What Happened to Goodbye

By: Sarah Dessen

"believable characters with relatable problems - Dessen continues her tradition."

Mclean’s moved with her dad to three towns in two years, reinventing herself with each move. It’s the best way she’s found to cope with her parents’ heartbreaking and public divorce. When she and her dad move the fourth time, though, all of her rules change naturally and unexpectedly. She makes new friends, like Riley, Deb, and Dave—especially Dave—and puts down some roots, always expecting to have to pull them back up again. Instead of getting a new name, becoming a new person, she stays Mclean. The problem is that she’s not sure what being Mclean means anymore.

The most common word used to describe Sarah Dessen is this: perceptive. It’s splattered all over her book jackets and in book reviews, and I’ll use it again in mine. She gets inside the teenage psyche and creates believable characters with real and relatable problems. Though she doesn’t write sequels, Dessen often resurrects old places and minor characters, so it’s like seeing old friends. It feels comfortable, like stepping into a soft, slightly worn slipper that’s molded to your foot—always a comfort and a pleasure. Dessen continues her tradition in her tenth novel, What Happened to Goodbye, revealing darkness found in everyday life and showing hope in the end through a truly beautiful story.

Haley