Sarah Dessen

What can I really say. I loved this book to pieces. It's been a while since I can say that a book was picture perfect from beginning to end, but I really did find this book worked great. I had no issues with the writing, dialogue, plot, setting or pacing. I went and borrowed a ton of other Sarah Dessen books from the library as soon as I finished "Lock and Key." I read this for the "Key to My Heart" square for Romance Book Bingo 2017.

The main character in "Lock and Key" is Ruby Conner. Ruby show more is a senior at Jackson High School living in North Carolina. Through bits and pieces we find out that Ruby was in foster care temporarily after it becomes known that she is living alone and her mother is nowhere to be found. Placed with her older sister Cora that she hasn't seen in years, "Lock and Key" is really Ruby's journey learning to figure out what it truly means to be family, and how sometimes the hardest thing to do is stay and just support someone.

I freaking loved Ruby. I mean loved her. I wanted to hug her, give her some chocolate cake, and tell her that she is awesome. I have never fallen so quickly into another teen character's head since Harry Potter. Ruby's vulnerability and her general belief that she could take care of herself with help from no one we see get reworked from the beginning of the book to the end. Ruby and Cora's shaky relationship due to Ruby's belief that her sister had abandoned her we also see slowly changes through the course of the book. I loved that Dessen didn't just throw out hey Ruby you are wrong from other characters either. Ruby had to see and feel that her way or really her mother's way of acting was just not what she needed anymore. Ruby's reluctant friendship with Nate also got me too. I loved how she got to see that someone who she thought had a perfect life, really did not, and that her just saying this is too hard, was actually not what he or she needed.

All of the secondary characters got to shine in this too. I loved Nate. Man oh man, his backstory regarding his mother and his father was just heartbreaking. A kid who doesn't want to be in the situation he is, but doing the best he can until he is 18 and can be free.

Ruby's sister Cora was also such a great character. There is a scene when Cora's husband Jamie is rightfully angry and yelling at Ruby, and Cora steps in front of her like she did when they were kids and their mom was on a tear. I wanted to hug them both. We get to see that Cora is just as unsettled having what she considers a "good" life and not being used to things like huge family dinners, Christmas cards, etc.

I loved Harriet and Reggie, and heck pretty much everyone. Well except for Ruby's old friends at Jackson who she got to see for herself were not true blue friends at all.

The writing takes a look at a lot of things. Drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, and even abandonment. Dessen does a good job of not prettying things up which I appreciated. I also applaud her since she writes Ruby really well. I have a hard time with some YA authors having teens talking like characters from Dawson's Creek.

That was always my big thing about that show, no one my age sounded that pretentious. Did we sound like asses though? Yes, all teens do at one time or the other.

The flow was great too. We pretty much get to see Ruby over a course of a school year til her graduation which I really appreciated. Spare me from books that have a character do a day/night change in a month or two. It's not realistic. It would have been great to see Ruby in her therapy sessions, but I was happy with what we got.

The setting of Lakeview, North Carolina sounded pretty polarizing. When Ruby is transferred from Jackson to what she considers the rich kid school, I was so happy we didn't see some Mean Girls shtick in this book. We got to see a lot of secondary characters there with tons of nuance as well.

The ending was really great. I can picture Ruby and now her family and her family of choice. I am going to see if Dessen ever follows up on Ruby and others from this book. It looks like she revisits the town of Lakeview in a lot of books, so it be nice to see a shout out to Ruby and other characters we have met. show less

Ever since her parents' divorce, Auden has had insomnia. When she decides to spend the summer between high school and her first year at college with her dad and stepmom and their new daughter, Auden hopes to get a little time with her dad, avoid her overly exuberant stepmom as much as possible, and spend a lot of time prepping for college courses. However, life at the beach is not what Auden expected. Finding her niche in her dad's new family is far different from what she anticipated and show more unexpectedly falling into a summer job, Auden must also negotiate her relationship with the girls at work with tight friendships, gossip, and all other things girly. But the biggest surprise is Eli, a fellow insomniac who plays her tour guide and helps her discover that at night, anything can happen.

Dessen's ability to so accurately describe the feeling of potential that always comes with summer is delightful. Ignoring all of her family issues, Auden was a character I could really identify with as she's spent all of high school exclusively focused on academics and has sort of missed out on much of the more social aspects of those years. The family drama that happens around Auden gives her far more depth and Dessen uses them to make some truly brilliant insights into life and relationships. Of course, Auden and Eli's relationship is delightful and their many night-time adventures are entertaining and sweet with just the right dash of romantic potential. A beautiful novel that explores how family and friendships can truly change us and reminds us that it is never too late to have all of the experiences life offers us, I enjoyed every page. show less

Why did I read The Moon and More?
It is no secret that I love books by Sarah Dessen. In the past I have compared her books to snuggling up in laundry that is still warm from the dryer, so you can tell that my love runs deep. It's been kind of awhile since her last book. Okay, only two years but those two years have felt like a lifetime to me. When I discovered this book was going to be released and it would take place in my favorite little town of Colby I was beyond excited. I tried my best show more to get my hands on an ARC but failed miserably. I'm also incredibly cheap and prefer to support my local library over buying random books so I ended up on the wait-list. The wait was so worth it.

What did I think of Emaline?
I really loved Emaline as a main character! What I love most about Emaline is the fact that she isn't afraid to face her challenges head on. She isn't passive-aggressive by any means which I always appreciate in a character and a person. I love too that her head isn't ever in the clouds. She seems to be very grounded and realistic. Emaline may actually be one of my favorite of Dessen's characters.

How was the romance?
This book was surprisingly not completely about the romance. It was there but it wasn't really important. I think this book was more about Emaline coming into her own and figuring out what is actually important to her for once instead of focusing her life and attention on what is important to everyone else. I think many will find that they can relate.

What was my favorite aspect of The Moon and More?
There is SO much to love about this book. Fans of Dessen will especially love reading about some familiar characters and locations. I know I certainly enjoyed that aspect.

In addition to that I think many will find this novel to be empowering. It seems that in much of Dessen's novels the girl is able to discover something about herself through a relationship with a boy. That is true in this novel as well, the difference being that in the end Emaline doesn't need those relationships or boys to succeed. She is able to figure out what is really important to her and has the ability to stand on her own two feet.

How does this compare to other Dessen novels?
I almost always have a similar complaint when I come to the end of one of Dessen's novels. I often find myself wishing that the relationships found throughout the novel were better developed so that I could better understand various aspects of the main character's life. I feel like Dessen did a fantastic job establishing the relationships found throughout this novel! I felt like I had a decent grasp on her relationship with just about every secondary character she comes into contact with. As a result Emaline feels like a real, complex person to me instead of a character I can only find within the book. show less

Along for the Ride was just what I needed in the middle of the most depressing season of the year. . . winter. There is something about snow and other crummy weather that makes me long for the days of a warm, lazy summer. For some reason every single time I think of Dessen, I think of summer so when I saw this book was available via my local library I knew this was just what I needed to fight the winter-time blues.

Auden is your typical overachiever. She reads and memorizes the textbooks show more before class, but isn't quite a knowitall. . .thank goodness. Her life has been all about academics since day one and her parents are to blame. Her mother is an English professor and her father a writer. They both seem to have quite a few undesirable traits and I'm honestly surprised Auden survived eighteen years without snapping. Just reading about these infuriating people made me so angry. Auden realizes thanks to her carefree brother that she needs to break free for once and do something out of the norm so she goes to stay with her father and stepmother in Colby, North Carolina.

At first she thinks this entire trip was a mistake. Her father is too busy for everyone and she thinks her stepmother is a shallow bimbo. Maybe not quite those words, but you know what I mean. She also does some serious judging of the locals and determines that they are not quite worth her time. Then the journey of self-discovery begins and it is one fantastic journey.

Along for the Ride was incredibly well-written. The characters were never one-dimensional. . .even those who play a minor role are presented in such a way that you can see various aspects of who they are. The pacing was absolutely perfect. I could see some complaining that nothing happened quickly enough, but this is contemporary fiction and self-discovery doesn't happen in a few hours. I think if you enjoy the development of characters more than anything else then you will likely really love this story.

Overall, I completely enjoyed my time in Colby. I made some great, albeit fictional, friends and will remember this experience for some time to come. show less