Rating:  Summary: That Summer Review: Sarah Dessen is a marvelous writer who puts thought and feeling into her novels. That Summer is about 15 year old Haven, already at 5'11, and coming close to 6 foot. She thinks of herself as a giant, but her sister Ashley, on the other hand, lives the life of a barbie. She has cool friends, a sweet fiance, and everything seems to be going her way. But Haven can't help thinking about one summer, THE summer of her life. And with that summer comes a special person, Sumner, that can link the present to the past, take her back to that week on vacation, to the sunshine beach, and to That Summer.
Rating:  Summary: Hopeful! Review: Sarah Dessen's debut novel, "That Summer", isn't her best achievement but it shows true hope and promise of her rising YA author stardom. However, it is a coming of age story I think a lot of people, young adult and older(like, say 34) could relate to. At some point in our lives we all have similar experiences to the main character, Haven. She is 15, feels awkward in her own skin, and with divorced parents, an older sister who is getting married, and a best friend who's fallen in love. After reminiscing about a summer trip, she bumps into her sister's ex, Sumner. Not only is he not who Haven thinks he is, but she's not the same person by the time her sister's big day arrives. I think it's best to read this before her other novels because if you go to this after reading, "dreamland", you will be sorely disappointed. I didn't do this, and I loved all her other books much more immensely. Her writing gets better with each book. This was a very green Dessen, but very hopeful.
Rating:  Summary: Hopeful! Review: Sarah Dessen's debut novel, "That Summer", isn't her best achievement but it shows true hope and promise of her rising YA author stardom. However, it is a coming of age story I think a lot of people, young adult and older(like, say 34) could relate to. At some point in our lives we all have similar experiences to the main character, Haven. She is 15, feels awkward in her own skin, and with divorced parents, an older sister who is getting married, and a best friend who's fallen in love. After reminiscing about a summer trip, she bumps into her sister's ex, Sumner. Not only is he not who Haven thinks he is, but she's not the same person by the time her sister's big day arrives. I think it's best to read this before her other novels because if you go to this after reading, "dreamland", you will be sorely disappointed. I didn't do this, and I loved all her other books much more immensely. Her writing gets better with each book. This was a very green Dessen, but very hopeful.
Rating:  Summary: That Summer Review: That Summer by Sarah Dessen is about a fifteen-year-old girl names Haven. Before her parents's divorce, summer was a time of happiness, but the summer infront of her just adds to more chaos in her life. It's the summer of two weddings: her father's to Lorna Queen(the local blond and perky television meteorlogist who wears cute little pastel suits that accent her legs) and her sister's to an extremely boring male named Lewis Warsher. Haven doesn't wnderstand how her sister, Ashley, can see anything in him. As a "trying to find herself" teenager, Haven can't help but look back at the blissful days of past summers. That was when Ashley dated Sumner lee, who made everything fun and made Haven feel special. Out of no where, Sumner and Ashley ended their romance. During the summer of two weddings, Sumner reappears. Sumner is the link to Haven's favorite times and the sister she is about to lose. She uses Sumner as a way to forget about her upside-down world and learns that she has feelings for her sister's ex-boyfriend. i enjoyed reading That Summer because I thought the author, Sarah Dessen, used a unique style of writting. She went into just enough depth to keep the reader's attention and also expressed Haven's feelings really well. At the beginning of the novel, Dessen writes about several events that aren't that sighnificant until they reach their full complexity towards the end of the novel and tie together. I believe this story can relate to several teenagers. Several teens are trying to find themselves. In this novel, Haven understands what happened to her in the summer and learns not to stress the little stuff in life. Her hardest obstacle was getting over her first boyfriend, but Ashley convinced her that life goes on. If you become depressed over issues life breaking up with your first boyfriend, you could miss out on the good of life. I recommend this novel to teenagers trying to find themdelves.
Rating:  Summary: Dessen's First Novel Gripping and Endearing Review: That Summer is a tale of self-appreciation discovery of everything that is good in the world (and everything that isn't). The lead character, Haven, is a fifteen-year-old girl struggling to figure out many things. Her father and mother have divorced and that summer her father is marrying "The Weather Pet," the woman he left Haven's mother for. Haven's sister is also marrying, growing up and turning into another person before Haven's eyes. During "that summer," Haven runs into her sisters first "real" boyfriend Sumner and wonders why Ashley had to ruin everything with him. Between her menial job and quiet suffering as the family black sheep, her unending lateral growth and her basic distaste for Ashley's fiance, Haven discovers that some things never turn out the way we'd like them to, usually not by our own admonition. As the most outstanding of Sarah Dessen's novels for young adults, That Summer makes a great summer read.
Rating:  Summary: Not Your Average Teen Summer Story Review: That Summer is a witty and heartwarming view of the turning point in the life of a young girl. Dessens characters are colorful and believable, and her main character shows an amazingly down-to-earth and realistic personality. A book that makes you feel good about yourself when you're reading it, and leaves you with pleasant memories afterwards.
Rating:  Summary: A Book Of Insperations Review: That Summer is just a amazing book, one that you remember for the rest of your life. Its about growing up on the inside and outside. In short Sarah Dessen writes a compelling book that brings a much needed freah breeze to the teen literary world. Buy This Book!!
Rating:  Summary: My favorite book Review: That Summer is really my favorite book ever. The voice of the protagonist reminds me so much of myself. This book doesn't have a lot of twists and turns; instead it's a genuine book about growing up.
Rating:  Summary: That Summer was a GREAT book!!! Review: That Summer was a great book beacause it tells the story of a girl's life. Haven is the girl in the book, is very tall and is self-concious about her height. She has a 21 year old sister named Ashley who is very short. Ashley is engaged to a man named Louis who is VERY boring. The book got it name becuse it tells about the summer Haven spent at the beach when she was eight with Ashley and one of Ashley's many boyfriends over the years, Sumner. It also tells about Haven's bestfriend Casey who went to camp very timid and came back smoking, drinking, and doing other crazy stuff. This book is mostly about Haven's life and what she thinks and what she thinks about her life and I recomend it to anyone who likes stories that could acctually happen in real life.
Rating:  Summary: That Summer Review: That summer was such a touching book. I've heard it over and over again and every time I end up crying at the end. It connects with some many teenagers and what their lives are like. You sometimes wonder if a teenager was writing the book. I will always love That Summer and never will stop reading it no matter what age I am.
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