A review by nebraskanwriter
Once and for All by Sarah Dessen

emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

 I bought this at the airport while waiting for my plane in Chicago and, honestly, I kind of regret buying it… 
First and foremost, I wanted to like this book a lot more then I actually did. 
And I did like the book, up until a certain point. 

That certain point, ladies and gentlemen, was when we found out Ethan and Louna’s back story. About their first time meeting at one of the many weddings Louna’s mother had planned, their romantic walk along the beach, and subsequent other things that happened on the beach that night as well. That whole chapter of them meeting was SO cliche that I almost did not finish the book. 

I get that first loves are fast, yes, but within less then 12 hours of knowing each other, they had made a home run and then some. This guy was a complete stranger and yet Louna and Ethan said “I love you” to each other, they kissed, they also did more than just kissing in the sand (if you know what I mean) -– which is a whole other cliche that I’m not going to even delve into. 

It was almost too unbelievably fast to believe. And quite frankly, I didn’t. 

Louna also believes that because of this one perfect night with Ethan that no one else can ever live up to those expectations. Her and Ethan only spend ONE DAY together, the first day they meet, before he has to go back home with his dad. Her whole dating expectation is hinged on this one day with this one boy. Afterwards, the two carry on a long distance relationship for a few months before tragedy strikes. 

I did like the Dessen talked about something that’s happening too often these days, school shootings. And I get that she didn’t want focus too much on that because the main character didn’t want to talk about it and also because it’s such a hot topic. But the background story of what happened is only told in snippets and occasional chapters. She could have maybe delved into those hot topics, waded through Louna’s opinion of where to draw the line at gun control, ect. But, instead, Dessen focuses on the wedding planning business and… Ambrose. 

As other reviews that I’ve seen have pointed out, Ambrose steals a dog from an abusive owner but no ramifications happen for said stealing of said dog. He also delays his mom’s wedding because he’s flirting with a girl. He is also hired on the spot by Louna’s mother only to move the plot forward. His sudden infatuation with Louna seemed out of the blue random, at least to me, at the very end of the novel. 

Ben felt like the most normal character. Dessen, for some reason, points out several times through out the book that Ben likes to document the two’s relationship, which annoys Louna to no end for some reason. And it seems to be the only flaw that Dessen can pin on the guy. 

Louna can’t even make up her mind between Ambrose and Ben until she thinks Ambrose has died after being hit a car. Then Ambrose and Louna kiss in the street after she discovers he hasn’t died while poor Ben is still waiting at her house with a present for her birthday. 

I did like it, don’t get me wrong. The wedding antics were hilarious, as were some of Ambrose’s many one-liners. Jilly’s family chaos was a nice touch as well. But, overall, I wish the book had been just a little bit deeper. 
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