Sarah Dessen

Following her parents' bitter divorce as she and her father move from town to town, seventeen-year-old Mclean reinvents herself at each school she attends until she is no longer sure she knows who she is or where she belongs.

What Happened to Goodbye

Manda

I’ve read a lot of Sarah Dessen’s books and I’m always very pleased with what I read. I felt the same way about What Happened to Goodbye.

When I got the chance to read and review this one, I hopped on it. I’ve read all or nearly all of Sarah Dessen’s books and they always leave me feeling refreshed and happy. Sarah Dessen deals with some tough personal battles within her novels, but they never get so deep that the book feels suffocating.

I really liked What Happened to Goodbye. I felt like Mclean was very real and someone that I could really relate to. Who doesn’t want to run away and start out new? I know I have many times. While I don’t recommend the things Mclean did to re-invent herself, I feel like ultimately they helped her find herself.

I really liked Dave and Jason in this book too. They were the perfect combination of nerdy and intelligent, but were both very different. I also enjoyed the romance in this novel. Too many times in YA fiction, the main characters meet and fall in love IMMEDIATELY. That irritates me. It isn’t realistic. I like that in Sarah Dessen’s books, romance takes time. It takes the characters time to realize their feelings for each other and it isn’t a whirlwind from the beginning.

All in all I really enjoyed this book. It kept me enthralled and I really felt it was believable and real. I loved the rawness of the characters and that they all were struggling just to fit in and make it. Each of them were struggling with very different things, but they all just wanted to be a part of something.

Emily Chernisky

Another amazing work was written by one of my favorite authors! I could relate so much to the storyline and events throughout the book, along with the rift between Mclean and her parents. The diversity of personality from Deb's unexpected knowledge to Heather's crazy ways just makes this story even more loveable. I especially love how Sarah Dessen links all of her books into one fictional world, anything from the towns to the people. This story about starting over and divorce and life's baggage can be related to for so many readers. Each character's background being unique as well as relateable creates this charm that resonates in my heart, and hopefully many other readers. Anyone who enjoys relateable romance will enjoy this book and I would definitely recommend reading this book as well as Sarah Dessen's many others.

Jeannette Ordas

I was excited to read the new Sarah Dessen, but I was disappointed in this read. The book seems to coast and slide its way to the goods without delivering much of a wallop. Bummer.

A New York Times bestseller A new day. A new place. A new life. In the past few years, Mclean has pretended to be so many different people that she hardly remembers who she really is anymore. The adorable guy next door might be able to help her figure it out. But is she ready for it? “A cut above” —People Also by Sarah Dessen: Along for the Ride Dreamland Just Listen Keeping the Moon Lock and Key The Moon and More Someone Like You That Summer This Lullaby The Truth About Forever

devin.reads

This definitely wasn't one of my favorite books by Dessen. The story was good, just wasn't as entertaining as other books I have read by her. Overall, I am glad that I read it.

Lauren Hendrix

Arianna DeWitt

Sarah Dessen is my favorite author right now. The way she writes just keeps you interested through the whole book. It’s hard to put her books down.

Somya Verma

What happened to goodbye by sarah Dessen is a book that explains how a young teenage girl deals with her parents divorce by becoming different people all the while trying to find herself. I would recommend this book for teenagers because of the things that McLean has to deal with.

Anna Campbell

Not 100% predictable, and it was more about family conflict and friendships than a love story! I really liked the Deb character and how she kept surprising everyone.

Samantha 

I love Sarah Dessen books! She always does great! another 5 star read!

Hannah Wall

This has to be my favorite of Sarah Dessen’s books. Her books aren’t my favorite, but once you put it down, you immediately want to pick it back up and finish. McLean’s perspective on life is close to how I am with new things coming and the insight she brings me is very helpful!

Jade Flynn

*4.5 stars. 

“It was amazing how you could get so far from where you'd planned, and yet find it was exactly were you needed to be.” 

No matter how hard you try, you can never run from who you truly are.

What Happened to Goodbye is a captivating young adult novel about learning to be true to yourself, from New York Times Number One bestseller Sarah Dessen, author of Just Listen and Lock and Key. Mclean never lets herself get too attached. . . After the scandal of her mother's affair, Mclean and her dad chose life on the road. But since losing her family and home Mclean has lost herself too; she's been Eliza, then Lizbet, then Beth - changing her name as often as she changed towns. Until now. Her neighbour, Dave, is like no one she's met before. It's as if she's always known him, and just like that, she becomes Mclean again. Is it finally time to stop reinventing? Or will Mclean turn her back on the new life she loves, without even saying goodbye... Acclaim for Sarah Dessen: 'Unputdownable' MIZZ 'A poignant coming-of-age story' Big Issue 'A compelling story and beautifully written' Time Out Sarah Dessen is the author of six stunning teen novels: Just Listen, The Truth About Forever, Lock and Key, That Summer and Along for the Ride. She lives in the countryside in North Carolina with her daughter, husband, some lizards and two very spoilt dogs - read her once and fall in love.

we're making progress here, sarah dessen.

Allyson Marrs

b.andherbooks

Every time McLean moves she adopts a new persona. This is her fourth move in less than two years, but this time maybe she'll try to be Mclean again if only she herself could figure out what that means.

Not my favorite Dessen, as I found the overall story arc to be a bit bland. Mclean has struggles and she handles them nicely and fairly neatly, which lends to the lack of excitement.

Devin Jones

Elad Schulman

Another Sarah Dessen novel! What Happened to Goodbye is another one of Sarah Dessens slow, but amazing novels. Roughly, it is about a teenage girl, Mclean, who moves every few months because of her fathers job. Every town, she makes herself a new name, and a new identity. But, of course, this new town is different. 

A great novel for those who love romance, and a good, slow book.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

I can never get enough Sarah Dessen. Her 13th book, 
  Once and For All
, is releasing in a few weeks, so to celebrate we are all reading (or re-reading, as the case may be) Sarah Dessen books!! I've read and adored quite a few of her books, but there are still a few that were on my TBR. So when I received notice of this campaign, I immediately jumped aboard! First I read This Lullaby (check out my review!) and really enjoyed it. Next up was this adorable read, What Happened to Goodbye, which I really enjoyed as well!

McLean is on the go... again. Since her parent's separation, McLean has chosen to stay with her father and tag along as he relocates time and time again for work. McLean has never really felt as though she had a "home" since she traveled so much. She even used fake names and fake personalities when visiting different locations, always scared to show her true colors and actually meet people that she would be sure to have to leave in the near future. I can only imagine how tough this type of life must be... and seeing McLean handle it the way she did really hit me hard. However, as McLean lands in the new small town, she finds herself sharing her real name and actually acting like herself for once. But will this end up hurting her in the long run?

I fully appreciated the way McLean and these friendships with the locals were developed. This group of friends was a lot of fun, and I loved getting to see their bonds blossom throughout McLean's time with them. I was also a big fan of the relationship between McLean and her father, as well as the struggling relationship between McLean and her somewhat estranged mother. The way this issue was addressed was very well done. It's easy to "know" that something happened... but the understanding and the accepting of the situation is a lot harder to do. Watching McLean learn how to handle this situation and less-than-ideal relationship with her mother (and her "new" family) was something I really appreciated in this story. 

“Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on a map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, whenever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and then another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go.” 

I'm so happy I chose this one to read for the campaign. And, of course, I'm always happy when I get the chance to be submerged into Sarah Dessen's adorable and fun writing.

“When you can't save yourself or your heart, it helps to be able to save face.” 

If you haven't read Sarah Dessen yet, now's the PERFECT time!! All of Dessen's novels are perfect beach reads. Lighthearted, coming-of-age stories, that are equal parts adorable and swoony. Though this wasn't my very favorite Dessen, it was definitely a great story that I recommend to YA contemporary readers looking for a cute story to be submerged into.

A HUGE thank you to Penguin Teen for providing me a finished copy of What Happened to Goodbye as part of this #ReadADessen Campaign!

 

  


(Thanks to Penguin Teen for the copy!)

Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Ashley Dellefave

In an effort to go back to my teenage roots, I decided to return to some of Sarah Dessen’s chick lit books that I was so obsessed with in high school. Either I have a terrible memory for books or I never actually read this one despite being convinced that I had....
I can tell why these books are geared towards young adults, as it was cute but overall just okay. Wasn’t a waste of time but also left me feeling just kind of meh, like I could’ve done with or without it. I’ll be interested to see how I feel about some of her other books once I get to those.

What Happened to Goodbye

Reviews