Someone Like You [Hardcover]

Sarah Dessen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1998

Halley and Scarlett have been best friends for years, sharing secrets, clothes, and crushes. People know Scarlett as the popular, flamboyant one; Halley

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Dessen's realistic portrayal of contemporary teens and their moral challenges breathes fresh life into well-worn themes of rebellion and first love. Halley has always been close to her mother, a therapist who publishes books about adolescent behavior. But the summer before her junior year of high school, Halley begins cutting the umbilical cord. She and her best friend, Scarlett, start hanging out with Ginny Tabor ("a cheerleader with a wild streak a mile wide and a reputation among the football team for more than her cheers and famous midair splits"); Halley dumps her nerdy boyfriend (the son of her mother's best friend) and becomes involved with reckless Macon, a boy her parents have forbidden her to see. Then Scarlett discovers she is pregnant two months after her boyfriend Michael is killed in a motorcycle accident. Walking a line between childhood and adulthood, the two girls turn to each other instead of their families for support. Together they explore the meaning of love, sex and responsibility. This romance/coming-of-age story is not as tightly written as Dessen's debut, That Summer; it suffers from some scenes reminiscent of soap opera and from flat presentations of almost all the adult characters. But Dessen's fully developed characterizations of charismatic teens, particularly the rebel-without-a-cause-type Macon, are sure to attract readersAespecially those who, like Halley, have felt the urge to take a walk on the wild side. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 UpAQuiet, predictable Halley and Scarlett, her feisty defender, have been best friends since grade school. Growing up like sisters, they've shared everything except a bedroomAdreams, clothes, classes, and Friday nights. Then boys step into their teen lives. Scarlett's romance the summer before junior year has serious consequences when Michael dies in a motorcycle accident and she's left carrying his child. Halley's close relationship with her psychologist mother is fractured as the girl's friendship with secretive, irresponsible Macon Faulkner deepens into romance. To top things off, Grandma Halley is dying. Halley and her classmates experiment with drugs, alcohol, and sex, and experience family problems. Asking questions and making choices, Halley confronts her fears and learns to make her own decisions on her way to adulthood. Dessen deals accurately, sensitively, and smoothly with growing up in suburbia. Halley and Scarlett's friendship resonates with affection and honesty, and the predictable but necessary separation of mothers and daughters is portrayed with tender acuity. Experiences and conversations avoid falling into clich?; all of the characters are fully developed and worth getting to know. Without preaching or posturing, Dessen has written a powerful, polished story.AGail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CA
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670877786
• ISBN-13: 978-0670877782
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (260 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #970,381 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

44 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Realistic, thoughtful, and affecting, August 10, 2005

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Someone Like You (Mass Market Paperback)

Halley was named for her grandmother, who was named for the comet. Scarlett, across the street, was named for you-know-who. Both are "onlies," just turning sixteen, and have been best friends, almost-sisters since they were eleven. Then Michael, the boy to whom Scarlett lost her virginity only the night before, is killed in a car wreck and -- you guessed it -- she's pregnant. Her mother also had gotten pregnant in high school and (fortunately for Scarlett) had kept the baby, and now she decides to do the same. Meanwhile, Halley is getting more and more involved with Macon, Michael's dangerous buddy, who wants more than she's ultimately willing to give. The nine months of Scarlett's pregnancy is the backdrop for a very well-written story about love and sex and real friendship and dealing with parents. And the final scene, in the hospital waiting room, is very cinematic. This is a terrific book for teenagers, but it's also simply a very, very well done novel.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friends Til The End, July 23, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Someone Like You (Hardcover)

This book, "Someone Like You", is one of the best books I have ever read. It tells the story of two best friends, Halley and Scarlett during their junior year experiencing many difficult times as well as happy ones. At the beginning of the year, Scarlett discovers something that will change her life forever, and Halley is the only person that will stick with her throughout it all even though she is experiencing problems of her own, such as, her mother, her dad's embarrassing stories, her dying grandmother and her reckless boyfriend. The book is definitely worth reading, and its one of those books that once u pick up u can't put it back down! I loved it from the first page to the last and I can't wait to read other books by Sarah Dessen. So read "Someone Like You" and I'm positive you WON'T be dissappointed! Enjoy!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How real if friendship?, November 23, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Someone Like You (Paperback)

"Life is an awful ugly place not to have a friend" -Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen really shows how special a best friend can be in Someone like You. This book makes you think about how friendships can change your life with any situation brought upon you, boyfriends, parents, drugs, or a pregnancy. But how the real friends will always stay around. Usually I shoot for the fantasy books, ones where you can ride in the mystical rainforest on a silky black Pegasus. Sarah Dessen really made Halley's and Scarlet's lives seem so real though, like I was actually there. Everything that Halley or Scarlet did I followed. Halley, who is an only child and never really disobeyed her parents until her senior year, narrates this book. This was the year where everything changed. Halley's best friend Scarlet had a boyfriend, who died in a motorcycle accident, leaving Scarlet to find out she was pregnant with his child. To make things worse Halley gets involved in a bad relationship where she gets into things such as drugs, and close to having sex. As I read on, a question came to me on whether I would stay with my friends if all of that happened to me. But same as Halley and Scarlet my friends mean the world to me. So there is no doubt in my mind, that I would do anything for my best friend, just like Halley would do anything for Scarlet. My English teacher recommended this book for me to read, since I had already read another one of Sarah Dessen's books called Keeping the Moon. Both are very similar, friendship is the main topic throughout the whole story. If I were to recommend this book to someone else, it would have to be someone who loves their friends and would do anything for them. Since Someone like You has some very strong emotions in it, and situations a lot of teenagers go through I think it is aiming toward high school girls. Any younger may not understand how important your friends are when going through some life situations like the ones Halley and Scarlet faced. The best thing about this book is that it really tells a deeper story then the words on the page. It tells you how ugly things can be, but how a friend can see you through everything and beyond. So I'm so glad I have my friends!