Dessen excels at the coming of age during summer vacation story. Colie has serious self-esteem issues that only a fifteen year old can, augmented by her experiences of always being the new and fat kid and then the later rumours that come from the cruelness of other teenage girls. However, despite these issues, she never comes across as whiny, rather scarred and just desperately trying to survive. In reading the novel, while the plot holds no surprises, you are pulled through by watching Colie's growth as a person. The book shows its age a bit with references to Walkman and the Columbia House CD subscription, but the narrative itself is ageless. My only problem was that the boy Colie develops a crush on is eighteen years old, and the gap between them felt big enough to be a bit creepy to me. Three years in your twenties is nothing, but three years in your teens is huge. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and following Colie as she found herself.

this was the first book i read of sarah dessen and you should try out gillian shields books as well. This book was fantastic.

Such a great book by Sarah Dessen, though not as good as The Truth About Forever.

this was my first sarah dessen book and i really liiked it!!

Not my favourite Sarah Dessen, but it was still really good.

very creative and good, i loved it!!!1111

I wouldn't lie and say this book was all of it. The beginning was kind of boring but when you get to the middle, It's GOOD!

I really liked this book. It is quite different to other Sarah Dessen books, but still an amazing read. This book is a great motivation for girls who have suffered or are suffering from self esteem issues. A great inlook on self confidance and friendship!

Dessen excels at the coming of age during summer vacation story. Colie has serious self-esteem issues that only a fifteen year old can, augmented by her experiences of always being the new and fat kid and then the later rumours that come from the cruelness of other teenage girls. However, despite these issues, she never comes across as whiny, rather scarred and just desperately trying to survive. In reading the novel, while the plot holds no surprises, you are pulled through by watching Colie's growth as a person. The book shows its age a bit with references to Walkman and the Columbia House CD subscription, but the narrative itself is ageless. My only problem was that the boy Colie develops a crush on is eighteen years old, and the gap between them felt big enough to be a bit creepy to me. Three years in your twenties is nothing, but three years in your teens is huge. Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed the novel and following Colie as she found herself.

Beautiful and amazing as always <3