Sarah Dessen’s What Happened to Goodbye

What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen | LibraryThing

Dessen, S. (2011). What happened to goodbye. New York: Viking. 9780670012947

I began reading Sarah Dessen books after seeing How to Deal. I like Dessen’s community of Lakeview and enjoy discovering the Easter eggs throughout her novels. What Happened to Goodbye is Dessen’s latest novel, the previous one having come out in 2009. I requested the book from Houston Public Library.

For the last couple of years, Mclean Sweet and her restaurant manager dad have moved four times. In each place, Mclean acts differently – a bubbly cheerleader in one place, a drama queen in the next town, and student council rep in the last. Mostly, she doesn’t want to make a new connection after her parents’ nasty divorce. However, in Lakeview, Mclean can’t seem to escape herself. She might actually have to face the music this time.

This book wasn’t my favorite Dessen work. It even had that Jason Talbot in it! However, I appreciated that Mclean seemed to bring together people. I wasn’t crazy about Dave, the main guy in this book, but I thought Opal and even Jason were cool. I couldn’t stand Mclean’s mom, Katie/Katherine, but sort of came around to her.

Three Out of Five Pearls

Song: YouTube – Coldplay – In My Place

Places : North Carolina, Florida, Hawaii

You might also like:

• Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
• The Luxe Series by Anna Godbersen
• Across the Universe by Beth Revis
• The Party’s Over by Caroline B. Cooney
• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants Series by Ann Brashares

For more on Sarah Dessen’s What Happened to Goodbye, check out the following sites:

• Review: Sarah Dessen’s What Happened to Goodbye « Fat Books & Thin Women
• Just Your Typical Book Blog: What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
• Katie’s Book Blog: What Happened To Goodbye by Sarah Dessen