The Moon and More book review

By: Senior Marissa Dingledine, Journalism staff

Sarah Dessen has done it again; The Moon and More is another hit novel to be added  to the copious amount of others. We return to the small beach town of Colby, which Dessen has created in so many of her past books, and we meet 18 year old Emaline. It's the summer, Emaline's last summer before she goes off to college and her life changes from the comfortable routine she's lived in her whole life. Included in that routine are her job at her family-owned rental company and her boyfriend, Luke, who is in a word, perfect. To fill the rest of Emaline’s “perfect” life are her loving mom, step-dad, and sisters.  All of the relationships she has, she has had her entire life... until one day everything changes when an out-of-town filmmaker and her younger sidekick, Theo, come to Colby. When Emaline and Theo meet, her summer is flipped upside down and puts Emaline and Luke's relationship on the rocks. But one thing compels Emaline to Theo--he thinks she's too smart to be stuck in Colby. To shake up her summer even more, Emaline’s father (who has been absent for the majority of her life) comes to Colby. He shares the same views as Theo and starts to obstruct the plan she has had for her life. The future they are seeing attracts Emaline, but the relationships she’s established hold her back. True to the title of the book, Emaline wants “the moon and more,” but will she be able to balance where she comes from and where she’s going?

I personally am a big fan of Sarah Dessen and have read all of them. The Moon and More is definitely one of my favorites from her. As well with this being a great teen “romance” novel, it deals with a  lot of the pressures and obstacles I’m dealing with now. Emaline is 18 and about to start college, and much of the book is about that. It’s refreshing how the book focuses on real world problems that deal with a relevant topic such as school and the leaving your family, not just a summer love. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Dessen’s previous novels or dealing with your senior year and moving on.