Via Goodreads Title: That Summer
Author: Sarah Dessen
Genre: Young adult
How I got the book: I bought it
Summary (from Goodreads):
The more things change…
As far as Haven is concerned, there’s just too much going on.
Everything is changing, and she’s not sure where she fits in.
Then her sister’s old boyfriend shows up, sparking memories of the summer when they were all happy and everything was perfect…
But along the way, Haven realizes that sometimes change is a good thing.
My Review:
This novel wasn’t exactly what I expected it would be. From the summary, I honestly thought the premise of the story would be a bit more… inspirational, I guess you could say.
The main character is Haven and everything seems to be against her at the moment. Her father is getting married and she and her older sister, Ashley, have to go to the wedding while their mother is home feeling down about it. Ashley herself is getting married in a couple of weeks and moving out of the house to be with him. Meanwhile, since it’ll just be Haven and her mother, her mother thinks it may be a good idea to sell the house.
That’s a lot of change and if I were Haven, I’d be flustered too.
Haven talks a lot about Ashley and the many boyfriends she’s had in the past and how she dumped them all coldly. Haven isn’t a huge fan of Lewis, Ashley’s fiance, but remembers one boyfriend in particular: Sumner.
Haven runs into Sumner after so many years while out to dinner with her father. She remembers how much she loved having Sumner around and how happy Ashley was when she was dating him.
And that’s about it.
Like I said, I expected a lot more from this story.
Sarah Dessen’s characters are usually complex and well thought out, but I was too much of a fan of the characters in this novel. Haven was alright, but she could get annoying at times. Ashley was annoying. Sumner was pretty cool. I liked him.
As always, Dessen has a wonderful writing style. Her novels always flow so well that whether you’re into the story or not, it’s hard to put down.
The ending moral did make sense, but I wished there was more of a plot.
That Summer by Sarah Dessen gets 4 out of 5 stars.
Favorite Quote:
“We’ve got to think back to the good times, Haven, and just remember them; that’s all we can do. We can’t worry about the past or what happened at the end, anymore.” –Sarah Dessen, That Summer
