Review: That Summer by Sarah Dessen

That Summer by Sarah Dessen: Book CoverThat Summer by Sarah Dessen

            • Pub. Date: May 2004
            • Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
            • Format: Paperback , 224pp
            • Sales Rank: 23,649
            • Age Range: Young Adult
            • Source: RAK Gift
            • ISBN-13: 9780142401729
 That Summer Synopsis:

For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She’s nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister&150the always perfect Ashley&150is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley’s reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

Annotation

During the summer of her divorced father’s remarriage and her sister’s wedding, fifteen-year-old Haven comes into her own by letting go of the myths of the past.
My Thoughts:
I love Sarah Dessen’s writing style and how she communicates the message of the book.  As with previous books that I have read by Sarah Dessen, That Summer meet the expectations I have for this author.  A story about a girl, Haven, who is too tall in her opinion and everything in her life is changing and she doesn’t know how to deal with it.  It is hard to imagine that one girl could go through so many changes in one short summer, her dad is getting remarried to the Weather Pet, who broke up her parent’s marriage, her older sister is also getting married, she keeps growing taller and taller and her best friend comes back from 4-H camp a changed person who Haven can’t seem to relate too.  In this middle of all of this, Haven runs into one of her sister’s ex-boyfriends, Sumner.  Haven always liked him the best and he seems to always be there for her just when she needs him.
This is a great story about too much change in a short amount of time and how to come to terms with us.  I think everyone beyond this age looks back and knows the exactly period of time when their life changed from being that young teen/adult to facing the real world and all of the challenges that go along with it.  It was great to see Haven grow and her self realizations change as the story moves along.  This is a great book for a teen who has lots going on in their life.  Or anyone who went through it.  It made me think about this time in my own life and how I dealt with it.