What Happened to Goodbye

Sarah Dessen is a great author, and i enjoy her books. what happened to goodbye is a great example of her talent. it deals with family troubles, moving issues, and some romance. it was a great book i enjoyed very much. there is some drinking, some sex referencing, but great role models and great messages.

i like it because McLean and her dad move and her and dave the book is just amazing like her other books right now and I'm just reading her book lock and key and i expect it to be like her other ones i have read

While mild language and drinking are included in the book, it may still be read by any mature pre-teen, once approved by their parents. It really shows a girls perspective on divorce, moving from place to place, and high school drama. I would recommend to anyone that has a great sense in books. 10 out of 10!!!!

The other day I finished the book What Happened To Goodbye by Sarah Dessen. This book was different than the other two Sarah Dessen books I've read. Just Listen, one of them, was to me a slow read. The romance was real and the ending was awesome. The other one, The Moon and More, was just an ordinary romance. But this one had spark and meaning. Mclean is a teenage girl with divorced parents. She decides to live with her dad, who is a sort of real life restaurant rehab worker. He goes into a town with a failing restaurant, and fixes them up. That means they move a lot. Mclean has been to three different places, and in each one, she has had a new name and a new personality. However, when she and her dad head to Lakeview, she decides to try to be "herself". But does she really know who she is anymore? Mclean gets a new group of friends of all types. One special friend is this boy Dave, whom she might even have a crush on. The restaurant is also a big part of her life, with her getting dragged into a community service project there. On top of all that, her newly famous mom will not leave her alone. She wants Mclean to live with her constantly. When Mclean is just starting to get settled in Lakeview, she hears about a surprise move. What will Mclean do? I was surprised how good this book was. It was paced perfectly and had a great plot. The romance really added to the story. Sarah Dessen had a great writing style in this book. The teenagers sound like actual teenagers, unlike some authors who make them look so wise and adultish. I could also picture it like I was seeing it firsthand. The morals were amazing too. They wove into the story and talked about being yourself and friendship. There were many conflicts, but they were not solved too quickly. Reading this book, I really related to Mclean. Her story and background were perfect, even someone totally unlike her could find similarities. I would give this a perfect five stars. This book is fine for kids ages 12 and up. It doesn't include much mature content, but has complicated themes.

This book is a very good book, but I suggest that kids wait to read it until they are teens, or if they are mature pre-teens. This book is one of my favorites that Sarah Dessen wrote. But, I believe that you will get the most out of it if you wait until you are a bit more mature. This book is very thoughtful and it makes you ask yourself questions. There is a bit of inappropriate behavior, but as I said before, if your kid (or: if you) are mature, than you should be able to handle it.

Being different isn’t always a bad thing; sometimes it’s to the advantage of those who try. Pretending to be someone you are not could lead you down the road of no return. Staying in touch with yourself is important it doesn’t matter what age you are. If you are not being yourself you are basically lying and cheating yourself of the opportunities that could be sitting right in front of you. Most of the time thinking about changing schools or staying away from one of your over-controlling parent is not always a bad thing, but for Mclean, it felt like it. Starting over in a new town, with a new school, new personality, and most importantly a new name, Mclean is still not fulfilled. She goes from town to town, school to school in the process of avoiding her mother and still doesn’t know exactly who she really is. It’s been years since she was actually who she was before the imploded marriage between her parents went public and basically forced her father and her to start over. Mclean has gotten use to the idea of changing her name in homeroom, by simply correcting the first teacher she came in contact with. She says ‘almost like she was “reborn”. It wasn’t until this last move that Mclean felt different about the whole thing. She was use to the neighbors watching her bring in groceries and mail by herself, while he father left and came at weird hours. This one move literally “stared them down”(p.11), when they pulled up…a basketball goal. Mclean and her dad use to be the biggest Defriese basketball fans ever, until the coach retired and hired Peter Hamilton. To whom they thought would suit the team just well, but they didn’t think about the formal Defriese bench warmer, Gus and his daughter. It wasn’t until after Peter Hamilton wanted to have the team’s banquet in Gus’s famous restaurant, when her mom ran off and fell in love with peter that everything started going downhill and they started moving. Seeing the basketball goal that towered over them like a reminder they pushed forward and forgot about it like they did many other things. Gus, Mclean’s’ father goes around taking over restaurants and reorganizing them for a new start. This was his way of forgetting what his wife and favorite college basketball team did to ruin his family and almost his career. I would recommend this book to young girls who have trouble adjusting, maybe after a divorce or having issues reconnecting with themselves. This book uses incredible wording and goes depth into explaining people and attitudes as well as gives you a real look inside the book. The theme of this book is finding who you are and staying true to it. I disliked this book to the point where it never really had a climax or like suspense level like most novels or stories. The whole book was just level it didn’t really have any “on your toes” type events. Flat and non-exciting.

This book was amazing!!!!! It is definitely one of my favorite Sarah Dessen books (and I've read almost all of them)! The story was great and had so many layers to it. I felt a connection with all of the characters. I really liked the relationship between the main character, Mclean, and her dad (who is in the restaurant biz), and how their lives are constantly surrounded by chaos. One thing I also really liked that Dessen added in this book was that she brought back a couple of characters from her other book, "Along for the Ride". Yes, these two characters were only there for like two pages, but still, I thought it was very nice to see them again. There are so many awesome messages, and so much inspiration throughout this book. Now, do yourself a favor and go read this book! You won't be disappointed!

the book is pretty good, there actually is a chapter about a party with drinking, drugs and smoking. there is also a mention about a sluty lady. most of it is probably catering more towards 12+

First Sarah Dessen book of hers that I have read, can't wait to read the next :) Very sweet story, and also finds herself again along the way.

I am reading this book for a report and it is very good, but I read Someone Like You and This Lullaby. This book just does not compare.