Finding Meaning and Purpose in Your Life

The third book I have read on the YALSA Top Ten Nominees is "What Happened to Goodbye" by Sarah Dessen. I have been a long time fan of Ms. Dessen because I love Realistic Fiction. She writes with such passion and lets the reader dive right into the main characters life and problems. Hope you will read this one because it is very good! What Happened to Goodybye by Sarah Dessen (2011) McLean's parents are divorced and she is struggling to adapt to a life without her parents together. She goes with her dad each times he moves from town to town because he works a restaurant consultant. Each time she moves she changes her name and her persona, sometimes she a sweet prep girl, or a cheerleader or sometimes even a wanna be bad girl. However this new town she has just landed in has managed to reach out and grab her like no other town has before. This time she just might be able to work on becoming the real McLean and also figure out just where she belongs. As she learns more about herself, she realizes that Dave Wade the boy next door may have some excellent words of wisdom. He inspires McLean to search her soul and find out who her "2 a.m. person" will be. Dessen always create such interesting and diverse characters in her books. I loved the deep conversations that McLean has with Dave and with herself. Finding yourself when you are in your teens is sometimes hard and going through divorce with custody issues, having axes to grind, and being stressed over family separations would only make it harder. I think this is a great book for teens to read, especially for those that enjoy realistic fiction! Happy Reading!! ♥ Mrs. Librarian Lady