Someone Like You

Someone Like You

Sarah Dessen

Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone

Release Date: May 2004 (reissue)

Publisher: Penguin

Pages: 288

Author Site: http://www.sarahdessen.com/

My Rating: 4/5

Source: Purchased

Synopsis

[from goodreads.com]:

Quiet Halley and popular Scarlett have been friends for years. They balance each other perfectly--until the beginning of their junior year. Then, Scarlett's boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle accident; soon after, she learns that she is carrying his baby. For the first time, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever. Sarah Dessen's poignant, funny voice has earned her raves and legions of teenaged fans.

Review:

SOMEONE LIKE YOU is the second novel I’ve read by Sarah Dessen and I enjoyed it just as much as my first Dessen novel, ALONG FOR THE RIDE (read my review). SOMEONE LIKE YOU talks about the strength of friendship but I felt the book dealt a lot more with Halley’s personal discovery of who she is as a person and her relationship with her mother. Scarlett’s loss of boyfriend and pregnancy was, for me, more of a backdrop to Halley’s story.

Halley was easy to both like and dislike. I immediately liked her at the beginning of the novel. But as her crush, Macon, starts to become more involved in the story I started to lose some interest in her personality. I found their relationship hard to substantiate as well. I understand why Halley’s feelings towards Macon were growing and why they were growing so rapidly but I found their interactions very short and dry/flat. It was just hard for me to look at the whole picture and say “Oh, I can see why she likes him so much”. He’s basically a trouble-maker/bad boy who does cute/sweet things every now and then to flirt with Halley. I get that but I wanted more.

The other aspects of the novel ranging from Scarlett’s unexpected teen pregnancy to Halley dealing with her overbearing mother were really covered well. I thought Dessen made everything in the novel realistic and very easy to relate to. I think every reader will resonate with Halley or Scarlett by personal experience or from someone they once knew or presently know. I’m definitely going to continue to pick up more books by Dessen.