Someone Like You Reviews

• Realistic, thoughtful, and affecting

  
  By A2GBJQ9THOYDAJ on 2005-08-10
  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.
  
  

• How real if friendship?

  
  By on 2000-11-23
  "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!
  
  

• Someone Like You

  
  By A3QLKL3PWJCPF1 on 2007-05-15
  Well i suppose it was an ok read, but just ok. I was really expecting more. This was my best friends favorite book so when she gave it to me for christmas, i wanted to read it. I was sadly dissapointed! Im sorry, but cigarette smoking bad boys who get drunk and go to parties arent the type of guys i'd be swooning over. I guess if i havent read so many beter romance/teen books, i'd say this was pretty good, but it didnt even really end well either. Her and the guy never even really talked at the end. I guess my big mistake was reading Twilight before reading this book. If you want a real romance book thats PG, and so amazing you feel it in your heart, i would highly recomend Twilight! That is the book i got my best friend hooked on! When i asked her which she prefered~ there was no competition. Twilight won.
  
  

• Someone Like You

  
  By A30MDSSPYLNGDJ on 2001-09-18
  This book was an incredible tale of two best friends. The girls are so different that they make a perfect pair. Scarlett is the pretty and well known girl at school, where as Halley is more reserved and know as "Scarlett's friend". Halley gets called home from camp when Scarlett's boyfriend dies in an accident. She helps deal with the grief and becomes like a second mother when Scarlett finds out she's pregnant. Dessen does an unbelievable job of writing from a teen's point of view (Halley). Everything is so realistic, you would think a teen wrote it themself. When Halley meets Macon a rebelous, risk taking guy, her life begins to change. Dessen incorporates the hard choices like family, parties, drugs, alcohol, and sex into this story. Halley has to break away from her strict parents, and hide a lot from them, leading to a dangerous incident. Sometimes it takes a bad thing to make us realize what's important and who's there for us - Halley is a perfect example. Any teen who's experienced a first love will relate to this book. Sometimes guys aren't what we think they are! Dessen mixes humor with love and sadness all in one book. I recommend this book to any teenage girl. I know I couldn't put it down, and most teens have been through the exact situations in this book. You'll love it.
  
  

• An Inspiring Novel

  
  By A2AK4PPY7LBZ40 on 2003-10-21
  The book Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen is a good read. It takes you on a adventure with Halley a girl a quiet girl who grew up in a normal suburban neighborhood. She had a good relationship with her mom and her best friend Scarlett, a wild girl full of life, Until now everything is fine until things get turned upside down for Halley when Scarletts boyfriend Michael dies in a tragic motorcycle accident and leaves Scarlett with his kid. To top it off Halley finds her self falling in love with Michaels best friend Macon Faulkner, who has a reputation for not following the rules. The fairytale between her and Macon get real and she understands she needs to be tough in situations she feels pressured in. Her fling with Macon weakens her relationship with her mother and helps her face reality. Throught it all Scarlett and Halley have each other, there like sisters and no matter what happens Halley is there for Scarletts pregnancy and Scarlett keeps a strong hold on Halley. This book is an amazing read and I recommend it to everyone.
  
  
• Friends Til The End
  By on 2000-07-23
  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!
  
  
• A STORY OF UNFAILING FRIENDSHIP
  By A3M174IC0VXOS2 on 2003-05-12
  Voice actress Katharine Powell imbues this story of unfailing friendship with understanding and power.

  Two young women who have always been best friends are now in their junior year of high school. Halley is the quiet half of the pair, and has been a model child despite an overbearing mother. Scarlet is the more outgoing of the two, rambunctious and full of fun.

  Halley finds herself attracted to a boy of whom her family does not approve. Yet she breaks through the traces and goes with him.

  Michael is Scarlet's boyfriend. All seems typical in the lives of several teenagers until Michael is killed in an accident and Scarlet discovers she is pregnant with his child. An abortion is not an option for her.

  Such a situation and decision might fracture a less substantial relationship than Halley's and Scarlet's. Halley stands by her friend through it all - that's what friends are for.

  Many young people will easily relate to the problems faced in "Someone Like You."

  - Gail Cooke
  
  

• Fate and Friendships
  By A2EYXK4Q9B8A3X on 2000-03-20
  This book deals with things that regular teenagers go through. It's "real" and let's people who aren't teenagers know what it's like to be a teenager. The characters in the book are going through things that life brings and the book shows how they deal with them. It is a good example of how to deal with things and it is realistic. It is well written and people would be able to relate to it since it deals with unusual and hard situations.Overall, it is a good book and I wouldn't mind reading another book by Sarah Dessen. I would recommend it to someone who would like to read something realistic and interestingley addicting, then read this book and find out the things that these two teenagers go through in life.
  
  
• I love this book, it's so great!
  By on 2000-10-28
  When I had started this book I thought it was kind of borning. But then as I got along in it to part two I loved it, I couldn't put it down! This is a great book. This is also the first book I've read by Sarah Dessen. I plain to read all of the ones she has written. I know snice this one is so great that the rest will be, too. Anyway. This book is about two girls who are best friends. One of them meets this guy and he gets her pregent and the day after he dies. Halley the other girl gets a boyfriend and starts ignoring her friend, starts breaking rules, getting grounded (A LOT), and she also starts to skip school. I don't know how else to explain it. I leave you with five simple words, GET THIS BOOK, IT'S GREAT.
  
  
• even more tepid than the movie
  By A27OBJA1YDQFZI on 2005-07-14
  I picked this up on vacation as my cousin was reading it, hoping to find a new YA author. Apparently, this was made into a movie called "How to Deal" with Mandy Moore, a movie I turned off about fifteen minutes into it. I hoped the book would be better. I was wrong.
  
  The plot was cookie cutter. The writing was tepid with nothing distinctive about it. The characters were annoying and unsympathetic. Even worse, I started wishing for even more bad things to happen to them. I put it down about fifty pages into it.
  
  Yes, I'm an adult, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying well written YA novels. The key is "well written." It takes a colossally bad book to get me to ditch it halfway through, and this one was that.
  
  
  
• friends for life
  By A3213NCPUTK329 on 2000-03-21
  The book "Someone like you" is based on teenage life. This book is about two teenagers that go through good and bad times. They both deal with difficult situtations. "Someone like you" may teach people that are not teenagers what a teenage life is like. I reccomened this book for people intereseted in knowing about teenagers.
  
  
• Friends For Ever
  By A2GV77INAPFAIV on 2000-03-21
  I would recomend this book to every teenage girl, cause Scarlett and Halley talk about how two teenage girls deal with a problem of her best friend being prengent. If you have a best friend this is a good book to read cause it show to girls stick together no matter what happens. Scarlett and Halley show how true friends really care for each other. This book talks about every thing it even talks about a relationship between a child and a parent. "Some One Like You" it's a book to read, when some one is looking for a book to read, don't think it twice and read "Some One Like You".
  
  
• Teenage Oprah book club?
  By A15OQA8JYNOYRP on 2000-08-05
  If Oprah had a teenage book club of girl gushers and tear jerkers reflecting emotional outlets in life, this book would go right on into it. This book was extremly sugary and cheesy but proved its point and Dessen does an excellent job at creating vivid and realistic scenes. I personally enjoyed the book and found it to be very touching. The characters are well rounded and sketched painting them as realisticly as possible. I would love to read more books by Dessen. I would also not be surprised if this book where ever to be turned into a chick flick movie following right after "Where the Heart is" By Billie Letts. The work by Dessen is classic and girls will find themselves inside the characters and feeling for them. I can't say it was the best book I have ever read, but I really did enjoy it and would recommend it to anyone or even reread it in a few years. The story itself is a charming and cute tale of friendship through hardship along with "the first love" and the trials that come with being a young woman theese days. As true to the cover of the book "Anyone who has ever had a best friend or a first love will understand" Go Dessen!
  
  
• Laura Morton
  By A3SVA6DJLBRRIX on 2001-11-01
  Someone Like You

  For anyone who likes books for teenagers our age, Someone Like You, by Sarah Dessen is an excellent book to satisfy your cravings. This is an exciting story about friendship, hardships, love, and hate.
  The main character, Halley, tells the story of her life for about a one-year period. They live in a small town with many neighbors. Her best friend, since she was five, lives right across the street. Her name is Scarlet, and she is a very active and daring girl.
  Halley is now a junior at her school, and has to deal with so many new things. A new boyfriend who is kind of mysterious, a mother who's trust is gone, her grandmother is old and dying, and to top it all off Scarlet has something very unexpected happen to her that can change her life forever.
  I liked the way that the author used sensory language to make your senses come alive. For example, Halley worked in a grocery store. When the author explained a fruit, she used such great detail that you could almost taste it. It was like you were sitting right there, watching everything that was happening. She also gave clues or foreshadowed as to what was going to happen in the future. The author wrote things at the end of each chapter... "Little did I know that the worst was yet to come." This way you could kind of guess what was going to happen next. Everything about this book just made you get caught up reading it.
  This book was so good, I had a hard time putting it down. I was up until eleven o'clock at night, I just couldn't stop reading. I guarantee that anyone who reads this book won't want to put it down.
  Other books by Sarah Dessen are That Summer, and Keeping the Moon. I have yet to read them, but I can't wait until I do!
  
  

• One of the best
  By A2ELT9NS0Q8W9L on 2004-11-25
  Sarah Dessen's "Someone Like You" is often hailed as her best novel, and it's not very hard to see why. It is one of the most captivating, engrossing books I've read - and a young adult novel, no less.
  
  On the surface, nothing about the story looks to have any particular distinction from the hordes of other YA novels out there - the quiet, "boring" girl is the central character; her popular, interesting best friend is the main supporting character; the former's parents don't understand her; she has a crush on a rebel-without-a-cause-type, etc., etc. Add a teen pregnancy and token tertiary cheerleader characters to boot.
  
  Yet there is something different about this story, and I've been trying for some time to put my finger on what it is. I think it lies in the voice that narrates it. Halley, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that she is not especially unusual, is immediately sympathetic. Readers are going to want to know what happens to her, and to her friend Scarlett, and everyone else in the story.
  
  As with all the Dessen books I've read, there is a well-developed cast of supporting characters - one of the most notable being Halley's mother, Julie, a child psychologist who doesn't know how to deal with her own daughter. The story of their bond and how it metamorphoses over time is one of the most interesting secondary themes in this story, as is that of the relationship between Halley and her aforementioned love interest, Macon Faulkner.
  
  As the story continues and readers find themselves pulled in (and they will!), one finds oneself wishing more and more - although perhaps subconsciously - that they had Halley for a best friend.
  
  
• 7th grader- best book ever.
  By on 2005-01-30
  This is one of my favorite books of all time. In class this year, we had to read three books by the same author, and I chose Sarah Dessen. I read The Truth About Forever, That Summer, and Someone Like You. This book was certainly my favorite.
  
  It was very romantic and made me feel good every time i started reading it. The reason why I gave it four stars instead of five was because I really would have liked to know more about Macon at the end of the book.
  
  I reccommend this book to anyone because it is a very interesting, sweet, funny page-turner. It is a wonderful book.
  
  PS. I don't, however, reccommend seeing How to Deal. Though it was based on this book and That Summer, it is pretty bad.
  
  
• Loved It.
  By A3F94TNHCWV5TR on 2005-11-29
  "Life is and awful place to not have a best friend."
  
  I Believe that is the quote stated on the back cover of the book, and I highly agree. Someone Like You shows what friendship really is, and sticking through the hard times. It shows when you feel like the weak friend, you turn out to be the strongest one. Scarlett goes thru a rough time by sleeping with a boy that she loved, and the next morning he died. Halley helps her thru her choices and learns some new things herself, but in the process she finds herself terribly hurt, by her pressuring boyfriend, Macon. I highly recommend this book. It maybe inappropriate for younger kids though, it all depends on what you call inappropriate.
  
  
• Dessen at her best
  By A33OLF3J04K32Z on 2006-08-19
  This is by far my favorite young adult 'best friends' book, along with Summer Sisters (which was marketed for adults but is mostly about young adults). I loved how open and honest Halley and Scarlett were with eachother, and that they loved each other unconditionally and non-judgmentally, even though they each did make some poor decisions. It's a kind of friendship I didn't even know could exist until I was well into my twenties. Fantastic book for young adults, not just because it's wonderfully written and interesting, but because it shows you what real friendship should and can be.
  
  
• disappointed
  By A1ER7NIXSLDE3Q on 2007-06-21
  Well-written, especially for teens, but I was disappointed with the messages: Don't get pregnant with a guy stupid enough to get killed in a motorcycle accident and best friends stand by and watch even destructive behaviors from each other in order to be supportive. Very bad to teach kids these things. She should have put the baby up for adoption into a two parent, married family. When you bring a baby into the world, you do what is right for the child--period.
  
  
• Brittany and Megan
  By on 2001-03-16
  I think that if you are in your midpoint of your teenage years then you should read this story because it really combines a lot of real life situations.This story includes drunk driving,teen pregnancy,drugs,best friendships, and first loves.This story will leaved you hooked and begging for more. I couldn't put this book down. I also recommend that you get this book for you and your best friend so you can relate and talk about all the events that take place. I love this story!
  
  
• someone like Jerry Falwell or Dr. Laura
  By A37O9XD6CRRK2N on 2001-09-24
  Someone Like You is an easy read, but the book promotes so many negative ideas about women that I found it hard to enjoy it. The book attempts to portray female friendship, and does a fairly good job of capturing the importance of friendship between young women. But Dessen severely punishes any character who has sex (fatal motorcycle accident, pregnancy) or even wants to have sex (car accident). Her blatantly regressive views on sex make this book more of a blanket treatise on why sex is bad and should not happen outside of traditional marriage. Dessen also incorporates extremely negative messages about body image into this novel, which are particularly damaging for young women. She is a talented storyteller, but her ultra-conservative, reactionary views render this novel more than repulsive; it is simply bad.
  
  
• Great Book
  By on 2002-10-10
  i think this book was great and it really relates to all teenage girls because friendship is very important i mean i dont know what i would do without my best friend.This book is about a girl(Halley) who never really did anything bad but one summer its like evrything goes wrong.Her best friend Scarlett is in a major dillemma after her boyfriend(Michael) dies in a motorcycle accident and then later on finds out she is pregnant with his baby.Macon Faulkner was Michael's best friend and is basically a trouble maker that Halley starts goin out with.they date for 3 months and he starts wanting to have sex with her but she isnt ready.everything is getting messed up.she is getting grounded constantly and always in trouble.but to find out more do yourself a favor and read this AWESOME book! And like it says on the cover "Anyone who's ever had a best friend --- or a first love -- will understand" and its SO true
  
  
• Life Changing Story
  By A1BBJ9AH5V0DPG on 2003-11-09
  Being a teenager, Halley Cooke has normal teenage problems, but for the most part she is smart and sure of herself, always having her best friend, Scarlett Thomas to lean on whenever she needs her. Not long after school starts, Halley begins to go out with Macon Faulkner. Macon's best friend was Scarlett's summer-long boyfriend, Michael Sherwood who died in a tragic motorcycle accident a couple of weeks before school started.

  While working at Milton's, the local grocery store, Scarlett reveals shocking news to Halley; that she is pregnant, and Michael is the father. Although no one takes the news well, Scarlett decides to keep her baby. Through Scarlett's pregnancy, and Halley's tough break-up with her boyfriend, the two best friends have each other through thick and thin. Together, they learn How To Deal.

  I definitely recommend Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen for all and any. This remarkable book not only teaches you how to appreciate the life you have, but to think before you make your decisions; may you be making the most important decision you've ever made in your life, or choosing what to wear to the next school dance. No matter how big or how small, everything you do is important.
  
  

• Not just a book to do for a book report
  By A2213EEIJ0S6HS on 2003-11-15
  In English we had to pick a book for our monthy book reports. So being the procrastinator I am, I picked up the first thing I saw, Someone Like You. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just thought I was reading a book for English. How wrong I was! I soon became addicted to this book, never putting it down. When it came time for geometry class, I cracked open my book as my teacher rambled about triangles of some sort.
  The book is centered about Halley, who was known for being "Scarlett's friend." She and Scarlett had been friends since Scarlett sat on her stoop in her movie star glasses when she had moved into the neighborhood years before. Ever since then they knew everything about eachother. Then, during the last weeks of summer, Halley's mom sends her off to some pointless "sisterhood" camp. Halley and her mom used to be best friends, but lately they've seemed to have drifted from eachother. Halley gets a call one night from Scarlett who is drowned in tears. "Micheals dead", Scarlett manages to say. Michael Sherwood had been Scarlett's boyfriend for the summer. He was the type of guy everyone dreampt of, and now he was dead. This is the first time in Halley's life where Scarlett really needed Halley.
  It isn't long before Halley falls head over heels for the bad boy, best friend of the late Michael Sherwood, Macon. This is her first real boyfriend, if you exclude Noah Vaughn who she was practicly forced by her mother to date. Macon and Halley? How could this be? Why would Macon Faulkner want to date "Someone Like Her?"
  Then suddenly Halley's life changes. Scarlett calls her into the restroom to tell her that she is pregnant; with Michael's baby. She had never told anyone that she had even done it with him. Probably because a day after he was dead.
  So now Scarlett needed Halley. Halley needed Macon. And Macon needed Halley's mother's approval. After all he wasn't exactly the boy she had in mind for her daughter. Will all the pressure make their friendship crumble, or turn it into a diamond showing everyone that they can make it throght the hardest of times?
  
  
• Absolutely Wonderful
  By A2EZF77L1HXMK6 on 2005-04-28
  I am in the middle of reading this story (almost done)and it is spectacular. I didn't know if I would like it because I hadn't read any other Sarah Dessen books before. I thought it sounded kinda a lame and the beginning was kind of slow, but it quickly got over that and it is an amazing story. I have found myself laughing and crying along with the main characters.
  
  Halley and Scarlett are best friends. Scarlett's boyfriend Michael dies and Scarlett realises that she is pregnant with his baby. Halley, somewhat of a goody goody, changes as she starts dating Macon. I don't want to give away anything so just read it. Buying this book was probably one of the smartest things I've ever done. Read it!!!
  
  
• She captures the emotions and thoughts of teenage girls...
  By on 2005-06-23
  Scarlett and Halley have been friends forever, sharing everything. Scarlett is known as the popular, exciting one, and Halley is her quiet sidekick. Then, both of their lives change, forever. Scarlett's boyfriend Michael dies in a freak accident, and Scarlett discovers she is carrying his child.
  
  For the first time in Scarlett's life, she realizes how much she needs Halley, and they realize how strong their friendship is; it may bend, but it will never break.
  
  Sarah Dessen's Someone Like You is a heart-warming story of love and friendship. I loved it from the first page. It is told from Halley's perspective, and I was easily able to put myself in her place. I could really feel for her. But all the characters are funny, nice, realistic, and lovable.
  
  Sarah Dessen is an amazing author, especially for teenagers. She captures the emotions and thoughts of teenage girls and shapes them into realistic characters readers will grow to love, just as I did.
  
  
• this is one GREAT book.
  By A3RBKSGQULLUCH on 2005-09-16
  I have read This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen, and I loved it so much, I thought I'd read another one of her books, hoping it'd be just as great. Like This Lullaby, Dessen has a way of getting to the teenage readers, all of her books are extremely relateful. I am 16 years old, and as the main character, Hally is 16 too, I see myself doing and thinking the same things she does.
  It was hard for me to put this book down, (I felt like such a geek, reading every chance I could get in my classes.) I managed to finish it in 4 days, and I fell inlove with it. Its easy reading, but it really gets you thinking, and may even change your viewing on life, relationships, friendships, and parents.
  READ IT! (and if you haveent read 'This Lullaby' be sure to read that one too)
  I plan on getting another one of Dessens books soon.
  
  
• A love story
  By on 2006-02-13
  In the beginning Scarlett's boyfriend is killed, and later finds out that she's pregnant with his baby. Going through a stressful time, Scarlett has her best friend Halley to help her out. But Halley has her own troubles to deal with including her new boyfriend and her parents. I liked the format of this book, but I thought some parts of the book dragged on for to long. I recommend this book to anyone who likes loves stories and if you like wondering what's going to happen next. The author really keeps you guessing and wondering whats going to happen next.
  
  
• LOVED IT!
  By AEAQ5XNILOCB8 on 2006-07-25
  This is most defenantly my favorite Sarah Dessen book! It shows how true friends are there for you no matter what. It also got me a little teary eyed in some parts.Defenantly recomend it!
  
  
• Makes you value friendship!
  By A2CSX1OZ0E7EY3 on 2006-08-14
  Scarlett and Halley have been best friends since the day Scarlett moved in across the street. Though they seem to be drifting apart somewhat through the summer, one rare moment brings them closer together than ever.
  
  Scarlett's boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and now she knows she is carrying his baby. Scarlett has always been the stronger and more outgoing friend, but now it's Halley's responsibility to be brave for her friend. Not only does Hally have to be strong for Scarlett, but for herself as well, now that she has a pressuring boyfriend, Macon.
  
  ---
  
  This novel is a fantastic book for teens, because it shows you the reality of friendship. You need to be there for each other, and this book expresses just that. I highly recommend it, though be careful because it may bring a few tears to the eyes of some. This novel is heartwarming, and it truly shows you the importance of friendship. Even if you don't read this book, don't take your friends for granted!
  
  

• That Summer
• Dreamland (reissue)
• Keeping the Moon (reissue)
• This Lullaby
• The Truth About Forever