Advanced reader review of Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
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This book feels like coming home after a long trip. It’s sweet, nostalgic, and chock full of familial life.

Welcome back to the publishing world, Sarah Dessen. It has been worth the wait!

Finley’s just finished high school and is going to spend a couple of weeks with her mum. (I’m not American; I do not like ‘mom’.)

Like many of Dessen’s books, this story explores the intricacies of family relationships. How the decisions we make can impact our lives, however we can always have a change of plans. (See what I did there? Yes, it’s bad. Shh.)

The romance between Fin and Ben took a backseat to everything else happening in this book, but I didn’t mind it.

Disclaimer: I was not incentivised to read or review. Thank you to Sarah Dessen, Simon & Schuster (Australia), and NetGalley for the ARC.

n.b. I have preordered this, ready for its local release. Keen as mustard for Dessen’s next release.

Finley has just graduated alongside her school sweetheart, Colin. Her future is all mapped out, when suddenly things change and she finds herself part of an impromptu family reunion. Surrounded by strangers, can Finley make the most of the present? This is a cute love story with plenty of family drama about finding your way and being true to yourself.

A new book from Sarah Dessen!! I absolutely ate her stuff up when I was younger. When I saw this on NetGalley I thought maybe I’d aged out of her books but then decided to request it anyway, and when I got approved I lowkey bumped it up my list and then I almost read all of it in one go. What a delight to read something fun and fluffy, but still with that little bit of depth that set her apart from all the other YA coming of age/summer love fare.

I really liked Cat and her character development!! And the setting was awesome. I’d have really liked a family tree or something to reference though cos I never quite figured out who Clark was meant to be, or Marshall, and it got a little confusing trying to put all the people together.

Also as someone who works in a restaurant, the Egg stressed me the fuck out! Do they have more staff who are just never mentioned or are they chronically understaffed because that was ridiculous having such a small team for such a busy place - on that first morning when Finley stepped up to help I really wanted to yell at them all to STOP TAKING MORE ORDERS AND LET EVERYONE CATCH UP! You need to run the food that’s sitting there before you take more orders! Get a system going!! Also Clark was very typical of a chef who thinks he’s the main character, lol. But Finley writing an entire essay out of her first order made me laugh and think of the newbies we get who write out entire words before they figure out you can just write “po” for “poached eggs”. But seriously that place needs a manager.

I digress. Enjoyed this book a lot!

This Lullaby was a favourite book of mine as a teen, and it was a delight to return to another of Dessen’s books with Change of Plans.

We meet Finley in a time of great transition - from school to college, from child to adult understanding, and from first relationships. I loved the way Dessen placed Finley at the centre of the story - her evolving identify, sense of independence, and coming to terms with changes in her family. The romance is sweet and heartfelt, a warm thread running through the story.

I particularly enjoyed watching Finley’s relationship with her mother and family evolve, as they recovered from past events and banded together to face new hardships. Overall this was a nostalgic and charming read for me, and I would recommend to all of Dessen’s fans, new and old.

Thank you to the publisher for an advance copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.