Book+review

Sarah Dessen's language really pulls you into the story and makes you want to keep reading. Things like, "Like a word on a page that you've printed and read a million times, that suddenly looks strange or wrong, foreign, and you feel scared for a second, like you've lost something, even if you're not sure what it is." or "As he leaned down to kiss me, I closed my eyes and saw not the flat black of the dark but something else. Something brighter, closer to light, shining small but ever steady. More than enough to go on as a part of me pushed up and out, finally, to meet it there."

This book makes you think about how, compared to some other peoples', your problems aren't that big. When I was reading this book and I got to the part where you find out what happened to Annabel at the party, I felt upset. It might sound weird, but I somehow felt like Annabel. Sarah Dessen had drawn me in so much that i could just sit and read this book and feel like I was there.

I liked how Sarah Dessen added a few story lines to the book. Rather than just the story of Annabel's huge secret, there's also Owen's life, Whitney overcoming her eating disorder, Annabel's modeling, and a few friendships. It really keeps it interesting.

As for believability, this book was right on target. Annabel's life is a lot like many girls out there. She doesn't always tell the truth, there's drama at school, and she has a whole part of her life that she can't tell her family about. I think this is part of the reason why Sarah Dessen's books are so popular - because she really speaks with a teenage voice.

Also, this book does have a lot of flash-backs. So it's not exactly a "just read through it and you'll get it" book. You have to be really reading and be focused so that you don't get lost and think that a flashback is in present time.

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