Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
Rating: PG
Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Chick-Lit
Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Page Count: 417
Stand Alone
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Published: May 5, 2015
Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.
The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.
Review:
PROS:
1. I've been a huge fan of Sarah Dessen's books ever since I first stumbled upon her book titled "Just Listen" when I had nothing to read and the library was my oyster. I still remember thinking to myself, whoa, this girl's written a lot of books! when I decided I'd give the book a go and see how it went. Eleven books, one shelf and two years later, I now own all of her books, read every single one of them and fell in love over and over again with her characters, stories and realistic lessons about discovering who you are and finding a place where you belong. Here's my review!
2. Obviously, I loved the characters in this book so much! I really loved Sydney's character for multiple reasons. (1) She really felt so real in a sense that the things she thought, felt and said resulted from her feeling invisible and feeling like whatever was on her mind didn't matter because of the lack of attention her parents gave her. (2) Instead of begging for it, she shied away from attention like it was the black plague, not wanting it or even welcoming it. It felt stranger to her whenever someone paid attention to her or even looked her in the eye when she had something to say. (3) She was also very selfless. She was constantly trying to help out her friends that finally made her feel like she had a place she belonged. She also cared about her family, despite the fact that her parents pretty much left her to raise herself and figure out things on her own and acted like they didn't have time for her. She was an all around great and relatable character and I fully enjoyed that about Sydney.
3. The character development was also amazing. Besides Sydney, her friends and family had so much great development that you could understand why they were making the decisions they were making and why they acted the way they did within just a few pages of reading about them. Sydney's parents were over-protective about Peyton and his situation and once I got the whole backstory, I could understand her parents' way of thinking and why they didn't seem to ever have time to deal with Sydney. Her friends were also really great and had such great personalities and made a very interesting group of friends that welcome Sydney into their little posy with just a blink of an eye. All the characters also had big parts in the story and none of them faded into the background of the story like most side characters tend to do.
4. The story is very plot and character driven in my opinion, more so characters, but I really loved the events that played out throughout the book. There were so many ups and downs in Sydney's life as she struggled to get her parents to understand the full picture of what exactly Peyton's mistakes ended up doing as a whole and how she also had a hard time excepting that the spotlight was beginning to make its way to her. There were times she felt stuck between her parents and her brother and times when she felt her friends didn't understand what she was feeling or going through. It was such a relatable story about common problems teens today face on a daily basis and something I myself have gone and are going through. I guess that's why I loved it so much.
5. Overall, I seriously loved this book so much and it's now one of my top five favorites from Sarah Dessen and possibly replaces "Just Listen" as my top favorite book from her. I highly recommend this book as well as all of Sarah Dessen's beautiful books. If you're not exactly sure what to read for the summer or haven't picked up a book by Sarah Dessen, I highly recommend this book and I know you will not be disappointed!
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