What Happened to Goodbye

Since her parents' bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother's new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out. 

Combining Sarah Dessen's trademark graceful writing, great characters, and compelling storytelling, What Happened to Goodbye is irresistible reading.

Title: What Happened to Goodbye
Author: Sarah Dessen
Published: May 10th 2011
Where to buy: Barnes and Noble, Amazon

Review:



This is a wonderful heartwarming novel. The ending allows you to make your own interpretation. Positive or negative the decision is up to you, and not in a way that makes you feel cheated, a skill that Dessen so beautifully has mastered. 

Immediately after finishing What happened to Goodbye, I went online and downloaded Along for the ride. It is just confidence thing with Dessen that you just knowingly accept the fact that you are going to like any of her books.

The meaning of What happened to Goodbye can more obviously be translated into the fact that her and her father move around a lot, and our main character, Mclean Sweet, has come to deal with this by not dealing with it at all. When it is time to move she notices the signs, then packs it all up and leaves it all behind without so much as a goodbye. 

Also, in every new place she changes her identity or name and becomes the kind of person she believes she will be because of the place she lives in. She was Eliza, Lizbet, and Beth before she moved to Jackson, where she was about to become Liz when she somehow kept getting stuck with her given name, Mclean. 


Our lover boy of the novel is Dave. He is a super genius with a soft hippie style. He is her neighbor and has the uber strict parents that teenagers have nightmares about. Even though he is so smart he is very down to earth and fun to read about. 

Other fun characters to add to the mix is Deb, Riley, Opal, her father Gus, mother Katharine or Katie, Ellis, and Heather. 

Deb is the best of all the secondary characters. She is that nerdy girl that really just wants someone to hang out with. She is full of hidden talents and is so sweet and innocent yet surprisingly well rounded in her interests that you cannot help but love her.

Riley is Dave's best friend she has known him since they were little and she kind of helps push Dave and Mclean together. 

Opal is an emotionally charged woman who manages the restaurant that McLean’s dad Gus has come to take over. 

Gus is a fun loving easy going kind of guy but it is very apparent that Mclean is more of the guardian that he is to her. 

Katie is overbearing, and very annoying. She begs and pushes for Mclean to visit or live with her even going through lawyers to get what she wants.

Ellis and Heather are fun and entertaining when they are around. They mostly are there for us to see different sides of Dave.

A great fun, fluff read that is perfect for those nights where you just feel like staying in and curling up with a book.

Rating:

Recommended for people who enjoyed:
Lola and the Boy Next Door or Between Here and Forever