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Monday 3 February 2014

Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Page Count: 435 Pages, Hardcover
Date Published: June 4th, 2013
Find it on Goodreads: The Moon and More
Source: Purchased


Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.
Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.
Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?
Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?
Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.


As a long time Sarah Dessen fan, I'm sad to say I'm a little bit disappointed... When I first started The Moon and More, I loved it. I went in with high hopes, especially since it was set in Colby and there were references to some of past characters that I loved, like Auden from Along for the Ride. There were also a lot of situations that I could relate to that Emaline went through, especially with her parents. Some of the things discussed in the book were so similar to my own life that I felt like Dessen had taken if from my head. But as I continued to read, I fell out of the beach-read daze and it fell flat.

While reading, I felt as if nothing really happened in the story. The family issues were the only part that really kept me reading, especially Emaline's relationship with her little brother, but I felt like the romance aspect of the novel was almost... unnecessary. Which is weird, considering it's a Dessen book. Right? There was a love triangle, which was probably one of my main problems with this book and it keeping my attention... I just didn't really feel anything for either of the guys. I liked Theo, I guess... he was geeky and artsy and very enthusiastic, but it just felt really forced for me. Then there was Luke, Emaline's long-time boyfriend who was sweet and all, but he also could be kind of a.... nincompoop. I just didn't feel anything for either of them, which was weird, considering I usually love the romances Dessen writes.

I am happy to say that I did like how the book ended, but by that time I had been trying to lug through it for a month and I just wanted to finish it. This wasn't my favourite Dessen novel, but I did like it in the beginning and the end... It was just the middle that had me disappointed.



Happy reading!
~Kristy


1 comment:

  1. Seeing this review has just reminded me that I'm still technically in the middle of reading this...although, I've kind of been 'in the middle of reading this' for...hmm...a few months??? :/ It sounds like I'm headed down the same road as you, though. I'm also a big fan of Sarah Dessen's but although, like you, I was initially caught up in the summery, beachy feel of the novel, I began to slowly lose interest...hence the fact why I put it aside for a while and kind of forgot about it... *sigh* I should probably go finish it though

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