Mclean, who is a girl that reinvents herself everytime she moves somewhere new with her father. After they move to their fifth town, she somehow accidentally tells a new friend that her name is Mclean, instead of the planned name of Liz. As she gets closer to her new friend Riley, she also begins to grow close to Dave, the "good" boy next door. Although he appears to be the standard goodie-two-shoes, he isn't quite what he appears to be, proving that even the people that look the cleanest have secrets of their own. While she navigates the problems of being herself for the first time in years, she also has to solve the problem of her mother, who hasn't left her alone since the divorce, even though that's exactly what Mclean wants. And just when Mclean finally finds a place where she actually wants to stay permanently, what will happen if her father decides to move again?
Grade: A
SC: 3
V: 2
C: 3

Book 77 - Dreamland

My seventy-seventh book was Dreamland by Sarah Dessen. This book is about Caitlyn, who's sister, Cass, just ran away from home. Cass was always the perfect child, always outdoing Caitlyn, seemingly without even trying. So, it was shocking that she ran away, and so unexpectedly, especially because she was going to Yale in just a few weeks. As Caitlyn tries to make sense of her sister's absence, and the absence it creates in her family's life, she meets Rogerson. He's handsome, cool, and mysterious from the very beginning. As Caitlyn finds herself falling for Rogerson, she sees that his home life is not as perfect as it first appeared to be. And that his hard home life might be taking a toll on his relationship with Caitlyn. Rogerson becomes more and more possessive and Caitlyn doesn't know how much more she can take before she just fades away forever. This book is extremely different from every other Sarah Dessen book I've ever read. But it was still good. Just not as enjoyable, because of the subject matter.
Grade: A-
SC: 5
V: 7
C: 6

Book 75 - Lock and Key

My seventy-fifth book was Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. This book is about Ruby, a girl who lives with her alcoholic mother. The book starts a couple of months after she was abandoned by her mother. After living on her own for a while, her landlords finally noticed and called social services. Since then, she has moved in with her sister, Cora, and her wealthy brother-in-law, Jamie. She also meets the neighbor's teenage son, Nate, who is very friendly, despite the fact that Ruby is anything but to him. Ruby feels that she shouldn't get attached to anyone here, because she's going to be leaving soon. She, like her mother, feels that its better to leave someone than be left by someone. Ruby knows the sting of being left, first by Cora, then by her mother. But as she learns how her mother lied to her, she starts to see Cora in a different light. And not only Cora, but other people around her, like Jamie and even Roscoe, Jamie's annoying dog. But the person that seems to "get" her the most is Nate, perhaps because he's hiding some secrets of his own.
Grade: A++
SC: 4
V: 6
C: 3

Book 74 - Someone Like You

My seventy-fourth book was Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen.* This book is about Halley (like the Comet). Her best friend, Scarlett, has always been the cool one, always the strong one who has to take care of everything. But, when Scarlett's boyfriend Michael dies, Halley suddenly becomes the strong one, taking care of everything Scarlett needs. And when they find out that Scarlett's pregnant, Halley is the one that has to save her from her mother, who insists she have an abortion. But Scarlett decides to keep the baby instead. As they go through the pregnancy, figuring out everything together, Halley gets her first real boyfriend in Macon Faulkner, a bad boy who was Michael's best friend. At first, Halley knows that Macon loves her. But, as he starts disappearing more and more, she isn't so sure. What she is sure of is that Scarlett is going to need more help than ever. But is Halley strong enough to help?
Grade: A++
SC: 6
V: 5
C: 3

*I am officially in love with Sarah Dessen books.

Book 68 - Just Listen

My sixty-eighth book is Just Listen by Sarah Dessen. I really like Sarah's writing. It's very easy to read, but the subject matter is deep. You can really relate to the characters. Annabel is the youngest of three girls, the oldest, Kirsten, being the outgoing sister and her middle sister, Whitney, taking up a lot of attention because of her eating disorder. So, Annabel feels like she's never been able to express herself as well as her sisters, Kirsten talking all the time and Whitney never needing to talk to make you understand how she feels. So, when a traumatic event happens, she keeps it to herself. Even though it means losing all of her friends, especially her best friend, Sophie, who is now vicious towards Annabel. It seems like this year will be the worst yet. Until she meets Owen, an outsider with an anger issue. Since he was forced to take anger management classes after attacking a classmate, Owen is very open about everything, the exact opposite of Annabel. As she starts spending a lot of time with Owen, learning all he has to know about music, she starts to feel like speaking up. But speaking up would mean telling everyone she loves about what happened at the end of the year party, that ruined everything. Will Annabel keep to herself? Or will she trust Owen enough to tell him her secrets?
Grade: A+
SC: 6
V: 5
C: 5

Book 65 - Along for the Ride

My sixty-fifth book was Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. I have seen her books at the bookstore and wondered why they were so popular, so I decided to give one a try. And I totally see why a lot of girls love them. It was very entertaining and written in a way that was totally easy to read. LOVED IT! Auden decides to spend her last summer before college with her father and his new wife and baby at the beach. She has totally written off her father's new family as a stuck-up girly-girl and her daughter that will soon be a mini version. But when she arrives, she realizes that the family dynamic is not at all as she pictured. Instead of being all happy and lovey-dovey, her father spends all of his time writing his book while Heidi is left alone to care for Thisbe (the new baby), who won't stop crying for anything. As Auden finds herself helping Heidi in many ways (including helping her at Heidi's cute girly boutique), she also starts to bond with the girls that work there. As she learns about clothes, fashions, and hanging with the girls, she also starts to learn about love as she becomes very interested in Eli, a loner and fellow insomniac who shows her the nightlife of her new town.
Grade: A+
SC: 5
V: 2
C: 2