Review: Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

So many feels about this book! I will try and keep it as non-squealy and non-fangirly as possible, but it's hard because I loved this book SO, SO much. I usually fly through books, but with this one, I took it slow until the last hundred pages and I just couldn't stop reading. And I laughed and cried and everything in between. It was simply fantastic and beautifully written.

Saint Anything tells the story of Sydney Stanford, a 17-year old girl suffering through the guilt of her older brother Peyton's actions, whose fall from the popular and seemingly confident perfect guy, son and brother tears apart her family. In the aftermath of his prison sentencing, Sydney transfers to a public school from prep, meeting a new group of friends. She meets Laylah, the flighty best friend with a refined taste for French fries, and Mac, her dependable and sweet older brother in particular, who become a new family for her when her mom and dad are too preoccupied with Peyton to help and see her in the way she needs to be helped and seen.

There are no shortage of great things to say about this book, but I'll start with the characters. I LOVED all of the characters in this book. Sydney was a gorgeously voiced narrator. The way Dessen wrote it, I could feel her emotions as she struggled and those feelings came across as honest, raw and true. Sydney is the kind of character I think any reader can relate to because all of her emotions felt very human.

And then there were the Chatham's with their perfect mix of quirkiness, reliability and working class charm. The scene of the party at their house is one of my favorites because you can feel the love and sense of togetherness in that house radiate off the pages. I loved Mrs. Chatham and Rosie in particular, wishing there was just a little more of them in the book.

Mac is definitely in my top ten list of YA fiction crushes. He was just so sweet and so dependable, but also slightly flawed. You must read for this lovely, subtle and innocent romance. I don't want to give a thing away except that Dessen presents a teen romance that doesn't feel rushed or far fetched. It felt just right.

I don't give a lot of thought to likability to characters in my reviews. It's just not something I really care about when reading a book. I mean, I liked Mac and hated Mrs. Stanford and definitely felt those emotions as I was reading, but I was still able to appreciate their function within the narrative and it doesn't really affect my opinion of the story unless it's terribly distracting. I don't think an unlikable character ruins a book but I could see why some people might find Laylah a little unlikable and that interested me because I could see both sides of it. I'd be interested to see what other people think about her part in the story, so feel free to comment below.

I also really loved what Dessen did with themes of family and friendship in this novel. Dessen captures the fact that while family is still important to us as teenagers and when we are going through rough times, it is often the new friends and bonds we create during these times that carry us through. However, I also loved how the dynamics of Sydney's own family developed both with her parents and her incarcerated older brother. Very well done.

Overall, the plot felt tight. At times it was maybe a little unbelievable how much freedom Mrs. Stanford gave Sydney at some points in the middle, but overall Dessen succeeded at writing a story that flowed logically and pulled at each of my heartstrings. I cannot recommend this lovely, heartbreaking story enough. I don't give 5 out of 5 star reviews very often (only 10 or so ever) but this book certainly deserves it.

5 out of 5 stars