Title: Once and for All Author: Sarah Dessen
This is only the 2nd Sarah Dessen book I've read (well listened to in this case). I really enjoyed this one. It had lots of heart. I really felt for Louna. She had been through such a difficult situation that my heart went out to her. But I really admired how strong she was. That was great to see. I think something else I really liked was her relationship with her mom. It was a great example of how teenagers and parents can be close, and how parents can be included in the story. Very well done. So many times the story defaults to absent or never talked about parents, so this was a positive to see.
I also liked that Louna didn't need Ambrose to come in and make everything better. She was working on that on her own. He just happened to be part of that process.
I'm glad I read this one. Encourages me to read even more of her books.
Note: This definitely falls in the upper young adult category. Luona is graduating from high school so keep that in mind. I work with middle schoolers, so I wanted to make sure that was noted.
I have some Sarah Dessen books on my TBR list that I never seem to get to. I need to be better about that. Thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI like Dessen's books but didn't buy this one. My students don't seem to care much about weddings. Have you looked at Jennifer E. Smith or Kasie West? I love that they do YA books that are appropriate for middle school.
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