Title: What Happened to GoodbyeAuthor: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Speak
Publication date: April 9th 2013 (first published 2011)
Pages: 402
Source/format: Paperback from publisher. This is part of the #PRHPartner.
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Synopsis (from goodreads.com):
Following her parents' bitter divorce as she and her father move from town to town, seventeen-year-old Mclean reinvents herself at each school she attends until she is no longer sure she knows who she is or where she belongs.
M Y T H O U G H T S
Mclean Sweet is named after Mclean Rich, a basketball coach of Defriese University. Mclean can reinvent herself as Eliza, Lizbet or even Beth each time she moved. She took on another persona and it is her way to deal with her parent's divorce after her mother fell in love with another man. When the judge allowed Mclean to make the decision to decide which parent to live with, she ultimately stayed with her father with the promise to visit her mother during the summer and on holidays. Mclean and her father relocated several times. These moves allowed Mclean to try to find herself and to find out how she fits in but she still hasn't figured out who she really is.
When Mclean relocates for one final time, she ends up making friends as Mclean. Her father has a job to rehab the failing restaurant Luna Blu. Think the show Restaurant Impossible with Robert Irvine but not as intense. Because Mclean planned all her alter egos, she has trouble figuring out who to become friends with and who she wants to be as. In a matter of time, friends come to her instead of her seeking friends. Mclean is friends with Opal from Luna Blu; Riley who hangs out with stuck up Heather; Deb the quirky girl who knows a lot about tattoos, drumming for speed metal, building models and also next door neighbor Dave who comes to Mclean's need several times. She spends her time helping out Opal with a commemorative town model project along with her other friends.
I found the diversity of friends to be refreshing. Mclean doesn't stick to a cookie cutter stereotypical group to people to call as her friends. She has a good variety of people to find comfort in whether it be for advice, to catch up with or just to share interests with. It's time for Mclean to finally ditch the personas and to finally embrace who she really is. Instead of pretending to be someone she is not in order to protect herself from getting to close to someone, she decides to open herself a little bit to let others in. No more coming up with lies or hiding behind a mask.
Although Mclean's life is not filled with sparkles and rainbows, she tries to make the best of her situation regarding her parents being divorced. It's hard for her to spend time with her mother especially with her stepfather and her half siblings. The only stability she has over her life is the town model. As the model starts from beginning to end, readers can see the growth in Mclean's character development. She learns to become true to herself and learns that saying goodbye means there is always a chance to say hello again.
Sarah Dessen writes contemporary novels that can cover tough topics but she writes about realistic situations without sugarcoating anything. What Happened to Goodbye is a solid book a lot of teens can relate to especially about fitting in and how to deal when they're parents separate. Readers who enjoy Tell Me Three Things and North of Happy will devour What Happened to Goodbye.
ABOUT SARAH DESSEN
Sarah Dessen is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels: Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, and What Happened to Goodbye. Her newest novel, Once and for All, will be released in June 2017. An NC native, she currently lives in Chapel Hill with her family.
SARAH DESSEN'S UPCOMING NOVEL
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Publication date: June 6, 2017
Pages: 400
Buy Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound
Synopsis (from goodreads.com):
As bubbly as champagne and delectable as wedding cake, Once and for All, Sarah Dessen's thirteenth novel, is set in the world of wedding planning, where crises are routine.
Louna, daughter of famed wedding planner Natalie Barrett, has seen every sort of wedding: on the beach, at historic mansions, in fancy hotels and clubs. Perhaps that's why she's cynical about happily-ever-after endings, especially since her own first love ended tragically. When Louna meets charming, happy-go-lucky serial dater Ambrose, she holds him at arm's length. But Ambrose isn't about to be discouraged, now that he's met the one girl he really wants.
Sarah Dessen’s many, many fans will adore her latest, a richly satisfying, enormously entertaining story that has everything—humor, romance, and an ending both happy and imperfect, just like life itself.
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WHAT HAPPENED TO GOODBYE
GIVEAWAY
Enter for a chance to win one (1) set of Sarah Dessen’s books in paperback (ARV: $132.00). NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter between 12:00 AM Eastern Time on April 17, 2017 and 12:00 AM on May 29, 2017. Open to residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 13 and older. Winners will be selected at random on or about June 1, 2017. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
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