I think if there were one author who had been hyped up to me more than any other, it would be Sarah Dessen. Sure, I've never read her books before now, but I've seen review after review praising her for being the queen of contemporary fiction -- so, undoubtedly, I'll admit that I was curious. 
 Now, it's definitely difficult going into a book with expectations as high as these. When you expect some kind of fangirl fictional magic, it is easy to be disappointed. So, I can't deny that I'm partially judging this book against the five-star hype I've seen and heard and read about in so many places -- and partially doing my best to remain unbiased as I experience my first Sarah Dessen experience. 
 Which makes me wonder -- did I just not pick the best starter novel here? 
 I mean, SOMEONE LIKE YOU definitely was not what I'd label a bad book. It was not uninteresting, the characters were not unlikeable, and the story was not without its own bits of quirk, relatibility, and genuiness that most of us readers of contemporary young adult fiction so much adore, right? 
 But, on the flipside, it just wasn't overly memorable, overly special, or as overly AMAZING as I was expecting, either. 
 Backing up a bit to plot. SOMEONE LIKE YOU is the story of Halley, named for a comet, who sees herself as your average, everyday girl next store. Veering more to the introverted side of life, Halley is a teenage girl just on the brink of a path of self-discovery as she deals with her controlling parents, her semi-deadbeat "bad boy" boyfriend, and her pregnant best friend, who is pretty much the primary focus of her life. 
 I feel like this is an extremely short description of the plotline of this story -- but honestly, there just isn't much more to say. Halley is just an "okay" character -- there is nothing that makes her either extremely likeable or annoying, although I can't think I'll remember much about her once I'm four or five books down the road. It's interesting to see how she manages to deal with her own troubled teenage life, which is pretty much summed up as "average," while she constantly busies herself with being the best friend she possibly can to her beloved pal Scarlett. (Is that even the right name? I'm ashamed to say that I've already forgotten!) 
 I definitely don'ot mean to be entirely negative here -- SOMEONE LIKE YOU was an enjoyable read that I think any fan of contemporary YA literature would enjoy. It's just nothing that I'd run out and purchase or rush to read again in the future. I feel like I've read this story several other times before -- and I don't much remember those either. 
 I'm pretty open to giving Dessen another chance, though, because I'm willing to consider the possibility that I just picked the wrong book of hers to call my first. 
 So, if anyone has suggestions for a Dessen title that will redeem the hype-filled image in my mind, don't hesitate to comment me and let me know....