How To Deal (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [School & Library Binding]

Sarah Dessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2003

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 496 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (July 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0613667093
• ISBN-13: 978-0613667098
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,122,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I've been writing, in one way or another, for as long as I can remember. I was always a big reader, mostly because my parents were. I used to get frustrated with my mom because she bought me books for Christmas when what I really wanted were the gifts my friends got, things like sweaters and jewelry. But I did love to read. When I was eight or nine my parents gave me an old manual typewriter and a little desk in the corner of our den, and I'd sit there and type up my stories. I was the kind of kid that people always sighed over and said, "She has such a wild imagination," which usually meant "I wish Sarah would try to stick to the truth." I have a tendency to embellish: I think it's just a weakness of fiction writers. Once you learn how to make a story better, it's hard not to do it all the time."The books I read when I was teenager, the good ones anyway, have stuck more in my mind than anything since. I still love books, but while I couldn't tell you complete plots of novels I read even six months ago, I do remember even the smallest descriptive details from Lois Lowry's A Summer to Die or Judy Blume's Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. I think it was because back then books were still somewhat new to me, and when I found an author who seemed to say just what I was feeling, it really struck me and resonated. I hope that my books do that for the people who read them: I think it's the best thing to which any writer can aspire. "As far as my other life, my non-writing life, I live in the country with my husband, some lizards, and two dogs who are completely spoiled and rule me completely. I like to work in my garden---although I have not yet perfected the art of keeping everything alive----and, in my weaker moments, shop. I have a bit of an addiction to the Gap clearance rack, to be honest. I have this strange need to buy huge quantities of black pants. How many pairs of black pants does one person need? (Obviously for me, the answer is 11 and counting. But I digress.) What else can I tell you? I love Starbucks mochas but they make me way hyper. I subscribe to too many magazines. I make a mean bean salad. I could go on, but the truth is, my books are much more exciting than I am, and that's a good thing. It's always more fun to make stuff up anyway."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great book, but READ THIS BEFORE ORDERING, June 2, 2003

By 

Molly - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Deal: Someone Like You/That Summer (Movie tie-in) (Mass Market Paperback)

just a warning: i ordered this book thinking that it was a new book by sarah dessen. sadly, i got it today, and it is really just two of her other books, Someone Like You and That Summer, put into one book. The reason for the different title is because they have combined these two books into one movie called How to Deal, starring Mandy Moore. I have read both novels seperately, and they are great, especially someone like you, so if you haven't read them, this book would be a good thing for you to purchase.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How To Deal, August 13, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Deal: Someone Like You/That Summer (Movie tie-in) (Mass Market Paperback)

How to Deal is a book with two novels by Sarah Dessen in them which were put together to make a movie. The stories are divided in this book instead of together like the movie. I'll review each story seperatly

Someone Like You was my favorite of the two novels, it talks about Halley and her crazy life. She used to be quiet and well behaved, but then her best friend Scarlett became pregnant and the father of the baby is killed. Halley helps Scarlett through her pregnancy while dating Macon, the mysterious and wild boy who was Michael(the baby's father)'s best friend. Soon Halley's world turns upside down with Macon's reckless actions, Scarlett's pregnancy and her problems with her mother This story is about true life and love, and how Halley deals with it. I found myself smiling through my tears in the end, and every time I re-read it, the book gets more and more compelling.

That Summer: Haven is an awkward fifteen year old, who finds her world turned upside-down this summer. What with her father having an affair, her moody sister getting married to a man like a saltine cracker and her mother's saddness and obsessive gardening, Haven feels lost in the shuffle. She is angry with her crazy family, her new "Bad Girl" best friend and her life in general. She keeps remembering how wonderful that summer was when her sister was dating Sumner Lee, the happy and perfect boy who seemed to pull her family together. But after they broke-up, it was then that Haven's world unraveled. It sound like it would be an awesome book, but the characters were not developed well and the ending seemed unfinished. The message in the story was a good one though, about how the first boy always hurts the most.

I had to give this book four stars because of the story That Summer, but this is worth owning. The books were way better then the movie, Haven and Halley and their crazy lives cannot fit within one film. I found that in "That Summer" Macon was a very strong character like Halley, and the film did not portray either of the stories like Sarah Dessen did. Both are books worth owning, and should be read over and over, because they do get better every time.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two Great Novels in One, March 7, 2005

By 

MG (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Deal: Someone Like You/That Summer (Movie tie-in) (Mass Market Paperback)

For those of you looking for a great read, How To Deal is the perfect book. You will be getting two of Sarah Dessen's novels in one: Someone Like You and That Summer. The Movie How To Deal was made based on these two books. Both are wonderful reads for adolescent girls going through the pains and joys of growing up. In Someone Like You, best friends Halley and Scarlette struggle through Scarlette's pregnancy and together strive through the loss of a close friend. This book shows the blessings of a best friend, and how important it is to have someone to care about. In That Summer, Haven struggles through the pains of family life and first loves. It teaches the importance of family sticking together, and how wonderful and painful first loves can be. Both books are excellent novels and guides that every teenage girl will be able to relate to.