The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

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Description:
Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?

Sarah Dessen’s devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer

Review:

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen is a simple story of a young girl, in a small town setting, who is spending her last summer at home, before she goes off to college.  It is a story of family, friendship, coming of age, & decisions that will affect the future.

Emaline is our heroine, and right from the start you are drawn to her.  She is the perfect girl next door, sweet, friendly, smart, savvy, and a hard worker.  Emaline is working for her sister, at Colby Realty, greeting vacationers who are renting property. Emaline knows her job well, as she ensures each property is well taken care of. 

We get to meet Emaline’s family and friends early on, as well as her boyfriend Luke.  They are the perfect couple, and have been dating for three years, though they have known each other since they were kids.  Luke is a nice guy, and a hunk. 

Emaline is surprised when her father plans to visit for a few weeks, with her 10 year old  half brother, Benji.  She is estranged with her father, as he has never been part of her life. Emaline considers her mom’s husband as her Dad, and has lived with them and her sisters, all her life. She is upset with her father, who tried to make amends, offering to help pay her tuition to Columbia University, only to back out in the last minute; leaving Emaline to go a college a couple of hours away from Colby. She accepts the fact that her father never keeps his promises, and is still a happy contented young lady with the family she loves. 

Then she meets Theo, a young student from N.Y., who is working with a documentary filmmaker, who is in town to try to convince a Colby recluse artist to do a documentary on his career.  Just at that time, Luke makes a mistake, and they break up, leaving Emaline, now free,  to find herself becoming attracted to Theo.  Is it Theo she is really attracted to, or is it the exciting life he is learning for his own career?

In between, handling her family crisis; her half brother, who is lonely; her broken relationship with Luke, as well as her father; and the possible new exciting relationship with Theo; Emaline finds herself facing decisions on what she truly wants in her life.  She knows she is happy in Colby, but is that all she wants out of life?  As the summer winds down, Emaline becomes involved in helping with the documentary, and dealing with problems that she can and does resolve. 

Dessen has created some wonderful characters that you end up caring about.  Her friends Daisy and Morris; her half brother, Benji; Luke, who though he made a mistake to ruin his relationship, is a nice guy; and her family, who she knew would always be there for her.  This was a simple heart warming story of likeable and realistic characters, and watching Emaline discover things about herself that will help define her direction in life. 

If you are looking for excitement, a sexy romantic read, YA angst, or anything paranormal, this is not the book to read.  If you want a simple, but wonderful story about a young girl coming of age, and the wonderful small town she lives in. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher