Once and for All

by Sarah Dessen

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I am a solid lover of all things Dessen, and once again, she delivered a lovely story.

There are so many things I appreciated about this story: great characters, a warm and loving family, lots of wedding hijinks, but most of all, I loved the big idea of living each moment. My heart cracked in half when I found out what happened to Louna's first love, Ethan. I shed tears during each flashback, where we learned the details of their relationship. I was so happy for the support of family, but also that fate brought Ambrose into her orbit to help her heal.



I always cry at weddings, but seriously, this one just hit on a sensitive subject for me, and I thought Dessen executed it quite well. Oh! And I loved getting to go back to Colby and revisit some spots from one of my fave Dessen books (Along for the Ride).

Overall: A beautiful story of first love and first loss, of family and friends who are there to help you heal and move forward, and appreciating each moment you get.