Plot Summary
Modeling the behaviors of her workaholic mother, Macy protects herself from the recent death of her father by becoming perfectly organized--she passes the days at her job at the library and spends her evenings studying for the SATs. When her studious boyfriend is away at camp, he announces via e-mail that they should take a break from their relationship so that they can focus on their long term goals. Initially broken-hearted, Macy begins to rethink the choices she's made when she encounters the merry catering crew at Wish, led by the very pregnant Delia who seems to thrive on chaos. She takes a job with them and meets Wes, a good looking artist with a past. To her mother’s dismay, Macy spends less time at home studying for the SATs and more time with the Wish crew, opening herself up to life as she deals with spilt wine, drunken clients, and flying marinara sauce. As she and Wes, who also lost a parent, become closer by playing the “truth game” Macy begins to work through her grief and open herself up to life. Critical Evaluation
Reading this novel made me feel like I was fourteen years old again in a very good way. Sure, the plot can feel formulaic but isn’t that predictability one of the joys of a romance novel? Some of the unrealistic characters in the novel--Macy’s uptight boyfriend and the library assistants who make her life miserable--are the kinds of characters that a reader just loves to abhor. They’re not complex or fully developed and so the reader gets to have a passionate one-dimensional relationship with them. Some of the more developed characters are members of the Wish crew--pregnant Delia, good-looking Wes and Kristy who is scarred on the outside but joyous on the inside. All three are less “successful” by traditional indicators but they are also embracing of life. It is through her new friendships with the Wish crew that Macy is able to grieve the loss of her father in ways that her controlling mother hasn’t been able to.
Reader’s Annotation
Macy’s father died of a heart attack over a year ago, and instead of coping with the loss, she’s turned herself into a perfect student. Could a summer job with a chaotic catering crew help her open her heart again?
Information about the Author
On her website, Sarah Dessen writes, “Hi. I’m Sarah. Writing a bio is always a little weird, if only because it seems completely self-absorbed. I have a standard one that I send out, which lists where I got my degree, the names of my books, all the same boring basic facts. But for this website, I’m supposed to do something more, give a sense of who I really am. So here goes.
I was born in 1970 in Illinois, but all the life I remember I’ve spent in Chapel Hill, NC. My parents were both professors at the University of North Carolina: my mom is a classicist (which means she knows everything you could ever imagine about myths, Latin, and words) and my dad teaches Shakespeare (which means I’d seen As You Like It about five times by the age of 18.)
I’ve been writing, in one way or another, for as long as I can remember. I was always a big reader, mostly because my parents were. I used to get frustrated with my mom because she bought me books for Christmas when what I really wanted were the gift my friends got, things like sweaters and jewelry. But I did love to read. When I was eight or nine my parents gave me an old manual typewriter and a little desk in the corner of our den, and I’d sit there and type up my stories. I was the kind of kid that people always sighed over and said, “She has such a wild imagination,” which usually meant “I wish Sarah would try to stick to the truth.” I have a tendency to embellish: I think it’s just a weakness of fiction writers. Once you learn how to make a story better, it’s hard not to do it all the time.
…
As far as my other life, my non-writing life, I live in the country with my husband, my daughter, and two very spoiled dogs. I like to work in my garden—although I have not yet perfected the art of keeping everything alive—-and, in my weaker moments, shop. I have a bit of an addiction to the Gap clearance rack, to be honest. I have this strange need to buy huge quantities of black pants. How many pairs of black pants does one person need? (Obviously for me, the answer is 11 and counting. But I digress.) What else can I tell you? I love Starbucks mochas but they make me way hyper. I subscribe to too many magazines. I make a mean bean salad. I could go on, but the truth is, my books are much more exciting than I am, and that’s a good thing. It’s always more fun to make stuff up anyway.”Genre
Realistic Fiction/ Chick Lit
Curriculum Ties
N/A
Booktalking Ideas
Briefly explain the context of the novel, then read aloud her priggish boyfriend’s “let’s take a break from the relationship” e-mail. How will Macy react?
Reading Level
14+
Challenge Issues
N/A
Why Included?
Sarah Dessen is a wildly popular YA author, and when I told my trusted librarian at my local branch that I hadn’t read anything by the author yet, she told me that her books are a must. I now completely agree and look forward to reading more.
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