Ruby's been living alone with her alcoholic mother ever since her older sister went to college; the two have been going from place to place for as long as she can remember. One day, her mother disappears, the social workers are called in, and suddenly, Ruby's living the older sister she hasn't seen for nearly a decade and her new brother-in-law. ( Read more... )

I'm blogging books and manga separately this year, just because I read so much manga. I feel like I've read remarkably few books this year; last year my reading had gone down in total, but I didn't separate the books and manga out, so I'm not sure if I read more books this year or last year. I definitely read way more manga this year, which is why ( Read more... )

Caitlin O'Koren's sister Cass has suddenly run away, leaving the O'Koren family in emotional chaos. Cait's always felt like she's been the shadow of her popular, smart sister, and in her sister's absence, she starts trying to define herself, doing things that her sister wouldn't do. She ends up dating Rogerson Biscoe and lands in much more trouble ( Read more... )

I think this is now officially my favorite Dessen, which is saying something. Of course, YMMV, especially because it's my favorite because it hits some of my personal buttons and issues, and I can see a lot of high school me in Annabel ( Read more... )

Haven's life is changing in all sorts of unpleasant ways -- her father divorced her mother and is now marrying the local weather lady, her formerly wild sister Ashley is getting married to the staid Lewis, and she keeps growing taller ( Read more... )

This was incredibly difficult to read, not because it was bad, but because it did what it set out to do so very well ( Read more... )

Every time I read something by Sarah Dessen, I'm always impressed by the clear prose, the fleshed-out characters, and the delicate observation. But then, I put the book down and don't pick up another one for a few more months. I think it's because these aren't books I want to binge on; I want to read them slowly and draw them out.

Keeping the Moon ( Read more... )

I started reading this at one in the morning, thinking I would read a chapter or two, then go to bed. I actually ended up going to bed around five, after I had finished the book ( Read more... )

Picked this up after reading the back in a store and recalling that coffee_and_ink had Dessen on her Year's Best list ( Read more... )