What Happened to Goodbye in What's the Name of That Book???

May 07, 2011 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: mt-bookpile-2011-2015, old-reads

This doesn't need a lot of selling, because by now Sarah Dessen has a dedicated following and a recognizable formula: girl with some problem falls in love and resolves the problem by the end. What moved this from a 3 to a 4 for me was one scene directly out of Chas. Addams (you'll know it when you read it). Honestly, I never thought that I'd giggle over a Sarah Dessen book, but that one scene? Giggleable.

Maclean - or Liz, Beth, Lizbeth or Eliza - is the product of a Broken Marriage. Mom stayed " ...more

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Oct 08, 2010 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, age-ya

Ever since her parents' divorce (following her mother's affair with the university basketball coach of her father's favorite basketball team), Mclean's been moving every few months with her dad, who steps in at failing restaurants and attempts to make them a success. Each time they move, Mclean becomes a different persona, from Eliza to Beth to Lizbet. In the newest town, she decides to become "Liz," and joins a loud party at the house next door. But when the cops bust the party and Mclean finds ...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Rachel Piper rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I read this book in one gulp when it first came out, and really didn't have much memory of what I liked/didn't. Reading it more slowly gave me more a taste of the good ... and the bad, unfortunately.

I've read that this book took Sarah Dessen a year and a half to write, and it shows -- the writing itself is flawless, if a bit much for me at times, but the plot itself drags. I wonder if Dessen should have been writing another story (see below).

Sarah Dessen is still my top writer, but What Happened ...more

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May 30, 2011 Emma rated it really liked it

Shelves: bea

Mclean Sweet used to have the perfect life. But that was years ago and miles away. Before her parents' bitter divorce. Before she and her father started moving from town to town like it was going out of style.

It was long before Mclean started reinventing herself in each new town. Eliza, Lizbet, Beth. All of her personas have a different story: cheerleader, drama nerd, student government junkie. It's easy to live the part once you choose the role, once you let the moments choose you. Especially w Mclean Sweet used to have the perfect life. But that was years ago and miles away. Before her parents' bitter divorce. Before she and her father started moving from town to town like it was going out of style.

It was long before Mclean started reinventing herself in each new town. Eliza, Lizbet, Beth. All of her personas have a different story: cheerleader, drama nerd, student government junkie. It's easy to live the part once you choose the role, once you let the moments choose you. Especially when none of them are the real Mclean. Especially when Mclean doesn't even know who the real her is anymore.

Things are different in Lakeview. Instead of adopting a new persona for this newest town, Mclean starts being herself--or as close to it as she can be anymore. Seemingly random moments come together leading Mclean to friends and maybe even a home all while forcing her to do the unthinkable: just be real in What Happened to Goodbye (2011) by Sarah Dessen.

What Happened to Goodbye is Dessen's tenth novel and, as it turns out, this one proves that her writing really does live up to all of the hype.

Dessen's writing is literary and immediately appealing as she evokes not only a town and a lifestyle but also Mclean's emotions as she struggles with what it means to make a place for herself in yet another new community as Dessen brings up a lot of interesting threads about what family, and home, really mean.

The story here meanders towards the end in a way that makes perfect sense and ultimately fits perfectly for the story and the characters. And happily so since What Happened to Goodbye is all about the characters--Mclean, of course, but also her friends and her family as well. Every bit of this story is character driven and all of it comes together to great effect in a book that is really quite lovely.

Possible Pairings: Drawing the Ocean by Carolyn MacCullough, The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti, Moonglass by Jessi Kirby, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford ...more

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Jan 19, 2011 CLM rated it liked it

Shelves: ya, 21st-century

I felt as if this was a book waiting to happen: it was full of stock Dessen characters - quirky friends for the heroine, quirky (but dull) boyfriend for the heroine, parents who love but don't understand her, but not much else. I think Sarah needs to write a new book and not the same one, again and again, even if that is what her younger readers want. Maybe the pressure of trying to crank out a book every year is too much; regardless, something is sapping her creativity. And what a tease having ...more

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Sep 20, 2011 Jess rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, young-adult

This didn't stand out from the pack of Sarah Dessen books, but still made for an enjoyable read, with the expected heartache along the way and happy ending. ...more

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