The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

As you know (maybe), Sarah Dessen is my guilty pleasure. Yes, I read certain teen chick lit. I’m not ashamed of it…so there! I am on page 72 of The Moon and More‘s 435 pages and so I’m going to predict what happens. (If you don’t want a spoiler, stop now.) I could be way off base. Then, I’ll write what really happens and see how close I am. Why? Because there’s something to be said for consistency and Sarah Dessen is nothing, if not consistent. You know you’ll get a great teen romance/beach read and for the first 72 pages, nothing has happened to change my mind. So, here goes.

Emaline, just graduated high school, lives in Colby, a resort town. Her grandparents started a summer rental business that she, her mother and her sisters work at. She’s in love with Luke, known him forever and has been going out with him for a few years. VIP renters get a special gift: a cheese/fruit platter and a bottle of wine. It’s Emaline’s job to deliver them. At one house, Sand Dune, she meets a guy her age, but doesn’t really chat. She sees him the next day and they do talk.

Meanwhile, Emaline’s estranged father is in Colby to arrange the sale of his deceased aunt’s house and asks to have dinner with Emaline.

So, the story can go one of two ways: (1) Emaline and unknown boy become friends testing her love for Luke and/or (2) Emaline’s father wants her to move in with him for the summer so she can get to know him and her half-brother, Benji…the separation testing her love for Luke. Somehow, unknown boy inserts himself into this scenario. Anyway, I predict Luke loses and unknown boy wins in the end.

Read on to see how well I did….

OK, so I was close in some respects and a little distant in others. Emaline’s father (as opposed to her dad, who is her adoptive father) is in town for the summer and indeed she does bond with Benji. Does she bond with her father as well? You’ll have to read on.

Of course, unknown boy, Theo, and Emaline do go out. Who wins in the end, Luke or Theo? We’ll both have to read on because I’m 15 pages from the end and I don’t know.

My overall opinion on The Moon and More? It is not my favorite Sarah Dessen book. (I really don’t know which one is.) That much I can say. There are some great characters in Morris and Daisy and Benji. There are some mediocre characters such as her sisters Amber and Margo and her father. There are some really annoying characters, who I won’t mention. The plot and writing are pretty typical Dessen. Regardless of the above,..as I was thinking of why it’s not my favorite book, three things popped into my mind. (1) Compared to all the ‘loner’ characters in Dessen’s books, Theo doesn’t hold up. (2) There’s no music in The Moon and More. I always liked that. And (3) Dessen makes all New Yorkers sound like (as someone close to me says) condescending assholes. As a New Yorker, I resent that.

So, while I have, in the past, given Dessen’s books 5 out of 5 stars, for this one I’m leaning towards 3 1/2 to 4 stars.

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What Would You Choose?

With the weather outside ranging between 60 and 80 degrees, rainy (torrential) one day, breezy sunny the next, the question arises: What to read? Of course, weather does play a role in your reading desires.

If you were handed two vastly different books at the same time, would you choose the ultimate beach read, The Moon and More, by Sarah Dessen or a more literary, cerebral Rose Under Fire by award winner, Elizabeth Wein? Rose Under Fire is a companion book to Code Name Verity which won the 2013 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult mystery, is a 2013 Michael L. Printz Honor Book and a 2012 Boston Globe-Horn Fiction Honor Book. Hard choice!

Now that you’ve considered the subject for your own reading pleasure, can you guess which I’m reading first? Hint: it is in the mid 60s, cloudy and rainy out. This probably doesn’t help much, I know.

Whichever you decide to read first, make sure you read the other one second. Enjoy.

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Teen Chick Lit – Beach Reads

Okay, I admit it. I like teen chick lit…well, some of it anyway. Sarah Dessen has always topped the list and I used to get ARCs of her books to review from VOYA. I’d have to finish it in a hurry so Abbe could read it. You know what you’re getting, but that’s okay. Her books are good any time of year, but they’re great beach reads.

So is This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith. If Smith isn’t a teen household name, she should be. Her books are fun and well written. Happy is her latest. Ellie and Graham find out what happens when an email goes to a total stranger. Taking place in Maine, it’s got all the trappings of a good beach read, including a beach.  There’s mystery, romance, picnics, 4th of July festivals. I rest my case.

Smith’s other books that I read include The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and The Comeback Season.

Sarah Dessen’s latest love story, The Moon and More, is coming out in early June. Of course I’ve got my reserve in on that one. But if you’re longing for a good romance, try her previous book, Along for the Ride. Lately she’s been referring to previous characters or situations in her new books, so maybe start from the beginning and see how many embedded references you can find.

I”m sure there are other Beach Read favorites that I have but I can’t think of them at the moment. I’m sure they’ll come to me but in the meantime, let me know your Teen Chick Lit-Beach Read favorites.

By the way, look at yourself in the mirror when you read This is What Happy Looks Like, because, indeed, it is.

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