Saint Anything

by Sarah Dessen

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and - lately - concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?
Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac: gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

• ISBN10: 0141361735
• ISBN13: 9780141361734
• Publish Date: 5 May 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 432
• Language: English

Reviews

"I was used to being invisible. People rarely saw me, and if they did, they never looked close." (Sydney Stanford)

I don't know when was the last time I read a book that I found difficult to put down.

In Saint Anything, Sydney, the main character, is invisible. She's in the shadow of her older brother, Peyton, who is charismatic and popular. After a string of bad decisions which ultimately leads to an accident, Sydney's brother ends up in prison. Saint Anything is about Sydney and her life after her brother has gone to prison as she tries to define who she is outside of her brother's sphere.

Sydney is a likeable and relatable character. She's a good girl who always tries to do the right thing, but she's still a teenager and a human who makes mistakes. She struggles with feelings of guilt and loneliness and she tries to overcome this. I loved witnessing her compassion, her considerate nature and her growth as she tries to adapt to the changes in her life, while still being true to herself.

Saint Anything is quiet and subtle, but it's also engrossing and impactful. The focus of Saint Anything is family relationships and friendship.

The characters seem so real. I'm in love with the chaotic Chatham family. Layla is a character that jumps off the pages of Saint Anything and she's a true friend - self-aware, understanding and non-judgemental. There is a love interest, but romance is not the focus in Saint Anything. The relationship between Sydney and Mac is cute. Saint Anything also shows the repercussions of Peyton's actions on Sydney's family. While I found Sydney's mom to be a little overbearing at times, I could understand why she chose to act the way she did. Also, Ames reminded me of people in real-life who give off creepy vibes.

I don't usually comment on writing styles unless they really bother me, but after reading Saint Anything, I can't help but appreciate Sarah Dessen's writing style. Her writing is simple, but yet it seems so effortless and reads so easily.

Saint Anything is a quiet and simple story that's genuine and heartfelt.

"You only really fall apart in front of the people you know can piece you back together." (Sydney Stanford)

[Jyc]

★★★ // i’ve ways liked sarah dessen’s writing style. she writes these characters and situations so vividly. this one lacks punch, though. it was a light read and is actually cute when it wants to be. has a tendency to be preachy and is far from subtle.

[Katie King]

**3 stars**

In my review of Just Listen, my first Dessen novel, I said I wouldn't be seeking out more of her books. While Just Listen had exceeded my expectations, I pretty much thought that her books were a "seen one, seen them all" kind of thing. But then I went camping and wanted something really light to read, so I picked up Saint Anything.

I have an older brother, specifically a 7 years older brother. We're so far apart that we're often going through major milestones at completely separate times. I just got engaged, well he's been married for 5 years and just had his second child. When we were younger, it was worse. He got married, I had just gotten my driver's license. He got his driver's license, I was in 4th grade. Everything I do, he's done long before. It's a little weird, and to be honest, it's a little bit of a barrier to us being close. In a way, I do live in his shadow, but not to where our parents play favorites. It just simply is the way things are.

Sydney lives in her older brother's shadow. Before, he was one of those beautiful, bright people that everyone is drawn to. One choice ruined everything, and now, his only fans are his family. The star fell from grace, but not in the eyes of his parents. Sydney struggles with her brother's choices, but her parents make excuses. Sydney aches to have a life, but her parents are too focused on her brother to care. Her parents aren't only blind when it comes to her brother, but also to his friend from rehab that they've taken under their wing. Problem is, he's taken a little too much of an interest in Sydney.

Saint Anything and I have a weird relationship. On one hand, I can really appreciate the message. She basically doesn't exist in her family anymore since her brother went to prison. Her mom spends all her time worrying about her brother or working on his appeals or visiting him. Her dad is pretty emotionally distant about the whole thing. She just moved to a new, much larger school where she doesn't know anyone and all her old friends are too busy. The only person that does see her is her brother's creepy friend from rehab, Ames, who has basically taken her brother's place in their family. He comes over and hang outs with them, eats dinner with them, and even moves in for a while. While the plot largely revolves around the guilt Sydney feels for what her brother did and her trying to be her own person, the subplot with Ames was what really caught my attention. With a book like this, you know she's going to deal with the guilt and her family would come around, but I was a little worried that things with Ames would go too far before that happened. Thank god they didn't. But the MAIN plot didn't capture my interest so much. I knew from the beginning that things would work out, which makes caring about how Sydney gets through things pretty hard.

I did like Sydney's relationship with Mac and her new friends. I loved Layla and totally understood her obsession with fries. I wish we could be friends! Mac developed a relationship with her that had a pretty slow burn, which felt more realistic to me. A lot of books I read have the innocent MC having sex like 2 days after their first kiss which is really hard to believe. Mac was there for her, but not like in a "I'll die for you" way off the bat, which again is in a lot of books. I'm glad that Sydney had the Chathams for support. While her family was sucking, Sydney really needed them. At a few points when I was getting really frustrated with Sydney's mom, I found myself wishing she could just join their family instead. Because seriously, her mom was pretty bad.

On the other hand, I don't know how well executed the plot was. There wasn't really a big moment where everything turned around in Sydney's life. It just slowly got better at the end. When I read, I expect the climax, because while real life isn't like that, books should because they're entertainment. The lack thereof just felt like reading a real diary that no one took the boring parts out of. It might be really interesting at first, but how many times do you need to read that someone just went to school or did homework that day? That wasn't in Saint Anything, but you get my point. Without that big moment, you're just like....oh, it's over. It doesn't engage your attention as much.

I read a few reviews before writing this one and it seems like this is an exception to Dessen's books. Usually they are more traditionally structured. I guess she took a break in the middle of writing it too, so that might explain some of the issues it has. Overall, I think it was a good book, and anyone who can relate to trying to live up to a sibling would enjoy it, but it definitely was not GREAT material. Maybe my next read of hers will be better.

[Sam@WLABB]

Another solid novel from Sarah Dessen. One of the reasons I always enjoy Dessen's books, is because she tackles some fairly big issues, but never let's it overshadow the characters and their journey. In this book we deal with rehab, jail, drunk driving, assault, and sick parents, but these are all just small details that contribute to Sydney's story as she struggles to get out from under the shadow of her brother. First, he's just Mr. popularity and Sydney accepts that to get noticed when in his presence is like trying to out shine the sun. Then, he starts getting into trouble with the law and Sydney is swept aside as her family become consumed by his issues. The story is filled with some wonderful secondary characters who won my heart (Irv, Layla) and a lot of fun times to balance out the deeper issues. In addition, I look forward to finding those Easter eggs (Rogerson, Ume.com, and Jackson High to name a few)

[Stephanie]

This review was originally posted on Once Upon a Chapter



I decided top ick up Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen for a lot of reasons. The main reason is that Alexa loves her and Saint Anything was just released. Everyone seemed to really be enjoy8ing it so it seemed like a good place to start.

Sydney was such a great character. Her family has been struck by tragedy and they are going through a time of adjustment. It's particularly hard on Sydney as she's still in the school where she and Payton have attended.

The Chathams were a lot of fun but not without their own troubles. What I really loved about Saint Anything is the difference in how the two families dealt with their troubles. Neither way is wrong. Each person is going to grieve and mourn in their own way. I hope that if I ever have to face this kind of adversity I can handle it like the Chathams.

One of the things I really liked about Saint Anything is that Dessen doesn't give more information than is necessary but still paints a vivid picture. There are no unnecessary characters. And the woman can write a food description that'll make you stand up and beg for it! ;) Seriously I was craving pizza so hard after reading this. Actually it was during this book that I swung through and got some breakfast pizza.

Reading this book wasn't easy. The subject matter is a little heavy but I really enjoyed this one. I will definitely be catching up with Dessen's back list!

[girlinthepages]

If you're an avid reader of YA, it's no secret that Sarah Dessen is considered by many to be the Queen of Contemporary Summer Novels. I read a lot of Sarah's work back when I was in middle school and high school, long before I started blogging, and I always appreciated the subtlety with which she wrote, while still making an impact with her plot lines and characters. I picked up Sarah's newest book, Saint Anything, and though it's been years since I read one of her novels, I felt myself falling into her familiar writing style in which she makes me so invested in the lives of ordinary, everyday people.

This book has a ratio that's rare in YA contemporaries, with probably 75% of the relationships focusing on family and friends, and only 25% on romance. Layla and Sydney's friendship felt so tangible, from the awkward beginnings to Layla's family enveloping Sydney as one of their own. Layla and Sydney are such good friends to each other in small ways (like Layla sleeping with her air mattress pushed against Sydney's door...if you've read the book you'll know what I mean) and I found these small, quiet gestures of solidarity to be really refreshing and authentic. Their friendship isn't perfect, but it's real and true and developed, and I'd love to see more of that in YA.

Along with promoting strong female friendships, this book also delves into the joys and dysfunctions of family life, with the Stanfords and the Chathams juxtaposed in such an interesting way. Both families have had extreme hardships (and even scandals), but the way they've dealt with them and the outcome on the relationships within the family because of those reactions is so drastically different. I found it interesting that both Layla and Sydney had siblings with larger-than-life personalities who stole most of their parents' attention, but while it silenced Sydney's voice, it made Layla grow to be an even stronger and louder presence. In fact, one of the only things in the book that fell flat to me in the novel was the lack of growth and development in Peyton and Sydney's relationship. Sydney and her family (and really, the entire town) spends so much time ruminating on Peyton: his actions, his crime, his sentence. He is the catalyst for so much in Sydney's life, yet I didn't feel a convincing closeness or sense of peace or understanding come between the siblings at the end of the book. The closure at the end felt a little rushed and heavy-handed. The plot itself lacked a certain subtlety that Dessen usually writes with, placing Sydney in uncomfortable situations that she wasn't able to get out of until big, obvious THINGS would happen to sort of smack her and her family into action and realization. Stefani @ Caught Read Handed phrased it best in her review: Saint Anything is loud in what it's trying to say.

One funny yet significant thing I kept hearing about this book is that it had such great descriptions of the perfect summer foods: pizza, french fries, and lollipops. I usually eat pretty healthy, but she had me craving these treats! I also liked seeing how food played a role in everything from social interactions, family business, and job opportunities. I also have to admit that I deeply admired Layla's dedication to her fries, as something of a of fries enthusiast myself.

Overall: Saint Anything holds the classic Sarah Dessen charm of taking stories of quiet, ordinary characters and making them meaningful. I immensely enjoyed spending time with the Chathams, coveting my time with them just as Sydney does. The story also focuses so much on building positive female friendships and unpacking family drama (in both constructive and destructive ways) that it overwhelmed most of the romance, which I didn't seem to mind (it was cute but not critical to the story). I'm so glad I kicked off participating in the #summerofsarahdessen with Saint Anything and glad I found my way back to her novels after several years. Saint Anything won't disappoint seasoned veterans of Dessen's work nor will it let down first time Dessen-readers.

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[Chelsea]

Initial Thoughts

I love everything Sarah Dessen has ever written so I was expecting to love it.

My New BFF

Sydney was a great character. She has all these family problems and she kind of just went through life while accepting that her brother would get the most attention. Eventually she figures out that she doesn’t want that to be the case any more and she starts to get a little defiant. I loved seeing her develop as she met all these new people. You can really see her change until the very end. It’s a great book for character development.

My Crush

Mac was a great love interest in this book.You can see he has some issues of his own but he has a stronger family life than Sydney and that’s what keeps him together. Seeing him choose his family over everyone else is refreshing. He still has a life though and can manage everything nicely. He’s just a nice guy in general. It’s great reading about the guy who isn’t perfect sometimes.

Writing Style

Sarah Dessen is great at characters. The plot was good too but it’s the characters that suck you in. She’s great at showing you that nobody is perfect and everyone has some sort of darker secret. It really shows you that things could be worse but will turn out great in the end. I’m a big fan of her happy endings even though it’s sometimes a rough path getting there.

Closing Thoughts

I don’t know if this is my favourite book of hers but it’s definitely at the top. I really love the little symbols she adds throughout the book like saint anything and the carousel from the cover. It makes it more interesting to read. Basically this is a cute book with a lot of family drama. It’s easy to relate to which makes it easy to love.