Once and For All gets 3 Stars {YA Lit, Contemporary Fiction}

I love Sarah Dessen's writing.  I love that she is a contemporary fiction writer with a touch of romance.  I love that her books have depth and cover deeper issues.  I love that she is from Chapel Hill North Carolina.  I've read many of her books, if not all of them, and have enjoyed most of them.  I think Just Listen is one of my favorites.  

I love most of Dessen's books, but I didn't love this book.  I feel Once and For All lacked the depth and the character development that young adults and high school students need.  Besides the lack of character development I think the storyline and plot were lacking.  

Once and For All is an okay read, but I definitely don't think it's even close to being Dessen's finest work.

3 out of 5 stars is my official book review rating.  I was disappointed with the character development, lack of depth, and a weak plot.  I was disappointed that Louna didn't show any growth.  I was disappointed she had sex on a beach with someone she barely met, even if it was "true love" and they had expressed their enduring love for each other.  I was disappointed that Ambrose had no real great redeeming qualities.  I guess there were a lot of things that I was disappointed with, and I probably scored this book higher b/c I like Dessen.  

Though, there were a few things that I did like.  I thought her mom being a wedding planner was fun.  I thought her mom's relationship with her business partner was enjoyable as well as showed more diversity than other Dessen books had.  I thought Ben was a decent guy.  I liked that Louna, the main character, was going to college.  Sad though, that a character getting an education reaches the things I liked.  

To be honest there was a lot of disappointment in an already somewhat boring read.  If I didn't already have a love for Dessen's books I probably wouldn't have finished it.  I can say that I will not recommend this book.  I guess I learned that even your favorite authors have bad days/books.  It's a hard lesson to learn sometimes.   

Are you a Sarah Dessen fan?  What's your favorite book of hers? Am I far off your views of this book?  
  
Happy Young Adult Contemporary Lit Reading! 


Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
Rating: 3/5 stars
Best For: 14-18 year olds, high school and up
Worth a Check Out: If you like contemporary lit
Buy It or Not: Not
Sex/Violence/Language: Sex is mentioned but little detail.  Violence is referred to. Some language in context.
Read Aloud: No
Lesson Ideas: Honestly, I wouldn't use this for any lessons.