Sarah Dessen is a renowned contemporary author. She specializes in Young Adult literature by providing readers with realistic fiction. Some of her works include: That Summer (1997), Someone Like You (1999), Keeping the Moon (2000). Dreamland (2001), This Lullaby (2003), Just Listen (2007), and Along for the Ride (2010). All of the previously named books won the American Library Association “Best Fiction for Young Adults” award (“Sarah Dessen” 2016). Many of her books revolve around the theme of isolation, emotional distance among family, and progressive change in people’s personalities (“Sarah Dessen” 2012).
Dessen was born on June 6, 1970 in Evanston, Illinois, but she grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (“Sarah Dessen” 2012). She is the
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Dessen began doing drugs which ultimately resulted in her lying to her parents (“Sarah Dessen” 2016). These series of events are similar to what happens to Annabel in the story. Annabel was raped by an upperclassman while she was a junior in high school. Instead of telling an adult she trusts, or her family the situation, she keeps it inside for many months. Annabel describes it as a, “…long, lonely summer of secrets and silence” (Dessen 2). Annabel is a model in her local mall, and for people who do not know her, she seems perfect. Many models today are perceived in the same way, but several of them often have demons that they are dealing with. Dessen did not realize this as a teen, which led to her jealousy of the girls in high school. They had issues the same way that she …show more content…
They seem to be the perfect group of people that have no issues, no problems, and a great life. This cannot be anymore far from the truth. Annabel talks about how her mother was severely depressed after the death of her grandmother; her mom would not even leave her room some days. She also describes how her oldest sister, Kirsten, was a party girl and had her fair share of wild nights. The middle sister, Whitney, struggled for months with Anorexia Nervosa to the point where she had to be hospitalized and received treatment. No one outside of the family knew what was going on because all they could see are two people who are very much in love with one another and their three model