History Creator / SarahDessen

** Various clues point toward Lakeview and Colby being in North Carolina, which is also where Dessen lives.
*** This has been a little inconsistent across novels: there's a throwaway line in ''Literature/OnceAndForAll'' that implies Lakeview is actually in California.

** Almost all of her protagonists fall into two categories: the quiet Type A perfectionist (Macy, Auden, Annabel, Emaline, Sydney) or the cynical rebel (Remy, Ruby).

** Almost all of her protagonists fall into two categories: the quiet Type A perfectionist (Macy, Auden, Annabel, Emaline) or the cynical rebel (Remy, Ruby).

* ''The Rest of the Story'' (2019)

** This has been a little inconsistent across novels: there's a throwaway line in ''Literature/OnceAndForAll'' that implies Lakeview is actually in California.

*** Layla in ''Saint Anything'' is similar to Kristy and her relationship with her sister Rosie is similar to the Kirsten and Whitney dynamic.

* SameStoryDifferentNames: A criticism of her novels. The girl has an annoying, messed up family situation, girl doesn't know how to deal with it, girl meets boy, boy fixes everything in girl's hypothetical world, and then there's always that moment when Girl and Boy are going to have a falling out, but they'll be back together by the end. Not that this is necessarily a [[TropesAreNotBad bad]] thing.

Sarah Dessen (born June 6, 1970) is a YA novelist from Evanston, Illinois whose novels mostly deal with the change in youth’s personality as they go through some form of tragedy or loss, comprising themes of isolation, emotional distance among family members, and a progressive change in personality. Both of her parents professors at the University of North Carolina, and she grew up very shy and quiet. When she was 15, she became involved with a 21-year-old, for which she received one-sided blame from her parents.

* ''Once and For All'' (2017)

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The exact location of the city where her novels take place is never revealed, it is even obscured by using made up names for universities.
** Various clues throughout different novels point toward Lakeview and Colby being in North Carolina, which is also where the author lives.

In 2017, Dessen was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Dreamland, Keeping the Moon, Just Listen, ''Literature/TheTruthAboutForever'', Along for the Ride, ''Literature/WhatHappenedToGoodbye'' and This Lullaby.

The author of 12 YA books about various teenage protagonists as they deal with growing up.

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* ''That Summer'' (1996)
* ''Someone Like You'' (1998)
** ''That Summer'' and ''Someone Like You'' became the inspiration for the 2003 film ''How to Deal'' starring Mandy Moore and Allison Janney.
* ''Keeping the Moon'' (called ''Last Chance'' in the UK) (1999)
* ''Dreamland'' (2000)
* ''This Lullaby'' (2002)
* ''The Truth About Forever'' (2004)
* ''Just Listen'' (2006)
* ''Lock and Key'' (2008)
* ''Along for the Ride'' (2009)
* ''What Happened to Goodbye'' (2011)
* ''The Moon and More'' (2013)
* ''Saint Anything'' (2015)
* ''Once and For All'' (2017)
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!!Works by Sarah Dessen that have their own pages include:
* ''Literature/AlongForTheRide''

* ''Literature/KeepingTheMoon''

* ''Literature/SomeoneLikeYou''
* ''Literature/ThatSummer''
* ''Literature/ThisLullaby''
* ''Literature/TheTruthAboutForever''
* ''Literature/WhatHappenedToGoodbye''

!!Other works by Sarah Dessen provide examples of: