Customer Reviews

Love, Sara

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two teen best friends who come from foster homes form an uncertain, often stormy friendship supported by email communications in this unusual story, told in the form of emails exchanged by the two. One finds romance, pregnancy, and rejection and the other friend lands in a good foster home and tries to help her pal in this story of changes.

Sara Reichart is a sixteen year-old girl who looks forward to entering her junior year with her best friend, Dulcie, a Korean adoptee. However, Sara is no ordinary girl in that she is living with a foster mother, who is a widow with a twelve year-old daughter and a six year-old son. Sara was taken out of her parents' custody when it was found out that her father was sexually abusing her. "I only did it to save Suzy (her younger sister)" she says. Sara has been in many foster homes before, and for some reason or another, it has not worked out. She has also been in hospitals for struggling with depression, suicide attempts, and self-mutilation. Clearly, she is a very confused and very misunderstood young teenager, who has to deal with flashbacks (even when a boy just touches her) and feelings of anger and rejection, and the difficulty of being the odd girl in a close family, in addition to normal teenage angst.

When Dulcie falls in love with John, his traditional parents don't approve of her Korean nationality, while her parents don't want her to be dating a sophisticated, popular boy. Even Sara, herself, is originally suspicious, but soon grows to care for John and his friends. When Dulcie finds out that she is pregnant, she feels at a loss because her parents will be furious, and John's have thrown him out of the house already. Feeling abandoned and alone, they make a suicide pact to die together, and Sara, not wanting to be alone, decides to join. I won't spoil the ending other than to say that it is both hopeful, yet painfully realistic.

This book takes the form of back-and-forth e-mails, not-quite-fictional stories Sara writes for her English class, and journal entries, which Sara pens to the French artist Toulouse-Lautrec, which sounds far-fetched, but when you realize that he painted the degraded women of France's underground, you can see the connection. The book is well-written and you can really empathize and feel close to Sara, who seems so talented and gifted, yet so horribly exploited. My biggest disappointment with this book was that the subject of incest was dealt with so subtly. The story focused more on Sara's present with Dulcie, rather than her past at home. There are only a couple of phone calls to her home which reveal the dynamics of Sara's family. Still, I appreciate the author's showing the painful aftermath of sexual abuse and a Social Services removal of a child, unlike most pat "everything will work out" portrayals. I give the author so much credit for tackling this ambitious and sensitive subject! "Love, Sara" is a must-read.

this story was so real and raw! i read this book in one day. i couldn't put it down! the things that sara goes through are so unreal. i suggest that every teenagers, boys and girls should read this book! I LOVED IT!

Love, Sara is a book that can really reach into the minds of teenagers. This book is about a girl named Sara who is a foster child, and has been transferred many times from family to family. Finally Sara's life is in order and things are going good. She finally has a close friend and she thinks her foster mom is almost ready to adopt her. Her best friend Darcy has just started seeing the most popular guy in the school, and things are like heaven for the both of them. But when Darcy becomes pregnant Sara's life takes a complete U turn. Tragedy strikes and Sara finds her self in a situation that could mean life or death. Almost throughout the entire book I was on the edge of my seat. The reading isn't difficult it's a very easy book to understand. I got this book for a reading assignment in my English 9 class, and was procrastinating actually reading it until the very last minute. When it had finally come down to the last three days before the reading assignment was actually due, I finally decided to open the book and dive into the life of young Sara. What I was expecting was just another teen book, that would take me a couple of days, but I wouldn't really be able to get into it. What I found out, however, was that Love, Sara is a book that really keeps you interested, and it's a page turner. I had actually read the book in a matter of hours, and was definitely impressed. The book however does leave a few of the questions you might have unanswered at the end of the book , which was a little disappointing, but Love, Sara is definitely a fantastic book, and I would recommend reading it.

This is one of the best books ever like in the world!! it is sooo good you think at first okay might be a good book then it surprizes you with being the best book EVER!! i feel so bad for sara and I read the book in one sitting it was sooo good and i read it in a hospital waiting room and I cried and cried in the middle of the waiting room not even caring what people probebly thought!! everyone should read this book!! hope i have helped you! and please read <<Love,Sara>>!!

Love always,
Bethany Nicole

I read the book Love, Sara written by Mary Beth Lundgren. It is about to high school girls that are best friends named Sara and Dulcie. Dulcie falls for a guy named Jon and makes Sara feel kind of jealous. Sara talks to Dulcie a lot through emails but doesn't feel; as close to her as she use to be, so Sara tries to tell Dulcie that Jon's friends are acting fake and they don't want to be her friends. Jon's parents are wealthy and expect the best of him but they cant always get what they want. Jon and Dulcie get really close sand he tells her he loves her. After a while they get really close and end up getting physical with one another. This wasn't the smartest idea of the two because Jon's parents don't like Dulcie and don't want them to be together. A couple of days after their contact with one another Dulcie ended up being pregnant. Dulcie tells Jon and Jon tells his parents, and they throw him out of the house. Well Sara thinks they should get an abortion but Dulcie and Jon want to have it. Dulcie and Jon end up out on their own. Read the book and you will know the ending. Great book, recommend it to everyone.

I love the book. I have only had it for a week and I have read it twice. When you start reading it you can't stop until you get to the last page. It is wonderful!!

I absolutely loved the way this book was written. Mary Beth Lundgren pieced together peices of Sara's life so beautifully. I enjoyed reading her diary to a famous artist and her IM conversations and her creative writtings. I thouroughly enjoyed the way that Lundgren usedd other author's writting styles for Sara's english assignements. And I LOVED all of the poems and quotes. I ached for Sara and her friend as they progressed into the pain of life. And I couldn't help but cry at the end....it's a must read!

Oh, my gosh. I read this book a few days ago, and the pages are tearstained. It is such an amazing book, and EVERYONE should read it. It's unbelievably realistic--all of the book is Sara's computer entries (e-mails, journal entries, etc). Yet it still gets its point across powerfully. I was nearing the end and just HAD to write a song about its message, called "Aqua Pain Drops." It's so sad. I love this book.

this story was told through poems, quotes, creative writing projects and journal entries. never does the author directly tell you the story. you basically rifle through this girls writing and learn her life. its not a page turner at the begining but knowing that the girls friend gets pregnant and a conflict ensues makes it worth reading. by the end, you cant stop reading for anything. the first book thats made me cry in years. you can totally relate to the girl if youve ever been through hardships like these ones, and if you havent, you can definitely sympathize. too good for words, and if i told you any of the rest of the story, id tell you the whole story, but you have to read it without a biased oppinion. this book is so much more than worth while.