Born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Sarah Dessen has been writing stories for young adults for about fifteen years. I remember tanning outside, lounging in a beach chair on a hot summer day, reading her first book “That Summer,” and instantly falling in love. It was the first time I really found my passion for reading.
The thing that most attracted me to Dessen was her raw way of making stories that young girls could relate with. In “That Summer,” Haven is a fifteen-year-old girl who is having a hard time finding her way in the world. She is trapped between two weddings, her father’s marriage to a younger woman, Lorna Queen, and her sister’s marriage to a dull boy, Lewis, who Haven cannot find the least bit attraction to. Her sister’s ex-boyfriend, Sumner appears, and from there Haven feels up-lifted at his energetic presence.
Dessen’s second novel, “Someone Like You,” revolves around the story of Halley and Scarlett, two best friends. Scarlett’s boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle crash, where she soon finds out that she is pregnant with his baby. Although Scarlett has always been the flamboyant, independent one, she is now finding herself needing her quiet best friend Halley, more than ever. This story carries a heavy theme — teen pregnancy, yet showcases the way in which friendship helps people, particular young girls, get through anything.
“Keeping the Moon” is a story about a girl name Colie, who is adjusting to her new body after losing weight, along with her new life in Colby, North Carolina living with her aunt. The story has a modern-Cinderella take on it, as Colie learns to grow into herself, finding her own confidence as she does so. “Dreamland,” is my favorite of Dessen’s novels, although it is the darkest of them all. This story revolves around a girl named Caitlin, and her relationship with her abusive boyfriend, Rogerson. She finds herself mixed up in drugs, living in a dream-like state. It is only in the end that Caitlin slowly finds herself awakening.
Dessen has written ten books so far, all of them about young girls and the journeys they must take in order to grow. There is something about the way Dessen portrays the darkness that these girls experience that hits the reality of adolescence right on the head. While her stories deal with very dark topics such as abuse, teen pregnancy, and neglect, Dessen weaves her tales with bits of humor, and in the end, always shines light upon her characters that things will turn out alright.