Sarah Dessen
Viking, 2009
Auden has always had everything neat, organized, and under-control -- a stark contrast to her carefree (careless?) brother Hollis. Other than her sleepless nights, Auden's been the very picture of extreme maturity and academic excellence. Until she spontaneously decides to join her father and stepmother at the beach for her last summer before college. There, Auden - reluctantly - learns to live. To make up for lost time, and experience things that essentially are growing up. She learns to laugh, to make friends, to take chances, and fall in love. She learns about starting over when things don't work out like you planned, and that family really does mean something. I love Auden's journey to reality - watching her struggle to master the little things in life, the things that give it dimension and sparkle.
Book provided by my personal library.
Sarah Dessen
Speak, 2002
Remy is tough as nails, and doesn't believe in love. After watching her romance novelist mother stumble and crash through a series of failed marriages, Remy knows that love is just something people imagine. A crutch for the weak. An unnecessary risk. Certainly nothing that will ever affect Remy's life. And then she meets Dexter. Clutzy, messy, musician Dexter, who embraces the messier sides of life and thinks nothing of taking chances, taking risks. Dexter believes in love, and he believes in Remy. In that pivotal summer between high school and college, Remy learns that sometimes living means you have to take risks - that loving doesn't mean you're weak - and sometimes the people we need most are those we least expect.
Book provided by my personal library.
Ahhhh-- I love these two books and love Sarah Dessen.
ReplyDeletePerfect summer reads!
Thanks for telling me about the Aussie cover of Glow - I replied to your comment and put in links to the old Glow cover. Not sure why they changed it, except that the old Glow cover looks a bit like the Matched cover.