What Happened to Goodbye

Mclean knows how to pack a house and how to reinvent herself.  She's done it more times than than she likes to admit.  What she doesn't know how to do is say goodbye.    Maclean's mom decided several years ago that she wanted more out of life and left to be with Maclean's namesake  - the coach of Maclean's father's favorite basketball team.  With a hole blown through her life, Maclean decides that she'd rather live with her father than ever trust her mother again. Her dad is a restaurant consultant - think "Restaurant Impossible" with no video cameras, no decor overhaul, and more time spent over-hauling than will fit in an hour-long episode. Every time Maclean's dad gets a new restaurant to "fix," they move.  And every time they move, Maclean tries on a new persona - sporty girl, preppy girl, theater girl - with a version of her real first name (Elizabeth) to match. 

Now in her senior year of high school Maclean decides to give being her real self a try.  The real Maclean catches the eye of the adorable yet sorta nerdy guy next door.  As Maclean learns about who she really is again, new friendships start to blossom - which is, of course, about the time that Maclean would usually have to move.  But it seems her dad isn't too keen to leave just yet even though his work seems done.  When Maclean's new friends find out about her "other selfs," she panics and agrees to try staying with her mom for a while to get away.  Fixing restaurants seems so easy for her dad, but how will Maclean fix things with her mom and her friends?

All of Sarah Dessen's novels are sigh and swoon-filled.  Nothing too steamy, nothing too cold.  It's like she writes a just-right-baby-bear-bed romance every time.  Reading her books are a like a breath of fresh air after a lot of intense dystopians.  There are always plenty of quirky characters and a likeable herione.  Now if we could just do something about those headless models on all the book covers...