“Who am I? Who do I want to be?” Haven is a girl who is still searching for herself and don’t really know who she is or even who she wants to be. Her life is changing and it all is happening over ONE special summer.
In Sarah Dessen´s book That Summer we meet Haven. A girl who thinks she is way too tall and therefore very uncomfortable with herself. But Sumner, Haven’s sister’s ex-boyfriend is reminding her how beautiful she is in her tallness. This summer Sumner comes back, after a hard breakup with Haven’s sister, Ashley. Faith keeps bringing Sumner and Haven to each other and Haven is not sad about that. He is reminding her of the best summer in her life. The summer when her parents still were married and everything was perfect. Now her father is re-marrying a weather-pet named Lorna. Haven has no bigger problem with her dad’s new woman, except that she took her father from her mother.
Haven is working in the Lakeview Mall in a shoe-shop. There she is spending her summer earning money, while being pushed by her boss to sell those annoying socks that no one really wants to buy. Her sister is marrying the love of her life and the planning of this huge event is leaving Haven on the sideway. Nothing special really happens to her but she can feel how she’s changing into a new person and maybe also growing a couple of inches taller.
But is everyone who she thinks they are in the very end? Has Haven forgotten who really are important to her, and who really matters?
“Read her once, and fall in love!” they said. Honestly I don’t know what those people are talking about. I did not fall in love. This was the first time I read a book written by Sarah Dessen and I was not very impressed I must say. When I was going to look for a book, I found this and read the cover of it and thought that this is a typical me-book. I almost feel tricked. My problem with this book is that I never stopped waiting for something drastic to happen. I turned every page thinking: “maybe now”, but nothing ever really happened. But besides that it was a good typical teenage-book so if you are into this kind of books, just as I am, read it!
I give this book 2 of 5 possible Marabou-chocolate bars!
Emma Nilsson EK13