Review: Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti

Title:Waiting For You by Susane Colasanti
Released: May 14, 2009 by Viking
Pages: 320
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by: Carey

At the beginning of her sophomore year, Marisa is ready for a fresh start and, more importantly, a boyfriend. So when the handsome and popular Derek asks her out, Marisa thinks her long wait for happiness is over. But several bumps in the road—including her parents’ unexpected separation, a fight with her best friend, and a shocking disappointment in her relationship with Derek—test Marisa’s ability to maintain her new outlook. Only the anonymous DJ, whose underground podcasts have the school’s ear, seems to understand what Marisa is going through. But she has no idea who he is—or does she? In Waiting For You, this third romantic novel from Susane Colasanti, Marisa learns how to “be in the Now” and realizes that the love she’s been waiting for has been right in front of her all along.

**

If Susane Colasanti does just one thing well and right (she definitely does more than just one thing well, though), it's the way that she makes her characters so original and different from each other. Waiting For You is Colasanti's third book, and the first one that has only one person POV. Even then, you can tell the difference in the minor characters (Sterling, Nash, Derek) and the main character (Marisa). Their attitudes, how they talk and present themselves, and quirky habits are personal to each character. And it's flawless.

Waiting For You starts off with fifteen-year-old Marisa just getting back from summer camp and having dinner with her best friend, Sterling. Just like in When It Happens, Marisa wants to sort of reinvent herself and find true love. She, just like Sara, has this idea of the perfect package in the popular hottie. Derek and Marisa end up dating, and things do go well for the first few months. He was her first kiss and boyfriend (cue the awwwwws). In the midst of things, her childhood best friend and lab partner Nash, who is totally not boyfriend material, forms a crush on Marisa, which makes things awkward for a while, which causes them to stop talking for a while. Sterling and Marisa are in a fight for a good portion of the book, just like any true best friends would be. There are problems going on at home with her parents, and her younger sister Sandra gives Marisa a hard time for being who she really is. In the end, everything turns out okay. Marisa is happy, she's healthy and is working on overcoming her depression, Sterling and her are no longer in a fight, and she finally found what she was waiting for.

Colasanti gets pretty deep in this one. Marisa struggles with anxiety and depression, and she definitely writes and plays it out just how it really is. Colasanti describes how she's spiraling down, how all she wants to do is sleep, and who cares about homework? It's hard to describe depression and anxiety. She was spot on with it. Props to her.

One of my favorite things about Colasanti is the writing style. She uses first person, but she uses it in a different way than most authors I've read. She'll use "say" instead of "said," for example. But she brings it to a whole new level. She makes it sound like character truly is telling the story and it brings in the character's personality because from time to time she'll write, "So I'm like, "blah blah blah." And I just think that's so original.

Susane Colasanti writes must-reads for teens, or anyone who reads YA. Not only do her books tell stories about young love, but they also deal with family life, friend problems, the senior year college anxieties, and pretty much any problems that are common today. She's a fantastic writer, and one of my biggest inspirations. Waiting For You just so happens to be my favorite book by Colasanti (thanks to the quirky, nerd, original Nash who has a fabulous alter ego , for many, many reasons. And that is why it receives five out of five stars.

Carey on: New Sarah Dessen Covers?

Two weeks ago, Sarah Dessen announced that her paperbacks were going to get new covers. At first I was sort of "eh" about it. I love the original covers of any book more than their new ones (except for So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti, I think the paperback cover is better than the hard cover, sue me). So I was nervous about how Penguin was going to do with them.

And then they started to be released, one a day for each book on a different website. And oh my gosh I loved them all so much! Well, for the most part, at least. Check them out (and my opinions because I can):

Before|After

I love the sunglasses, and how they're closer to the camera lens than the couple. I think the color scheme is a lot better than the original as well.

I don't quite understand why exactly they're butterflies on the new cover. But I don't think there should be a couple (which there's not) on it, considering Macon and Halley don't end up together in the end. (Sorry for the spoiler if you haven't read it!)

I always thought that the original was so awkward. I mean, a picture of this girl's shorts is just so awkward! Although I do love the sunglasses there, the new cover is perfect! There were a lot of fireworks in the story and I love the model's positions. Plus, I bet that it was fun to shoot!

I think this is the only new cover that I don't like. I don't really understand at all. And I think that it's too bright for Dreamland. Dreamland is so dark and eerie that it deserves a darker cover. This just doesn't do it for me.

Love the color, love the guitar pick, and love the guitar. Perfect, perfect, perfect!

I wanted that bracelet the second that I saw the new cover. I even went over to AC Moore and got some beads and a wishbone charm to make one! Yeah, that didn't work out quite so well, so I just bought one on Etsy hehe. I love the colors, the bracelet, and it's just perfect. (This is probably my favorite Dessen book, by the way.)

How cute is that?! Answer: extremely.

I'm glad that they still kept her listening to music on the cover, considering that was a big part. I just like how you can see her entire body positioned how I always thought she was while she listened to the mix. The colors are perfect, too. I know I keep saying that...

This is my favorite new cover. I just like how it's so bold and it just shoves the key in your face. Once again, the colors are perf. Oh, and here's a fun fact. I named my new car after Ruby! Not because I'm "so obsessed" or anything. It's just that she's red, and Ruby was the first thing that came to mind. Plus, Ruby loves to get out and she drove around a lot with her mom. It was perfect! Look at her!

So quaint. 

I always thought that the original cover was adorable, yet sort of awkward and uncomfortable. I still think that it should have been darker outside in both covers, just because they're both insomniacs and they meet in the night a lot. But I love the color of the bike (of course I do, right?) 

What Happened to Goodbye, her latest novel (May 2011) isn't getting a new cover, considering the fact that it isn't out in paperback yet. And honestly, I thought that this was the only cover that should have gotten a new one. I don't know why I don't like it, but I don't.

Dessen will be coming out with her latest book, Someone Else's Summer in May 2013. Originally it was to be named The Best After Ever, but (and you can read on her blog why) her publisher decided to change the title. Someone Else's Summer is set in the fictional beach town of Colby, where several of Dessen’s novels take place, it features 18-year-old Emmeline, who is spending her last summer before college working for her family’s vacation rental business and enjoying a summer romance with a young aspiring filmmaker. It sucks that we have to wait another year until it comes out, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait!