Recently, I finally got some time to lose myself in Sarah Dessen’s latest young-adult novel The Moon and More. It doesn’t matter how old I am, I continue to anticipate each new release this woman writes. (And in the meantime, really enjoy a peek into her mind and life with her random tweets about Good Morning America, food, her family, and the beach.)
If you’re a Dessen fan, than you might be happy to see The Moon takes readers back to the beach town of Colby, the setting of one of her previous novels, Along for the Ride (and one of my favorites.) This time though, we’ll see it through the eyes of local girl, Emaline. It’s the last summer before she’ll head off to college. She’s been dating her boyfriend Luke for years. She works at the family’s business, renting out condos to tourists. Of course though, it’s the summer to shake things up and boy do things change in her life in those few short months. Changes in romantic relationships, new friendships forged, Emaline has a lot of things to learn about herself before she goes off into the “real world.” Emaline finds herself in an interesting situation as she makes friends with renters of one of the fanciest beach houses, who just happens to be a documentary film maker and her intern assistant. Will she leave Luke for artsy Theo? Will she cross the divide and have a real relationship with her biological dad? Will Emaline follow in the footsteps of the other people she’s watched in Colby or make her own path?
I really liked the character development in this one. There’s a certain maturity about each person, and it was cool to see them grow throughout the story. Also, I love when people point out what we can learn from kids, and don’t discredit them. Whether you’ve read any of Sarah Dessen’s other novels are not, I’d recommend this one. It’s a fast paced interesting read. Dessen doesn’t disappoint!
Meg Says 