Saint Anything in What's the Name of That Book???

Dec 26, 2014 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-has, 2015

I enjoyed the book. It was different from some of her other books, but still good. Sydney has always been in the shadows while her older brother is the spotlight child. This changes when he goes away, and I liked the way her family is so different from Layla and Mac's family.

I experienced the discomfort when her brother's friend was around.

I liked thechanges Sydney went through and it was an enjoyable story. I will ead more books by this author. ...more

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May 09, 2015 CLM rated it really liked it

Shelves: 21st-century, friendship, ya, united-states

Sarah's best in years! 4 1/2 stars. ...more

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Apr 23, 2015 Abigail rated it liked it

I haven't read one of Dessen's books in ages, so either this one is genuinely more refreshing or I just have forgotten what her standard formula is. In any case, aside from the fact that by the end of this book I was totally sick of pizza (and I'm a huge fan of pizza so that's saying something) the thing that made NO sense in this story was Layla's disturbingly overused french fry obsession. Thank heavens I didn't realize this until the last 10 pages of the book or I might have quit the book alt ...more

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Oct 15, 2014 Rachel Piper rated it really liked it

Shelves: best-read-in-2015

Bumping down to four stars on the re-read. I think the first time I read this I was able, somehow, to be revisiting my childhood bedroom, a pack of twizzler pull-n-peels next to me, and that gave it some extra shine.

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Oct 06, 2014 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: age-ya, realistic, 2015

Drop everything, it's a new Sarah Dessen book!

Sydney feels invisible. Her older brother Peyton is a charmer, sure, but he's also in and out of trouble, so her parents' lives revolve around him. When he ends up in jail after a drunk driving accident that seriously injures someone, Sydney decides to go to public school to help her parents out with money. There she feels even more invisible, until she wanders into a pizza shop after school and meets Mac, Layla, and their family, who actually see h ...more

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Mar 07, 2018 Emma rated it liked it · review of another edition

Sydney has always lived in her charismatic older brother Peyton's shadow. But it’s hard to hide after Peyton’s DUI and its horrible aftermath pushes Sydney and her family into the public eye. Sydney's parents seem intent on ignoring Peyton's role in the car accident and the damage he caused. Meanwhile Sydney is haunted and infuriated by it.

Hoping for a fresh start Sydney switches schools and looks for a new normal in the midst of her family turmoil. She finds it in the unlikely form of Seaside P Sydney has always lived in her charismatic older brother Peyton's shadow. But it’s hard to hide after Peyton’s DUI and its horrible aftermath pushes Sydney and her family into the public eye. Sydney's parents seem intent on ignoring Peyton's role in the car accident and the damage he caused. Meanwhile Sydney is haunted and infuriated by it.

Hoping for a fresh start Sydney switches schools and looks for a new normal in the midst of her family turmoil. She finds it in the unlikely form of Seaside Pizza and the Chathams—the boisterous family owners. Layla draws Sydney into her family’s world as if they’ve always been friends while her brother Mac makes Sydney feel safe for the first time in a long while. Finally Sydney feels like she’s the one being seen and with that certainty she might be able to see herself and what she wants too in Saint Anything (2015) by Sarah Dessen.

I’ve been following Sarah Dessen’s publications for a few years. She is a touchstone name in YA and I am constantly order replacement copies of her books for my library as the old ones wear out. But I have never felt like any of her books really clicked for me. As soon as I heard about Saint Anything it felt like this book would be it: the make it or break it Sarah Dessen book for me. I’d either love it unequivocally or it would confirm that not every author can work for every reader. But it turns out, much like Sydney's story, my feelings about the book weren't so clear cut.

Saint Anything is filled with a quirky cast of characters including Mac Chatham, the quiet and stoic boy Sydney meets at Seaside Pizza who quickly becomes a steady and constant source of support for her. Mac, like the rest of the Chathams, is a great character. But what give me pause and what continues to frustrate me about this book is Mac's backstory. When Sydney meets him she is immediately taken aback by how attractive Mac is and baffled at his utter lack of awareness of his own good looks and their inherent power (two things Peyton routinely used to get his own way before he was arrested). During the story we learn that Mac used to be fat until he made drastic diet changes and started seriously hiking. It's a very personal response but everything about Mac's storyline and his weight irritated me. I didn't like how it was portrayed and didn't like that it was part of the story at all in the way that it connotes finding a way to be true to yourself with also being thin. Mac's backstory became a sour note in this otherwise sweet story.

As sometimes happens in longer novels Saint Anything also starts to lose momentum as it builds to the final act. Of course there is an unexpected romance but that added with a friend's ill advised relationship and the rest of the plot made the final third of the novel feel bloated and, because there was so much to do, the ending itself seemed rushed.

Sydney's relationship with her family at the beginning of Saint Anything is heartbreaking and it's so clear that the Chathams are the jolt that Sydney needs to start making changes--not just in asking for more of her parents' attention but in realizing that she deserves more. I love that aspect of the story. Sydney's growth as she works through her own grief and regret for Peyton's drunk driving accident are incredibly powerful. Watching Sydney try to ignore and ultimately confront the unwanted attentions of Peyton's older friend is tense and utterly relatable.

If this book sounds at all appealing (or you've already read it) I also urge you to check out the essay Dessen wrote near Saint Anything's release for Seventeen: "I Thought Dating An Older Guy Was Cool — Until I Sensed That Something Was Very Wrong"

Possible Pairings: The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson, Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake, Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Notes from the Midnight Driver by Jordan Sonneblick ...more

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