The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen (ARC Review)

Hey Everyone!

Last night I finished a book that is not only not officially released yet, and second from an author that I absolutely love, but haven't read since 2013!  

Sarah Dessen!

Sarah Dessen has been one of my absolute favorite authors since my freshman year of high school, which is when I borrowed my first Sarah Dessen book from my high school library, to get those 1,000 pages in that I needed to read for my English class.  It was love at first read!  I devoured anything Sarah Dessen and Meg Cabot during those years, and have collected each of their books since then to put on my own book shelf at home.  

Meg Cabot I went to when I wanted a funny young adult read and Sarah was my go-to "I need my real teen read".  Both held and still hold a strong love for reading in my heart.

Last night I finished Sarah Dessen's new novel, The Rest of the Story, which is set to release on June 4th, 2019.  I received an ARC from Sarah Dessen herself, at her YA'll West signing table a couple of weeks ago.  I was so unbelievably excited to receive an ARC from one my of all time favorite authors!  19 year-old-me would have freaked the hell out, because there was no way receiving a SARAH freaking DESSEN ARC would have seemed possible when I first started The Romance Bookie!  I am so grateful for all the doors that The Romance Bookie has opened, because I don't think I would have ever learned about all of the these incredible book events without it!

From Goodreads:

Emma Saylor doesn't remember a lot about her mother, who died when she was ten.  But she does remember the stories her mom told her about the big lake that went on forever, with cold, clear water and mossy trees at the edges. 

Now it's just Emma and her dad, and life is good, if a little predictable...until Emma is unexpectedly sent to spend the summer with her mother's family -- her grandmother and cousins she hasn't seen since she was a little girl.

When Emma arrives at North Lake, she realizes there are actually two very different communities there.  Her mother grew up in working class North Lake, while her dad spent summers in the wealthier Lake North resort.  The more time Emma spends there, the more it starts to feel like she is divided into two people as well. To her father, she is Emma.  But to her new family, she is Saylor, the name her mother always called her.

Then there's Roo, the boy who was her very best friend when she was little.  Roo holds the key to her family's history, and slowly, he helps her put the pieces together about her past.  It's hard not to get caught up in the magic of North Lake -- and Saylor finds herself falling under Roo's spell as well.

For Saylor, it's like a whole new world is opening up to her.  But when it's time to go back home, which side of her will win out?

My Thoughts:

I LOVED IT!!  Seriously, absolutely loved it!! I had a really hard time putting it down!  I have always had a thing for books that take place at a beach or lake side resort area, and this one stood out!  It is my favorite type of setting for a book!  

Each element of the book, worked so well together!  The characters, storyline, and setting just flowed so naturally.  I truly enjoyed every moment of it.  

Emma Saylor learns very early on, that she has been at the Lake before, but doesn't remember anything about it; only the stories her mom told her when she was little.  So she makes her mission very early on, to find out as much as possible about her mother's past at the Lake, and how her mother's family and friends all tie into that.  

Emma Saylor's time at North Lake, becomes a time neither of us wanted to end.  

Overall Rating:

Since The Rest of the Story is not yet officially released, I don't want to give away too much about the story.  I just want every Sarah Dessen fan to know, you will love this one!! YA Contemporary fans?? You will also love this one!  

Check it out!

You can preorder on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and I'm so sure it will be available at Target too once its released!

The Romance Bookie :)