A New York Times bestseller
A new day. A new place. A new life.
In the past few years, Mclean has pretended to be so many different people that she hardly remembers who she really is anymore.
The adorable guy next door might be able to help her figure it out.
But is she ready for it?
“A cut above” —People
Also by Sarah Dessen:
Along for the Ride
Dreamland
Just Listen
Keeping the Moon
Lock and Key
The Moon and More
Someone Like You
That Summer
This Lullaby
The Truth About Forever
Booklist
"Dessen once again offers a substantive, well-crafted exploration of a teen’s life that will deeply satisfy her legions of fans."
SLJ
"Dessen’s fans will be happy to devour this latest offering."
The Horn Book
"Dessen’s talent is creating just that comfortable space for young adults struggling with identity, relationships, and all that messy family stuff. Her quirky characters reach out to one another to forge genuine friendships and gentle first loves."
Publishers Weekly
Dessen's 10th novel is another smoothly written journey of self-discovery. Mclean Sweet, named for "the all-time winningest basketball coach of Defriese University," has moved four times in two years, following her father's job as a restaurant consultant. Each time she moves she reinvents herself, not so much to try on a new identity but to rid herself of the original one—only daughter of a couple whose divorce was an awful, public scandal. It becomes clear that although Defriese basketball was her father's obsession, Mclean's idol was her mother, and Mclean's lasting anger adds an emotional punch to a long narrative that doesn't otherwise have much of an arc. It will delight Dessen's passionate fans that Mclean and her father have landed in Lakeview (capital of Dessenland) and that the action ricochets between there and familiar (fictional) beach towns. As Mclean figures out how to make peace with her mother, she relies on friends made at both school and at the restaurant her father is trying to save. Dessen delivers another cast of authentic, likable characters, struggling to make sense of the world. Ages 12–up. (May)
From the Publisher
"Dessen’s talent is creating just that comfortable space for young adults struggling with identity, relationships, and all that messy family stuff. Her quirky characters reach out to one another to forge genuine friendships and gentle first loves." — The Horn Book"Dessen’s fans will be happy to devour this latest offering." — SLJ
"Readers can count on Dessen; she's a pro at creating characters caught at a nexus of change, who have broken relationships and who need to make decisions." — Kirkus Reviews
"Dessen once again offers a substantive, well-crafted exploration of a teen’s life that will deeply satisfy her legions of fans." — Booklist
"Dessen’s prose is clean and focused, the characters are developed and real, and the plot is believable. Mclean’s journey through the healing process after her parents’ divorce provides bibliotherapy for any teen dealing with family issues, and the secondary plot of tentative steps toward trust and friendship is beautiful. This is a must-have for any young adult collection." — VOYA
Children's Literature - Haley Maness
Fans of this popular romance author will probably feel as in they have heard this story before. In a storyline that is becoming cliche, a girl with an unhealthy maternal relationship finds herself in new surroundings for the umpteenth time and knows that she will not be staying long. Despite this predictable setback she still manages to find love. In this novel, McLean has suffered through her parents' messy divorce and her mother's subsequent marriage to the coach of the Defriese college basketball team. Despite pleading, she decides not to live with her mother but chooses instead to travel with her father as he jumps from job to job. For the first time since the divorce, McLean feels comfortable in her new town, and meets her broody next-door neighbor, Dave. Most can guess what happens next: her father finishes up with his job and begins to move on when he, too, falls in love and decides to buy the restaurant he had been working at. Basketball a prominent motif throughout the book and a possible redeeming quality of the novel, is clearly something the author knows nothing about, which makes the story lose some of its credibility. Readers just discovering this author might enjoy this story, but should not expect groundbreaking and original ideas. Reviewer: Haley Maness
Kirkus Reviews
Readers can count on Dessen; she's a pro at creating characters caught at a nexus of change, who have broken relationships and who need to make decisions.
Here readers meet Mclean, who has been living a nomadic existence with her divorced father for the past two years, reinventing herself every time they move for his job (a restaurant fixer). For some reason, this town is different. She finds herself moving through the world again as Mclean—not Eliza, Lisbeth or Beth—and making friends, almost reluctantly. She's been avoiding her mother diligently, as it was her affair with the coach of the college-basketball program Mclean and her dad lived for that broke the family up. As she becomes closer with friends and the cute boy next door, she also finds herself involved in a project—assembling an intricate three-dimensional model of the town—sited in an unused room above the restaurant her father is trying to turn around. It doesn't take a keen literary eye to see that Mclean is literally building a community, both in the physical model and the emotional network she finds in her new friends. She's an entirely likable narrator, guiding readers through her story expertly, always consciously a beat behind them.
Even though Mclean's path is clear from the get-go, readers will enjoy every minute they spend with her. (Fiction. 12 & up)
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