Retro Friday (6) - Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen

Retro Friday is a weekly meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time! 

This week I chose Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen , which is an old favorite of mine. I was actually surprised I had never reviewed this book, what with the number of times I have read it!! Anyway, where we go. 

Current Cover

At First Sight: Halley and Scarlett have been a dynamic duo for most of their lives. Scarlett as the outgoing, bubbly one and Halley as her quiet side quick. 

But the summer before junior year everything changes. Scarlett falls madly in love with Michael Sherwood and when he dies Scarlett world seems to crumble, and the balance of their friendship shifts, requiring Halley to be strong for the two of them for the first time in their lives.

But Michael's death was just the beginning and, on the heels of it, his best friend Macon suddenly starts hanging around Halley and her fascination with him furthers the chasm that has been growing between her and her mother. Then Scarlett finds out that she's pregnant, and Halley starts actually dating Macon and their world starts to spin out of control faster than either of them is prepared for.

Second Glance: I can't express how much I love this story even though Macon is probably my least favorite Dessen Boy (more on that later). The strength of it, for me, has always been Scarlett and Halley, the nuances of their friendship and how, even though Halley is the narrator, is really the story of her and Scarlett and the baby. I also love the different dynamics each of them have with their mothers and each other's mother (Halley getting along better with Scarlett's carefree mother than her own, and vice-versa)

Now, Macon. I don't know what it was, maybe because it had been a while since the last time I sat to read Someone Like You cover to cover, but I could notice now subtle things that made me suspicious of Macon from the beginning, and it's really great to see how Sarah Dessen builds his character up, making him seem perfect to Halley at the beginning, this boy who belonged with someone more popular, more outgoing more everything, a boy Halley thought she wasn't right for, that made her felt lucky he had chosen her; and then how things changed, and he began to fall from the pedestal where Halley had put him. 

This time around, I also wondered more about Michael. It was funny how I keep finding new things each time I read this book.

Bottom Line: I adore this book, I remembered I used to read it every couple of months when I first got it, I just couldn't resist Halley and Scarlett's story, a story about first loves yes, but mostly about friendship - about the choices we make and the promises we keep in name of that friendship. Definitely a book I think everyone should read.

Favorite Quote: "The truth was I knew, after all those flat January days, that I deserved better. That I deserved I love yous and kiwi fruits and flowers and warriors coming to my door, besotted with love. I deserved pictures of my face in a million expressions, and the warmth of a baby's kick under my hand. I deserved to grow, and to change, to become all the girls I could be over the course of my life, each one better than the last."

Left: Original Cover / Right: Brit Cover

2/3