When you work in the wedding business, all sorts of things – good and bad- happen. No one knows this better than Louna, who has been working for her mom’s wedding planning business in her free time. Cynical about happily ever after, thanks to her experiences and the tragic end of her first love, Louna understandably keeps most people at arm’s length. But this summer, armed with the knowledge that she’s a fresh high school graduate, the encouragement of family and friends and a cute new coworker who gets under her skin, it looks like that just might change.
I'll never be able to resist the lure of Sarah Dessen. I’ve been reading her contemporary novels for years now, and I’ve enjoyed the great majority of them; Once and For All was no exception. While I was initially drawn to the fact that she integrated wedding planning into that plot, it turns out that this story is about much more than that. It is another one where the main character experiences a summer where everything changes, where her perspectives are challenged, where she needs to choose how she wants to go forward with her life even after what she has gone through. Though fluffier than expected, I still found it compelling and enjoyable all in all.
If I were going to be completely honest, there is one reservation I possess. I found that there were thematic, grand statements that were included within the story, and while I normally don’t mind those, I just felt like they were done so blatantly that they took me out of my reading experience. But otherwise, Once and For All is just as wonderful and Dessen as I wanted it to be, and yet another novel for Queen Dessen to add to her arsenal.
Once and For All by Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers | Publication Date: June 6, 2017
Source: ARC received from the publisher (Thanks!)
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