📖Recommend for Grades 9 and up📖
Annabel returns to school after
summer break not knowing what to expect. The party at the end of the previous
school year ended her friendship with Sophie, and the cause of that, made
Annabel decides to spend her summer in isolation. Turns out, everybody believes
Sophie so now Annabel is truly ostracized. That is until she meets music-obsessed Owen with his own troubled past. Owen’s passion for music and brutal
honesty help Annabel deal with her troubles and come to terms with everything
going on in her life.
This book being from 2006 may make
some of the aspects of this story seem a bit dated (Owen gives Annabel mix CDs
to listen to) but the overall message transcends time. Annabel and Owen are
both brilliant, though slightly flawed, characters. Fans of Sarah Dessen will
recognize the familiar setting of Lakeview and other aspects of Dessen’s
previous and future works.
📖Recommend for Grades 8 and up📖
After her parent's divorce, McLean
(pronounced Ma-ca-lane) Elizabeth Sweet opted to live with her dad and move whenever
his restaurant consulting job takes him to a new place, over living at home
with her mom and step-dad (aka the reason for divorce). With each move, McLean
takes on a new identity, complete with a new name and personality. Perky cheerleader
Eliza in Montford Falls, drama club Lizbet in Petree, and Student Council/all-around joiner Beth in Westcott. The latest move lands McLean and her dad in Lakeview,
with her dad taking over Luna Blu. McLean’s plan is to be Liz (personality to
be determined) but after nearly getting caught by the cops evacuating her
neighbor’s party and a run-in with her neighbor Dave on the other side, she
finds herself having to be McLean. What does it mean to be McLean? Well, she is
going to find out.
A Sarah Dessen novel not to be
missed. Those who have read previous works by the author will find familiar
faces and places in this novel, but it does stand on its own. McLean is an
intriguing character who interacts with a delightful restaurant staff at Luna
Blu, a mismatched group of friends, a busy but great dad, and an annoying (at
least to McLean) mom.
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