Audiobook Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

Title: The Moon and More
Author: Sarah Dessen
Narrator: Allie Gallerani
Published: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Length: 11 hrs 25 mins
Source: publisher via Audiobook Jukebox

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline's mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going?

Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and, finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer.

I must admit... this is my very first Dessen book.  Ever.  And that's not due to lack of interest by any stretch.  I actually own several of her books.  And though it's been recommended to me that I read them in order, I was given a copy of this audio for review so I felt the need to read it promptly.  I had pretty over-the-top high hopes for The Moon and More.  And though it didn't blow my mind, I'd still say it's a winner.

After reading the synopsis I was under the impression this was going to be more of a love triangle type of romance.  I was wrong.  It didn't come off like that at all.  Emaline is struggling with the balance of her past and her future.  All she knows is the beach lifestyle, working in the family business day after day.  She longs for what's in her future, dreaming of Ivy League schools and bigger and better professions.  This story seems to revolve more around larger life decisions, and much less about romance.

My favorite aspect of this story (and hopefully Dessen's writing style as a whole, though I have nothing to compare it to.) was how realistic these characters were.  Instead of writing a strong character that we all wish we could be more like, Dessen writes about characters that can be easily related to.  Characters that we could have been ourselves as teenagers.  This made me really connect with Emaline and the others.  From the family and friendly relationships to the mundane daily activities, down to the realistic concerns regarding one's future, I felt as though I could see exactly where each was coming from in their struggles.

I didn't feel the romance in this story too strongly, which was a bit of a surprise to me.  That may be because I wasn't a big fan of Theo.  He basically got on my nerves more than anything.  So I'm sure that had something to do with my lack-of-all-romance feelings.  The sibling and parental relationships, however, were strong and carried me through this story.

This was my first audio narrated by Allie Gallerani.  Though she could have differentiated between the characters a bit more, she performed very smoothly and clearly overall.

Now that I've had my first dose of Dessen, I can confidently say this will not be my last.  What this story lacked in plot it made up for in the characters.  Dessen definitely knows how teens think and feel, and she flawlessly developed characters that even if you don't love, you learn to like and respect.  This is a perfect summer contemporary beach read.

Sarah Dessen grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and attended UNC-Chapel Hill, graduating with highest honors in Creative Writing. She is the author of several novels, including Someone Like You, Just Listen and Along for the Ride. A motion picture based on her first two books, entitled How to Deal, was released in 2003. Her eleventh novel,The Moon and More, will be published in June 2013. She lives in North Carolina.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter