Book Review: Sarah Dessen's "Once and For All"

7:00 AM

Hi Y'all,

This book is all about weddings. The main character, Louna, works for her mother: a wedding planner. Louna's outlook on life can be called skeptical at best after a recent event, and the amount of weddings her mother helps to plan (often the second or third wedding) don't help. This book isn't complete without a bet that with all facts figured in, both are going to lose.

If you're familiar with Dessen's other books, it reads very much the same way: some situation has happened in the past, and overtime that situation comes to light and then you understand why the character acts the way they do. Personally, I've been a big fan of her work since high school (and eagerly checked out her books at both the school and public library).

This book (like many others in the market today) tries to talk about a difficult societal issue. Dessen keeps the information to a minimum throughout the majority of the book. I liked this slightly hidden plot element because it allowed for the rest of the plot to really shine through.

Overall, this was definitely a well written book (like all of her novels have been). However, I feel like this one was captivating unlike any of her other novels. This story has a different mix of characters (a mom, a deceased father who never played a role, and a gay father figure). Of course, we have our usual trouble maker. My only real complaint is that I feel like the ending is very obvious.

with southern grace,
Lindsey



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Reading your comments absolutely make my day, thanks for writing one!
with southern grace,
Lindsey