Wonderful Writers: Sarah Dessen

wonderful writers meme

Hi All! Wonderful Writers is a weekly segment that comes out every Wednesday! Every week I spotlight and discuss one of my favorite authors, books by them, and talk about their writing styles and such. I hope you’ll enjoy. Feel free to participate as well by writing your own post and as always you are welcome to use the meme/pic if you’d like (just remember to credit me).

*Whoops! It’s been a month since I’ve written one of these. I’m going to try to get back to posting this segment back on a weekly basis.

About: Dessen is an American writer who lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She started writing her own stories at the age of 8 when she received a typewriter as a gift. Later in life, she worked at the restaurant, Flying Burrito, as a waitress in Chapel Hill while launching her writing career. She would write during the day and waitress at night. Her first book, That Summer, was published in 1996 .She has written numerous bestselling novels that center around the change in youth’s personality as they go through some sort of tragedy or loss.

What I’ve Read (So Far):

  • Someone Like You
  • Keeping the Moon
  • Dreamland
  • This Lullaby
  • The Truth About Forever
  • Just Listen
  • Lock and Key
  • Along for the Ride
  • The Moon and More

Why She’s a Wonderful Writer:

As I’ve said once before, I love the way Dessen explores complex family and friend relationships in her novels. Her books are a little more on the serious side of YA lit, but I enjoy reading about the mature themes she presents in her stories. Most of her novel’s characters are dealing with issues of isolation, emotional distance among family members, and a progressive change in people’s personality. It’s interesting to read and see how the main protagonist will deal with and somehow overcome these obstacles that deeply affect their lives.

It’s hard to pick one favorite novel since I’ve read so many of her novels over the years, but I will say my top three favorites include: Just Listen, Lock and Key, and Dreamland. I would definitely recommend her books to people who like to read slice of life stories that deal with real people with real issues.

Have you read any of Dessen’s novels? If so, comment below and tell me which one is your favorite and why.

5 thoughts on “Wonderful Writers: Sarah Dessen

  1. Sarah Dessen is definitely my favorite contemporary author! Her books can be light or serious, or sometimes both at the same time. I’d have to say my absolute favorite book by her would be Lock and Key, followed closely by What Happened to Goodbye and then The Truth About Forever. She writes such quirky and love-able characters! I have yet to read one of your favorites, Dreamland, but I’ll definitely be checking it out soon. This is a really cool series that you do 🙂

    1. Good picks! Glad to hear that you enjoy this series, it’s a lot of fun writing about my favorite authors and being able to expose other readers to new authors. I hope you like Dreamland when you get a chance to read it! 🙂

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