That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Title: That Summer

Author: Sarah Dessen

Length: 198 pages

Publisher: Speak

Classification: Young Adult, Contemporary

Release Date: June 2012 (First Released in October 1996)

Source: Paperback 

Read: June 2014

The more things change... As far as Haven is concerned, there's just too much going on. Everything is changing, and she's not sure where she fits in. Then her sister's old boyfriend shows up, sparking memories of the summer when they were all happy and everything was perfect... But along the way, Haven realizes that sometimes change is a good thing. 

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A quick summer read. It did not take me too long to read it.

This book was my second Sarah Dessen book, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I did, The Truth About Forever, but I did like the book.

The Story:

Overall, I liked the book, but there were some parts that frustrated me. I was also unsatisfied with the ending, I was left wondering what else happened, and specifically what was going on with one of the not-main-characters that was mentioned a few times throughout the story but I didn't get an understanding of what was going on with this character. 

I wasn't really sure what to expect when I started reading this book, but I did think it would have to do with summer romance since on the cover there is a couple on the beach in the background. 

But I was surprised that there didn't really seem to be a love interest for the main character. Instead of finding romance, she discovered something else. I found this to be interesting. I really tend to like the romance part of books, but it is refreshing to come across a book without romance for the main character.

The Characters:

For the most part I don't feel that I really connected with any of the characters that much. I think the character I cared for the most was the main character Haven. But even then, I didn't connect with this character as much as I have other characters.

She really did have a lot of personal issues to deal with about her family. So this book had a lot to do about various changes happening in the main character's life. And she did think about the past a bit. 

I liked that the character was tall and dealing with some of the issues that tall women might be dealing with during high school. I have always been on the tall side myself and I know that I spent a lot of my teenage years wishing I wasn’t so tall.

My Recommendation:

I enjoyed the book, but I don't think it is one that I will read again in the future. If you like quick books that have a character dealing with the changes in her life, then you may like this one. 

My Rating: