Link Up!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Dessen - A wikipedia page dedicated to Sarah Dessen and her many works. It gives a brief list of her novels and information on a movie based off two of her books.

http://www.menuplanningcentral.com/articles/family-dinner.html - A page on the importance of family dinners. Mclean never has dinner with her father at home, and she enjoys it when she has a family dinner with Riley's family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_moves - A wikipedia list of basketball moves. Mclean loves basketball and frequently references certain moves.

http://www.tattoofinder.com/ - A page that is dedicated to pictures of different tattoos. Dave and Riley have matching tattoos, which Mclean is fascinated by.

http://www.divorcesource.com/archives/counseling.shtml - A webpage for divorced families. Mclean's parents are divorced, which takes a toll on her.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/divorce.html - A page targeted at kids whose parents have divorced or are going through a divorce. Mclean is often at odds with her mother, who she blames for her parents' separation.

http://www.wikihow.com/Handle-Moving - A guide on how to handle moving. Mclean is always traveling with her father, due to his transient job. It mentions moving as a chance to change yourself, which Mclean often does.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted_education - A wiki page on gifted children. Dave's parents push him to strive in school because he's considered to be gifted. It mentions different methods of helping a gifted student reach their potential.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Friends - A guide to making friends. Mclean doesn't have a difficult time making friends, but since she's used to moving, she rarely makes real ones because she won't be around for long.

Family Dinners

Mclean's life with her divorced father has made her a stranger to family meals. She usually ends up eating at the restaurant he's working at or eating alone because he comes home late. Mclean's new friend, Riley, invites her to her house, along with their other friends, for a family dinner. They all enjoy spending time together and it's implied that the other friends rarely partake in family dinners at their own house.

I always eat dinner at the table with my family. It seems a little strange to me that other people don't. I've heard plenty of speeches from different sources on how eating dinner together improves family relationships and other aspects of life. Improving your relationship with your family can make you happier which is an overall benefit to you. I can't imagine just eating in my bedroom or alone somewhere in the house. It just seems sad and lonely for a family to be distant like that.

Do you actually eat family dinners together? Do you think there's any truth to the whole -eat-dinner-together-and-improve-your-life mantra?

What Happened to Goodbye?

Mclean is no stranger to moving. Throughout her high school years, she has moved multiple times, which uproots the life and friends that she has there. In order to deal with this, Mclean makes a habit of not getting attached. She comes up with different variations of her middle name and different personalities every time she moves. She doesn't make any real relationships so that when she moves, it'll be easier on her. She often leaves suddenly, so she never says goodbye. This is where the title of the book comes in, What Happened to Goodbye.

I think this represents the theme of the book because Mclean has really been all about not getting attached to anything or anyone, so she never says goodbye. But when she moves to Lakeview, she makes real friends and comes to realize she doesn't want to leave. Mclean's life has been all about nothing ever being constant, and things always changing. When she finally does start to have constants in her life, she doesn't want to say goodbye because she doesn't want to leave.