What Happened To Goodbye? by Sarah Dessen

     "Since her parents’ bitter divorce, McLean and her dad, a restaurant consultant, have been on the move-four towns in two years. Estranged from her mother and her mother’s new family, McLean has followed her dad in leaving the unhappy past behind. And each new place gives her a chance to try out a new persona: from cheerleader to drama diva. But now, for the first time, McLean discovers a desire to stay in one place and just be herself, whoever that is. Perhaps Dave, the guy next door, can help her find out." 
(From Sarah Dessen's site: http://sarahdessen.com/books/ )
      At last Sarah Dessen's newest book is out.  And I wasn't disappointed in it.  Once again Ms.  Dessen manages to have the perfect plot, characters, and writing style, captivating my attention for a whole afternoon. As soon as I opened the book I was glad to accompany Mclean Sweet on her life changing journey.  
       Don't all high school girls at one time or other just wish they could shed their true identity and personality and start anew? I know I have, quite a few times in fact. McLean Sweet, though, really does get that chance.  Living with her dad, she moves, quite often, to a new city or town.  At every new place she changes her first name, (Beth, Lizbeth etc) and her personality, (cheerleader, drama diva etc).  But for some strange reason, when she moves to this new town (can't remember the name)  she doesn't change her name.  As to her personality, she's not sure what is it now.  She has serious identity crisis.  Slowly, she changes and accepts herself as she is.  
      The problems she has with her mom after the divorce are so realistic.  I for one have never experienced what going through a parental divorce is like, but my mom has and so I know from her that the feeling McLean feels toward her mother are very real.  I love how kind and understanding Dave is with McLean, and her new found friends are just as great.  As always, Ms. Dessen presents wonderful dialogue, some of it is downright hilarious while other parts very emotional.  
     Exceptance of one's self is amazingly hard, but McLean conquerors her fears and excels. 
     What Happened to Goodbye has been added to my favorites shelf, right next to it's predecessors, Just Listen and Lock and Key.