Wow, this is the last Sarah Dessen book I had left to read.. and now it’s over ( )

Nice but not really impressive.
Since I have many options to compare with... Well.
Better luck next time?

EDIT 2013/07/27
OK, so I was somewhat hasty. But not hasty enough to justify an exchange of a 3 for a 4 - the book isn't really worth it.

The ending part felt loads more solid than the rest of the book. ( )

Why is this over 400 pages long? I can find no reason. ( )

I loved the small town dynamics in this book. It gave one the feeling of being an insider in that town, and we got to see a lot of the geography, culture, and functions of the town. I also appreciated that she had complex and good relationships with different kinds of friends. Between Daisy, Luke, Morris,and her siblings, Dessen created some great supportive relationships. These friendships, not the romance, were really what made the book shine. I do wish the story between Emaline and all 3 of her parents was more fleshed out however. I mostly feel like we explored her relationship with her Father enough. But I was totally on her mom's side when she pointed out that Emaline wasn't around enough. Her parents seemed like interesting people, and her mom was so close with Amber. I really wanted to she her have more in depth interactions with her mom and dad. Even busy people tell their parents when they end and begin new relationships, and she really seemed to love her parents. Despite what she says, she never really tries to connect with them more before college. She didn't feel much like a real teenager, because she was never around her family. Real teenagers wish they had as much freedom as her. ( )

I'm a huge Sarah Dessen fan, but this one fell just a bit flat for me. It was mildly entertaining, but lacked the charm and character spark that her other novels have. ( )