Thoughts on : The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen

Posted by Kay on August 1, 2019 11:49 pm in 4 stars reads | 4 comments

The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
Genre : YA
Stand alone

About the Book  :

Emma Saylor doesn’t remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten. Now it’s just Emma and her dad, and life is good… until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother’s family.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there. Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort. The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma. But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

For Saylor, it’s like a whole new world is opening up to her. But when it’s time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

My Thoughts :

Maybe it’s because I also grew up by the water, or maybe because she creates such compelling summer settings, but there’s something about reading Sarah Dessen’s books that always feels like coming home. The characters are new, the issues are different, the story is unique, yet something about it feels so comfortably familiar.

The Rest of the Story was no different. It had all of the good things  I expect from a Sarah Dessen novel : great relationships, complex family dynamics, a touch of romance and a good summer time.

I loved meeting all of Emma’s cousins, old friends and other family members. A lot of them were very well fleshed out and had distinct personalities, and felt like real people to me. My one complaint : I really wish we’d seen a lot more of Mimi, Emma’s maternal grand-mother. I feel that, since Emma is trying to know more about her mom and where she comes from, Mimi could have been a great source of stories and memories. 

I also really appreciated the interior conflict Emma is facing. Feeling pulled from both sides, trying to decide who she is, it felt very real. It reminded me of my own teenage years, but there is something there, a great exploration of identity, that I think we can also sometimes relate to as adults.

Of course, there’s a bit of romance too, but it’s a small part of the book. Like in The Moon and More, the romance is obvious but builds up softly, and is only one part of Emma’s story rather than the whole of it. In fact, I felt that her relationships with her cousins were even more important, and I really appreciated that.

There’s also some serious and difficult themes explored here. Emma deals with anxiety and a certain form of grief from having lost her mother so young, and also from that fact that her mom had been an addict. I felt the author handled all of these themes with respect and in a very humane way, but the story never felt so heavy it took away the summer vibe.

All in all, The Rest of the Story was a perfect summer read. If you enjoy YA books that are character centric and explore family dynamics, check this one out. There are a few more Sarah Dessen novels I haven’t read, and now I want to read them all!

Similar reading :

If you enjoyed The rest of the Story, you might also like What Happens Now by Jennifer Castle!

It’s a summery novel that also deals mental health, featuring a lake, great friendships and a cute romance. It did a great job of exploring how depression can affect someone, without being too heavy.