Review: That Summer by Sarah Dessen

Title: That Summer
Series: (standalone)
Author: Sarah Dessen
Date Published: orig January 1, 1996
Narrator: Mia Barron

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.

My Thoughts:

This is my first Sarah Desson book! I've been wanting to read her books for a long time. I've seen several of her books at bookstores and have heard many people talking about them for years.  I had bought a couple of her books awhile back, and...just haven't gotten to them.

So I finally decided to take the plunge and had to  pick a Desson book to read. I just wasn't sure which one to choose first. My natural inclination is to read them in the order that they are published. However, I noticed that That Summer, doesn't get the best reviews on Goodreads.  Many of the reviewers said that her books get better (this is her first book) and that I should probably start with one of those.

But, did I listen?

Of course not!

I saw the word 'summer' in the title and decided I should read it because, hello- it's summer! And then there's that part of me that likes to read stuff in order. Anywho, I saw that my library had the audio version of That Summer, and I figured that  I could listen to it while taking my oldest kid to and from summer school (don't ask).

First off, I want to say that I really enjoyed the narrator, Mia Barron. She did an excellent job and I felt like she captured the voice of Haven, perfectly! I also liked how she did the other characters' voices, and really brought them all to life.

This was a cute story, overall. Haven was likable for the most part. But, boy howdy, did I want to step in front of her and punch some people. I have to give a lot of credit to her mother, as she had so much that she had to deal with. I liked seeing how much she cared about her daughters and that she was a great parent. This was rather refreshing, as it seems that in many YA books, lately, the moms (and/or dads) are either mysteriously (conveniently) absent or substandard.  Now, Haven's dad, however, was one of those characters I wanted to punch...or at least yell at.

I've been in a similar situation as Haven, so I was rather surprised that she barely reacted to things that were happening to her. I kept waiting for her to sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk with a few people or to tell them off or something! But for most of the story she was just blasé about everything. There was so much build-up in the story and it seemed like nothing ever really got resolved at the end. I thought that the audiobook was having technical difficulties and just abruptly ended...but nope.

I will say that the characters were interesting, even if I only liked a few of them. But at the same time, we have all had to live with or be around people that we don't like at times, no? This made the story realistic in that regard.

With that said, I am glad that I did read That Summer. I am hoping to read one or two more of Dessen's books in the next couple of months. One of the things I appreciate is that they are all standalones and they all teach a valuable, life lesson.