I've read a lot of books...in fact, when I scan the young adult section of a book store, I've read more of the books then I haven't.
Anyways...this book is the best book I've read for as long as I can remember, actually it ties with my other favorite, Life in the Fat Lane, but thats just a personal favorite. This book is so amazing I cannot describe it. I cried so much. I've read all 5 of Sarah Dessen's books, and they are all great. I can't wait for the movie, How to Deal. This book was the best of hers.
It is basically about an average high school girl named Caitlin, who's perfect sister has gone AWOL to be with her boyfriend, whos best friend is beautiful and envied, and who just wants something to be her own. When she meets Rogerson, she sees him as her chance to be herself, and soon she falls in love with this mysterious, brilliant character. I personally never expected Rogerson to go bad, I fell in love with him at the beginning, but my love was turned to hate when he starts physically abusing Caitlin. Caitlin has fallen into a dreamland, and becomes controlled by Rogerson, meanwhile not talking to her sister who is trying to make contact with the family again. I would tell you if Caitlin gets strong enough to leave Rogerson at the end, but YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK!

I've read this book three times now, and it still astounds me how real the writing, plot, and characters feel. Rogerson is Sarah Dessen's best written character to date. You know while reading the book that you're supposed to hate him, but before he starts hitting Caitlin you actually start to feel sympathetic to his character, especially after the scene where his father hits him. She makes him a very memorable character with the trivia he always seems to know the answers to. So many authors would make him a clear cut villian type, but instead Sarah Dessen makes you hate him one minute and feel sorry for him the next.
This book is so much more than just a story about an abusive relationship, too. It's more of a story about a girl's downward spiral after she feels her family doesn't value her. One thing I've noticed about this book, is that the more into the relationship with Rogerson Caitlin gets, the less she sees of her family and friends. The author could have just told the reader that, but instead she shows it, by having less and less of Boo and Stewart, Rina, and even Caitlin's mom and dad in the book.
I admit that I don't like the last 30 pages as well as the rest of the book. It's okay, but not nearly as powerful and good as it could, or should, have been. Nevertheless, this is an amazing book you won't soon forget.

This book was incredible! My best friend told me to read, DREAMLAND, which i did. Caitlin & the other characters seemed so real to me that I sometimes forgot that it was just a story. I couldn't stop reading, until i was: A) tired or B) finished completely. It took me 4 days to read Dreamland, yet it seemed like a forever. I became very attached to Caitlin, Cass, Corinna, Boo, & even though i'd hate to admit it -- Rogerson, too. Whenever Caitlin was about to get hit or punched or even kicked i'd have a huge knot grow inside my stomach. As if I, too, felt some of her pain, even though that's impossible. I fell that I somewhat relate to Caitlin, but not in as many ways as you'd think. I, too, feel like I'm living in a Dreamland. Each day slips away, like it were a dream made up by my very own imagination. A part of me wished that Caitlin would've told everything to her photography teacher, Matthew, when he pointed out something about her picture of Rogerson:

Matthew nodded, his eyes still on the photograph. "It looks," he said in a lower vioce, just to me, "like you know him a little better than he'd like you to."(pg 152)

I wished & wished after he said it that Caitlin would somehow fall for him, yet she never did. I believe that Rogerson jumps to conclusions way to fast & is very impatient, I could never be his girlfriend, ha! Oh there's so much I'd like to say about DREAMLAND, but I'd give the whole story away & I'd hate 2 do that! All i can say is that the ending is incredible. Sarah Dessen leads the reader through a story that teaches Caitlin, that sometimes the ones we love the most, hurt us the worst.

*No one can explain life, therefore it is a mystery.*

Although Christopher Pike is my #1 writer, I do find this book just as good as his own. I'm even inspired that Sarah could write something like this, so real, so passionate, so sad. I've read one other book, this summer, besides Dreamland that's made me very emotional & grown attached to the characters. The other book was The Last Vampire Series, by Pike. They both made me very teary & even happy at times. Each of the authors actually let you fell what the girls themselves fell,{Caitlin & Sita)as if you were them. The 2 writers are an inspriation, both to me & millions of other young adults in the world. I truly think if your a teenage girl you should read this & FAST, you'll learn a whole lot about life if you do. I hope Sarah can write more incredible novels like DREAMLAND, where dreams arent just real, they are lived...does that make sense? maybe it doesn't, but it sounds right, to me at least. I maybe confusing you, but everything can become confusing if you dont take the time to understand it. Well I do hope you take my "wonderful" advice & read Dreamland in your near future. Trust me, you'll thank me when you're through reading it! ;)

Sarah Dessen has been my favorite author ever since I first read one of her books, and since then I have read every book that she was written. I picked up This Lullaby right after I saw that it had come out. The story is about a girl, Remy, who is the daughter of dead rock star, who wrote a song for her called "This Lullaby" before he died. Remy has learned not to believe in love, after watching her mom get married and divorced 5 times. She has a constant cylce of boyfriends- a whole plan, and schedule, including when to dump them. All of that changes wehn she meets Dexter, and musician who approaches her one day and claims that they were "meant to be." In the next few weeks, they run into eachother often, and, although Dexter is everything that Remy hates, a romance is born, and Remy realizes that maybe she's fallen in love without knowing it. A great story with a lot of concepts on love, and is definitly a great read.

This Lullaby was an overall excellent book. It was written lyracally and beautifully, using descriptive language and interesting word choice. I read it because Sarah Dessen has such smooth, round writing, while covering tough or strange topics. Nevertheless, the writing fits together wonderfully, and this book was a great example to that.
This book was about a soon-to-be college student who can't wait to get out of her small, boring town. With her mother's fifth marrige on her hands and her cynical view on love, life can be tough for Remy. She has compleatly given up on love, seeing how her mother has turned out, and just knows when to break up with a guy. Then everything changes when she meets a musician named Dexter. He is exactly what she hates about some guys. He's messy, a musician, poor, but then she decides that maybe he isn't so bad after all.....

Remy has never been involved too long with a boyfriend, but who can blame her? Her mother is about to start her fifth marriage! Remy has actually come to believe that she has a heart of stone and that love is not real. When she's least expecting it, she meets Dexter, her complete opposite. He's a musician which has always been a warning sign for Remy considering her father, who is long gone, was one himself. Dexter's clutter and vices soon make up a part of Remy she's been missing.
This book will teach you that first impressions can either be everything or nothing. It is the ideal book for teenage girls who need a good novel to keep them interested for awhile. I found I could relate to a lot of what the characters were going through. Their antics will melt your heart and give you a good laugh. After reading This Lullaby, I was so motivated that I continued on to reading three other books by Sarah Dessen: she definitely won me over!

This book, "Someone Like You", is one of the best books I have ever read. It tells the story of two best friends, Halley and Scarlett during their junior year experiencing many difficult times as well as happy ones. At the beginning of the year, Scarlett discovers something that will change her life forever, and Halley is the only person that will stick with her throughout it all even though she is experiencing problems of her own, such as, her mother, her dad's embarrassing stories, her dying grandmother and her reckless boyfriend. The book is definitely worth reading, and its one of those books that once u pick up u can't put it back down! I loved it from the first page to the last and I can't wait to read other books by Sarah Dessen. So read "Someone Like You" and I'm positive you WON'T be dissappointed! Enjoy!

This book was an incredible tale of two best friends. The girls are so different that they make a perfect pair. Scarlett is the pretty and well known girl at school, where as Halley is more reserved and know as "Scarlett's friend". Halley gets called home from camp when Scarlett's boyfriend dies in an accident. She helps deal with the grief and becomes like a second mother when Scarlett finds out she's pregnant. Dessen does an unbelievable job of writing from a teen's point of view (Halley). Everything is so realistic, you would think a teen wrote it themself. When Halley meets Macon a rebelous, risk taking guy, her life begins to change. Dessen incorporates the hard choices like family, parties, drugs, alcohol, and sex into this story. Halley has to break away from her strict parents, and hide a lot from them, leading to a dangerous incident. Sometimes it takes a bad thing to make us realize what's important and who's there for us - Halley is a perfect example. Any teen who's experienced a first love will relate to this book. Sometimes guys aren't what we think they are! Dessen mixes humor with love and sadness all in one book. I recommend this book to any teenage girl. I know I couldn't put it down, and most teens have been through the exact situations in this book. You'll love it.

"Life is an awful ugly place not to have a friend" -Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen really shows how special a best friend can be in Someone like You. This book makes you think about how friendships can change your life with any situation brought upon you, boyfriends, parents, drugs, or a pregnancy. But how the real friends will always stay around. Usually I shoot for the fantasy books, ones where you can ride in the mystical rainforest on a silky black Pegasus. Sarah Dessen really made Halley's and Scarlet's lives seem so real though, like I was actually there. Everything that Halley or Scarlet did I followed. Halley, who is an only child and never really disobeyed her parents until her senior year, narrates this book. This was the year where everything changed. Halley's best friend Scarlet had a boyfriend, who died in a motorcycle accident, leaving Scarlet to find out she was pregnant with his child. To make things worse Halley gets involved in a bad relationship where she gets into things such as drugs, and close to having sex. As I read on, a question came to me on whether I would stay with my friends if all of that happened to me. But same as Halley and Scarlet my friends mean the world to me. So there is no doubt in my mind, that I would do anything for my best friend, just like Halley would do anything for Scarlet. My English teacher recommended this book for me to read, since I had already read another one of Sarah Dessen's books called Keeping the Moon. Both are very similar, friendship is the main topic throughout the whole story. If I were to recommend this book to someone else, it would have to be someone who loves their friends and would do anything for them. Since Someone like You has some very strong emotions in it, and situations a lot of teenagers go through I think it is aiming toward high school girls. Any younger may not understand how important your friends are when going through some life situations like the ones Halley and Scarlet faced. The best thing about this book is that it really tells a deeper story then the words on the page. It tells you how ugly things can be, but how a friend can see you through everything and beyond. So I'm so glad I have my friends!

Have you ever been at the age of about 15 and just felt happy, sad, scared, nervous, and excited all at the same time? This is how Haven, a 6 foot tall 15 year old girl feels in the book, That Summer, by Sarah Dessen.
Her father just got remarried to the wheather girl he had an affair with, her "perfect" sister is getting married to this dull and boring guy, and her mother is thinking of selling their house. Her house is crazy and Haven cannot comprehend why all these things are going the way they're going: all wrong. She can't help but wonder why her sister isn't marrying Sumner, the perky, always fun to be with guy that she dated 2 summers ago.
Then one night, she's at dinner with her dad when she sees Sumner. Thery talk for about a 1/2 hour and over the course of the summer run into each other more and more. Now that they're so close, she can't help but think, does she love him? Can she replace her sister's fiance with him? Is her stepmom really
pregnant now? And why is no one paying any attention to her?
In this book, you really relate to what she's going through and feel like you're going along for the ride with her. There's so much going on, you can never get bored. It's a good easy read for all ages, but is best for teenagers.

In Sarah Dessen's first novel, Haven, a tall 15 year-old girl tries to deal with her life changing summer, while reminiscing about a special one that stood out in her memory. The summer where everyting was right and perfect and happy. The summer that her older sister Ashley was dating Sumner, and her parents were happy and together. Back in reality though, this summer was crazy, and strange- nothing was the same anymore. Her dad runs off with the "Weather Pet" and her sister is getting married to a boring guy named Lewis. Her best friend returns from camp a totally different girl, who smokes and has a long term boyfriend. Even Haven herself has changed. he is almost six feet tall, uncomfortable with herself and her looks. The boy who made everything right, Sumner Lee, makes a re-appearance after all those years during this summer, and Haven thinks he is the key to making everything go away and be normal again. By the end of this crazy summer, Haven finds herself and understands so many more things than she did before. Sarah Dessen is an oustanding author, who writes with a laid-back, detailed style that anyone can somehow relate to. Her characters are well-developed, and unforgetable. This is a book that you don't want to put down, but after you've finished it, you wish you had savored every page, not wanting it to end. It is sweet, truthful, sad, and funny, all at the same time.

"That Summer" was about a girl named Haven. Haven is a fifteen-year-old who is going through a lot of bad changes in her life. Her life is very similar to other teenagers lives in our world today. She would always get picked on at school because of how tall and thin she was. Also, the changes she was going through seemed pretty sad. She was dealing with her parents getting a divorce and her father re-marrying and her sister getting married for the first time. It was summer time for her, and there was two weddings going on. One of the weddings was for her father and Lorna Queen, and ther other was for her sister and Lewis Warsher. She wasn't all that happy.

I truly enjoyed reading this book by Sarah Dessen. I loved it so much because it was hilarious. Well, it was not only hilarious, but the story was also sad, very heart warming, and also sweet as well. Reading this book has reminded me a lot about the character Mia Thermopolis from "The Princess Diaries" by Meg Cabot. The way that she was getting picked on at school because of how weird she looked was exactly what was happening to Mia. I really like reading books about teenagers lives. I like to see what happens and what they go through. That's why i enjoyed reading this book.

My favorite part in this book would be in chapter eleven. In chapter eleven, they are apparently only three days away from her sister Ashley's wedding. She talks about how everyone was kind of stressing themselves out, and how they were trying to get everything done before the wedding. The funny part was when she was describing how her father looked when he and his new wife, Lorna came back from the Bahamas. She said,"My father came back with even more hair, a sunburn,..." I always love reading the funny parts. It reminded me of my grandpa. He barely had any hair. That was one good laugh!

just a warning: i ordered this book thinking that it was a new book by sarah dessen. sadly, i got it today, and it is really just two of her other books, Someone Like You and That Summer, put into one book. The reason for the different title is because they have combined these two books into one movie called How to Deal, starring Mandy Moore. I have read both novels seperately, and they are great, especially someone like you, so if you haven't read them, this book would be a good thing for you to purchase.

Someone Like You and That Summer are amazing especially Someone Like You. And to have both of the books joined into How To Deal was even more amazing. The Movie Starring Mandy Moore, Alexandra Holden and Trent Ford is one to look forward to. The book is great as well! Buy! And Check out the movie on July 18th, 2003!!

For those of you looking for a great read, How To Deal is the perfect book. You will be getting two of Sarah Dessen's novels in one: Someone Like You and That Summer. The Movie How To Deal was made based on these two books. Both are wonderful reads for adolescent girls going through the pains and joys of growing up. In Someone Like You, best friends Halley and Scarlette struggle through Scarlette's pregnancy and together strive through the loss of a close friend. This book shows the blessings of a best friend, and how important it is to have someone to care about. In That Summer, Haven struggles through the pains of family life and first loves. It teaches the importance of family sticking together, and how wonderful and painful first loves can be. Both books are excellent novels and guides that every teenage girl will be able to relate to.

After I finished reading this book, I found I really didn't like it. The narrator is kind of boring and whiney. The secondary characters however, are a lot stronger than the main character. Isabel, the pretty waitress, is one of Sarah Dessen's best characters ever. She has great lines, a great personality, and is really well drawn. You could picture her character as a real person; she isn't cliched.
The story, especially for a Sarah Dessen novel, is extremely ordinary and obvious. It's been done ten thousand times over. I like Sarah Dessen's books because most of the time they have unusual storylines. This one is just the typical "former fat girl has low self-esteem but learns that loving who you are is true beauty" plot. It also had the typical "father and son don't get along because the son won't go into the family business" storyline with Norman. This book might still have had a chance to be saved if not for the extremely predictable ending where Colie realizes she's fallen for Norman.
The best part of this book is the "Chick Night". It has great descriptions and is really fun and believable (aside from the cheesy part where they dance around singing "I Will Survive").
Sarah Dessen became my favorite author because she didn't write typical young adult books like this one. She favors an unusual story and memorable characters, and writes great depictions. This book, however, while it has awesome description, is strongly lacking in the other areas.

I read Keeping the Moon, by Sarah Dessen. The main character, Colie, is the daughter of Katharine Sparks. Or Kiki Sparks, when people started to recognizing her when she was trying to loose weight. Colie was also over weight and was always called names at school and in public. Colie spent a summer with her aunt in Colby, North Carolina, when her mom was on tour. She thought it would be the worst summer of her life. She had no friends at home so why should she find some here. Although she isn't over weight anymore people see her as many different things. On her vacation she notice that her aunt has a problem too. The man who lives with her aunt lets Colie have a job when she is visiting. When she was working she met two girls, Morgan and Isabel. Theses girls are best friends and want to show Colie what her life is about. Colie goes through many things in Colby. The whole summer was adventures to her. I liked this book a lot. There were many things that people could relate to. How you could make friends, and also how you could see the person inside of you, so you know what you are made of. This book kept my enjoyment from the beginning to the end. I think anyone would enjoy this book.

"Keeping the Moon" is a great novel by a great author. Our story begins with Colie Sparks, sent off to stay with her ~eccentric~ Aunt while her fitness queen mother tours Europe. Colie expects to have a boring summer. Her Aunt Mira IS eccentric, and Norman (a hippy who live downstairs) seems just plain weird to Colie. But things start to change when Colie goes for a walk down to the local diner, appropriatly named "Last Chance"; and we learn once again that first impressions can be premature assumptions. This is a wonderful book well worth the time and money. I don't consider "Keeping the Moon" as "light hearted" as one reviewer said; but it's not a stock serious book, either. I highly reccomend this book, along with "That Summer" (also by Sara Dessen).

...It is about a girl named Halley who is just dropped off at a camp called Sister Hood camp, she begins to change, when her best friend Scarlett calls her late at night, saying her boyfriend Michal the most popluar boy in her high school, has been killed on his brand new motercycle, later in "Someone Like You" We find out about Scarlett being pregnet with Michal's child. We find out about how she goes though it with Halley's help! Meanwhile Halley is finding herself with her first love a boy named Macon who was Michal's best friend, she faces diffacuilt desions thourgh out there relationship. It is a fablous book, it really taught me about myself! Meanwhile "Keeping the Moon" is complatly opposite and is still a great story! It is about a girl named Colie who has always been teased about her weight, same as her mother, they where always traveling, intil one day her mother meets a health club owner, she helps her mom find a job as a fitness women and Colie and her lose a lot of pounds, but meanwhile the jet-black died hair and the lip ring makes Colie different when she has to stay with her crazy Aunt, for the summer. She meets friends that will change her and makes her more confident about herself and her weight, she even falls for someone! These books were faboulos and great!I loved them both! Read them!

This two books were the best books I have ever read! The author Sarah Dessen, is a great writer. She truly brings life to any character that she writes about. This two stories are about incrediable heroines that will make you want to read more of her work. They are about to girls facing there problems and are willing to overcome them. Each different they make both stories excellent!!! "Someone like You" is about a girl named Halley who has always been close to her mother but when dropped off at camp things change when her best friend Scarlett calls saying her boyfriend died and later in the story she friends out that Scarlett is pregnet. While Halley is soon falling for someone herself and that realationship with a boy name Macon. It truely taught me about myself. "Keeping the moon" is about a girl named Nicole, called Colie, her mother and her used to be extremly over-weight intil her Mom becomes a famous fitness instructer, appearing on T.V. and more she is send to live with her Aunt, crazy as she is for the summer, while her Mom promotes things in Europe. It was a great book also. These are fantastic books!!!!! I reccomend it to any 13 and up girl! One who is mature!

This book is really cool and nice, i like it a lot. It's a really good book, because it's just so excellent. The book is like the best and there is no other book as good as this one because this book is the best. It's like really cool, too. I like it greatly, please read it because it is just so good, it's unbelievable. This book is like super-cool and it's just so nice and swell. This is like the bestest book ever.
Oh yeah and after reading this review you probably think i didn't really read the book, but i did i was just too lazy to write a real review 'cause that's too much work for me.