No Books, No Life

That Summer by Sarah Dessen

The summer of weddings... This summer Haven's father is getting married to the "weather pet" who he cheated on her mom with. Also, her sister, Ashley, is getting married to her boyfriend, however much Haven doesn't like him. But when Sumner, Ashley's longtime boyfriend, comes back to town, Haven's whole perspective on her life and the lifes' around her changes for the better. But was life as perfect as she remembered back when Ashley and Sumner were together? What really happened That Summer?

I have been wanting to read a book by Sarah Dessen for a while. I own quite a few of her books, but always planned on reading them in the order they were released, just so I could get the full experience like fans from the beginning have done. I decided that if I ever saw That Summer anywhere that I would buy it, no matter what. When I was a charitable book fair and I saw this, I knew right then that I would get it. There were two bonuses in doing so- I only paid a dollar for it and the money went to the charity! Needless to say, the very same weekend I was in the mood for some realistic fiction and decided to pick this up. So far I am very impressed with Sarah Dessen!

I loved how real the characters were. They kept me entertained at the good times, and the sad times I really felt for them. Not all of them were that 3D, but the majority of them were and the ones that weren't really didn't contribute to the story as much as they could have.

I really appreciated the open ending. It helped me imagine scenarios that might happen next, but at the same time I was a little confused about the last line, how it says that the first boy is always the hardest. I'm sort of thinking that she is saying that in the future, but at the same time I was sort of wondering if maybe she had started to fall in love with Sumner... It's probably just wishful thinking on my part since the whole book I was sort of rooting on them getting together, but at the same time I'm still not 100% sure. I don't know, I wish the author would say one way or another, but at the same time I think she meant for us to guess at what she meant. Again, this is just wishful thinking on my part and I could just be imagining things.

I really liked the writing style. If this was her first book, I really can't wait to check out her other ones! My rating wasn't as high as it could have been just because of how short the book was and the secrets being kept from other people, like Ashley not telling Haven the real reason why her relationship with Sumner ended. These were just minor problems though, and I understand that they added to the plot.

If you haven't already, you should check out some of Dessen's books. I would recommend them to anyone who wants a nice summer read.

Thanks for reading!
~Bri