What Happened to Goodbye

Bless you, Sarah Dessen. I read a lot of paranormal, science fiction, etc., but sometimes I need something of this world. Something without werewolves, faeries, vampires, or fallen angels. Sometimes I need real people with real problems. Something without centuries old vendettas or grudges between Greek, Roman, or Norse Gods and Goddesses. And certainly, sometimes I just need a sweet story, full of love, mistakes, life, and people. Real people. People people. And when I feel this urge, I know Sarah Dessen is waiting for me like a best friend after a catastrophe. She always makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and What Happened to Goodbye is no exception!Mclean is the daughter of a basketball fanatic. A Defriese U basketball fanatic to be entirely accurate. Her parents lives consisted of running their restaurant and their favorite team's stats. When the longtime coach retired, a new, younger coach takes over... both the team and Mclean's life. Her mother eventually leaves her father for the new coach, sending Mclean's life into a tailspin. Now she lives with her father, but where they live is constantly changing.After the divorce he accepted a job traveling to different restaurants and bringing them back to life. This means Mclean Elizabeth Sweet gets to reinvent herself every few months. She has been Liz, Eliza, Beth, Lizbet... everyone except Mclean. But something happens in this new town. In Lakeview, she accidentally lets Mclean out of the box and can't seem to put her away. She makes an odd group of misfit friends, meets a boy she can't quite peg (which is intriguing), and even begins to like the people at the restaurant her father is supposed to either save or abandon. When things start to fall apart and her father is preparing to move on again, Mclean realizes she has been hiding from who she really is since the divorce. Can Mclean really become Mclean again? If she becomes who she once was, will all the pain and betrayal come back too?I like this story, because it really examines the consequences of divorce. I happen to be the child of two happily married parents, but that isn't terribly common these days. In fact, I am never surprised to hear a student's parents are in the process of or already divorced. But even with the high divorce rate in this country, the act of a kids parents splitting up is still traumatizing. Sometimes I think we even trivialize it if we aren't in the middle of it, and that just makes me sad. What we forget is how many kids are out there who are suffering from divorce and how that affects them in every aspect of their life. This book really shows how one young woman, despite two parents who love her deeply, can be damaged by their separation. It doesn't beat around the bush, or soften the blow; instead it just gives you a peak at her life, for good or for bad. You won't be able to forget Mclean or what has happened to her.As is typical of Dessen, this book has very clean language and scenarios. Dessen doesn't need harsh language or adult situations to make you feel for her characters. All she needs is the Dessen touch to help you get to know them. This book would be good for any young woman or young man (although probably more likely a young woman), middle school through high school, depending on the reading level. I think it might be particularly helpful for any child who has recently gone through a parents' divorce and is still feeling the consequences of the divorce. Sometimes, kids just need to know there is someone else out there who has been through the same tough times and come out on the other end just fine.

Overall, I would rate What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen a 4.0/5.0, it was another enjoyable Sarah Dessen novel.I entirely forgot that What happened to Goodbye came out today, until about 4AM this morning, and I quickly ordered it off of Amazon Express local delivery, and it arrived about two hours ago. (From a very shady delivery man, in a white car that introduced himself as UPS though he had no UPS related items I've come to expect. Hmmmm.)Originally, I'll admit I was not a fan of the book. The main character's name, her personality/name switching, just her in general, she pissed me off. But somewhere around 300 pages in, the whole thing just clicked for me. The story made sense, Mclene's name was cute, the entire thing would have a 'happy' ending, just like always. And that's how I like it. The feeling that Sarah Dessen won't disappoint in her writing style, and her ability to make me always enjoy the endings, even if everything doesn't end 'perfectly.'My favorite parts of this book would have to be:1.) Sarah Dessen's inclusion of characters from past books:Jason. Seriously. I was never a Jason Talbot fan, but he was just so, SMART. And not in the braniac know-it-all-way he used to be, in The Truth about Forever, or when he popped up in Along for the Ride. But he was a very likeable, though extremely insignificant in the long run character. Jason's story was, I suppose, wrapped up in this book. He went from being the braniac attending Harvard, to the chef at Luna Blu. He appeared happy, to me, and content with his current life.And, Annabelle and Owen (My favorite Sarah Dessen couple) pop up, though it was just a quick mention of the couple sharing (and arguing) over the tunes flowing through an iPod.2.) Everyone loves the Rosemary rollsI like the whole controversy that existed. "No! We can't get rid of the Rosemary rolls, everyone loves them! We should keep them even though we give them away for free and we're closing down because our restaurant can no longer survive!" But fried pickles as an alternative...bleh. I hate pickles.Dislikes:1.) Dave.I liked Mclean and Dave as a couple, I'll admit to that. But Dave by himself, he just seemed like such a forgettable character. He would go three pages without being mentioned, and I'd forget his existence and than wonder who this Dave fellow was next time he popped into the story. He was a good character. Perfect. The "Stay" at the end? Made me love him. But that didn't make him any less forgettable in my eyes.2.) It wasn't the page turner I'm used to with Sarah Dessen's novels. It took me a lot longer than normal to enjoy the book for what it was.Overall, it was a good read and I can't wait to re-read it again this week. Some of my opinions of above mentioneda things may change, and I may edit my review if it changes that drastically.(And I haven't slept in almost 48 hours so forgive me for any spelling/grammar/paragraphs that make very little sense please.):)-Elizabeth Gray

Good read

great book

A very real teen in a difficult situation. This book whizzes along amidst short order basketnBall and civic duty. Fun

Auch mit ihrem neuesten Werk entführt uns die talentierte Jugendbuchautorin Sarah Dessen in die ihren Romanen ganz eigene Welt.Wie gewohnt ist die Heldin dieser Geschichte Opfer schwieriger Familienverhältnisse und lernt im Laufe der Handlung damit umzugehen. Hier ist es Mclean, deren Eltern geschieden sind. Mclean lebt bei ihrem Vater und zieht häufig mit ihm um, da dieser beruflich in ganz Amerika unterwegs ist. Das Verhältnis zu ihrer Mutter ist schlecht und Mclean meidet sie, so gut sie kann. Um nicht wieder verletzt zu werden, achtet Mclean darauf, keine Bindungen einzugehen - dabei kommen die häufigen Umzüge günstig. Doch dann zieht sie wieder einmal um - und alles ändert sich.Mclean lernt Menschen kennen, die ihr nahe gehen und bei denen sie es wagt, sie selbst zu sein. Sie lernt zu vertrauen und Risiken einzugehen.Mclean ist ein recht pflegeleichter Charakter. Sie macht ihrem Vater kaum Schwierigkeiten, wenn auch die Streitereien mit ihrer Mutter immer wieder zu neuen Terminen mit den Anwälten führen. Vor allem definiert sich Mclean im Moment. Sie passt sich der aktuellen Stadt an und erfindet sich immer wieder neu - je nachdem, welcher Charakter am wenigsten aneckt. Erst nach und nach akzeptiert sie sich selbst und lernt, dass sie mögens- und liebenswert ist, so wie sie ist.Dabei hilft ihr vor allem der etwas seltsame und überaus intelligente Dave, der selbst erst vor kurzer Zeit einen Schritt Richtung Selbstbestimmung getan hat.Süß und einfühlsam erzählt Sarah Dessen von Selbstzweifel und Orientierungslosigkeit in einer Welt, in der alles unsicher zu sein scheint. Es geht um das Erwachsenwerden und um ein Abschließen mit der Vergangenheit. Aber auch Liebe und Vertrauen sind große Themen, die beeinflussen wie von den vorhin genannten Faktoren beeinflusst werden.Ganz im Stile der vorherigen Romane schreibt Dessen aus der Ich-Perspektive Mcleans und beschäftigt sich dabei stark mit deren Gefühlswelt. Wie gewohnt geht es um die leiden Töne, um die unterschwelligen Botschaften und den sanften Humor, der die Charaktere in Dessens Welt immer begleitet. Es gibt starke und facettenreiche Charaktere, die alle eine Existenzberechtigung haben und die Geschichte bereichern.Wie schon zuvor nutzt die Autorin auch hier eine Nebenhandlung um die Entwicklung der Protagonistin mit der fiktiven Welt zu verbinden - in diesem Fall ist das ein Modell von der Stadt, in der Mclean zur Zeit der Handlung lebt.Zum mitfiebern und schwärmen, zum selbstfinden und fremdbeobachten - ein klassischer Sarah Dessen, der Fans der Autorin wohl nicht enttäuschen wird. Schön!

I lost interest in reading the book part of the way through. The characters didn't keep me intrigued and the storyline lost my attention.