After a wonderful breakfast out with my husband, I began this year’s 48 Hour Book Challenge at 10am.
For my first book I chose Sarah Dessen’s newest title: What Happened to Goodbye. I kicked off last year’s challenge with another Dessen novel: Along for the Ride and it was the perfect way to start the challenge. Like Memorial Day Weekend, I view the 48HBC as an unofficial kick off to summer—specifically summer reading; and there are few writers whose offerings I would rather read during the summer months than Sarah Dessen.
What Happened to Goodbye is the story of Mclean Sweet a girl who moves frequently with her father in the years following her parents’ divorce. In each new town, Mclean adopts a new name and identity and keeps all of her relationships on the surface—forming no real attachments. In Jackson, everything changes. Mclean finds herself at the center of a group of quirky, charming friends and the object of a wonderfully weird neighbor’s affection.
This is a wonderful novel of how one girl comes to terms with the division and re-imagining of her family. Mclean and the characters around her are shown as complex people— “warts and all.” The relationships Mclean has with her parents are realistic, loving and honest—and how those relationships transform is a highlight of the book. The details involving restaurant life and basketball are just gravy on top of a beautiful story about one girl’s journey to find her true self and the place where she belongs.
40 Hours Left!!!
I love Sarah Dessen, but haven’t read the last couple of her books. This one sounds sweet…
If you love Dessen, try the new Moonglass by… Kirby? And have fun with the reading challenge!