Sarah Dessen Books in Order
Explore Sarah Dessen's books in order, with quick summaries, background on her young adult novels, and guidance on the best places to start reading her work.
Last updated: June 7, 2026
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Publication Order
17 books
That Summer
by Sarah Dessen
1996
Haven’s life is shifting fast—her father’s remarried, her sister is planning a wedding, and her best friend has changed overnight. When charming Sumner reappears from one perfect summer, Haven clings to the past until she’s forced to face what really happened.
Someone Like You
by Sarah Dessen
1998
Best friends Halley and Scarlett are shattered when Scarlett’s secret boyfriend dies and she learns she’s pregnant. As Halley falls for his reckless friend Macon and clashes with her mom, both girls must confront grief, first love, and the cost of growing up.
Keeping the Moon
by Sarah Dessen
1999
Once an overweight outcast, Colie has a new body but the same cruel reputation. Sent to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt in Colby, she finds a job at the Last Chance diner and unexpected friends who help her believe she deserves more.
Dreamland
by Sarah Dessen
2000
On her sixteenth birthday, Caitlin’s golden‑girl sister runs away, leaving a hole in their family. When Caitlin starts dating charismatic Rogerson, his controlling behavior and drug use slowly pull her into a dangerous world, forcing her to decide how much of herself she’ll lose.
This Lullaby
by Sarah Dessen
2002
Remy has mastered the art of the breakup and doesn’t believe in love, thanks to her songwriter father’s one-hit lullaby and her mother’s string of failed marriages. Then messy, sincere musician Dexter crashes into her life and challenges every rule she’s made.
How to Deal
by Sarah Dessen
2003
This movie tie‑in volume brings together That Summer and Someone Like You, the novels that inspired the film How to Deal. Two best friends navigate family breakups, first love, pregnancy, grief, and the messy work of figuring out who they can really count on.
The Truth About Forever
by Sarah Dessen
2004
Still reeling from her father’s sudden death, perfectionist Macy fills her days with a safe job and a distant boyfriend. A chaotic gig with Wish Catering—and quiet, artistic Wes—pulls her into a messier, warmer world where she has to decide what forever really means.
Just Listen
by Sarah Dessen
2006
Annabel looks like she has everything—a modeling career, a picture‑perfect family, the right friends—but she’s hiding a painful secret and feels utterly alone. After meeting music‑obsessed Owen, who refuses to lie, she starts learning what it means to speak up and be heard.
Lock and Key
by Sarah Dessen
2008
After her mother disappears, seventeen‑year‑old Ruby is sent to live with the wealthy sister she barely remembers. Suddenly surrounded by stability, a fancy school, and kind neighbors like Nate, Ruby has to decide whether to keep surviving alone or finally let people in.
Along for the Ride
by Sarah Dessen
2009
Auden has always been the perfect student, not the kind of girl who stays out all night. Spending the summer in the beach town of Colby, she meets fellow insomniac Eli, whose late‑night adventures help her reclaim the childhood moments she skipped.
Infinity
by Sarah Dessen
2010
Learning to drive should be simple, but one huge roundabout terrifies the narrator—and her pushy boyfriend thinks it’s time to take the next step in everything. This brief story links road rules, first intimacy, and the choice between safe detours and real change.
What Happened to Goodbye
by Sarah Dessen
2011
After her parents’ messy divorce, Mclean reinvented herself in every new town, changing names and personalities with each of her dad’s restaurant jobs. In Lakeview she unexpectedly settles in, making friends—and falling for neighbor Dave—until an upcoming move forces her to choose who she really is.
The Moon and More
by Sarah Dessen
2013
Emaline has always expected to stay in her beach hometown of Colby, working with her family and dating steady, hometown‑hero Luke. One last summer brings a demanding film crew, ambitious outsider Theo, and her estranged father, pushing Emaline to decide how big her future should be.
Saint Anything
by Sarah Dessen
2015
Sydney has always been invisible beside her older brother Peyton—until he’s sent to prison after a drunk‑driving accident. Switching schools, she’s drawn into the warm, chaotic Chatham family and quiet Mac, even as a creepy family friend moves closer and her guilt refuses to fade.
Once and for All
by Sarah Dessen
2017
Louna grew up watching her mother plan flawless weddings, but her own first love ended in tragedy and left her wary of happy endings. Enter Ambrose, a charming chaos magnet whose summer job at the business slowly challenges Louna’s rules about risk, grief, and second chances.
The Rest of the Story
by Sarah Dessen
2019
Emma Saylor barely remembers the lakeside town where her late mother grew up. When she’s sent there for the summer, she’s pulled between wealthy Lake North and working‑class North Lake—and between careful Emma and bolder Saylor—as she reconnects with family, old friend Roo, and her own history.
Change of Plans
by Sarah Dessen
2026
Finley has always followed her charismatic boyfriend’s lead, content to let him set their plans and friends. A surprise summer at a long‑estranged family’s beach house—and at her aunt’s diner, the Egg—forces her to confront old secrets, new crush Ben, and who she’ll be without a script.
Where should I start?
If you’re new to Sarah Dessen: The Truth About Forever → Just Listen → Along for the Ride
If you like to read from the beginning: That Summer → Someone Like You → Keeping the Moon → Dreamland
If you want stories about grief and resilience: Dreamland → The Truth About Forever → Saint Anything → The Rest of the Story
If you’re craving small‑town summer vibes: Keeping the Moon → Along for the Ride → The Moon and More → Once and for All
If you’re catching up on her newest titles: The Moon and More → Saint Anything → Once and for All → The Rest of the Story → Change of Plans
Author bio
Sarah Dessen writes contemporary young adult novels about teenagers figuring out who they are in the middle of messy families, first love, and long summer nights. Born in Evanston, Illinois in 1970, she grew up in a house where books and stories were part of everyday life.
Her parents, Alan and Cynthia Dessen, both taught at the University of North Carolina, and the family eventually settled in Chapel Hill. As a shy, observant teenager, she spent a lot of time reading, journaling, and watching the people around her. She started drafting stories early, long before she knew they would turn into a career.
Dessen attended Greensboro College before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she studied creative writing and graduated with highest honors. After college she waitressed at the Flying Burrito restaurant in Chapel Hill and worked as an assistant to novelist Lee Smith, squeezing in writing hours around late shifts and day jobs. That juggling act shaped the discipline she still relies on.
In 1996 her first novel, That Summer, was published, introducing readers to the fictional North Carolina town that links many of her later books. Someone Like You, Keeping the Moon, and Dreamland followed, each taking on friendship, body image, and abusive relationships with a quiet honesty. That Summer and Someone Like You together inspired the film How to Deal, bringing her work to an even wider audience.
Through the 2000s she continued to build a world that feels familiar to many readers. In This Lullaby and The Truth About Forever, guarded girls collide with people who push them out of their comfort zones, forcing them to question what they believe about love and grief. Just Listen explores silence, music, and what it takes to tell the truth after a trauma, while Lock and Key follows a tough, independent girl learning that family can be chosen as well as inherited.
Many of her stories circle back to the coastal town of Colby and the suburban community of Lakeview, with characters making brief visits across books. Readers spot familiar diners, beaches, and side characters, which makes the novels feel like different windows into the same world. The tone is grounded and conversational; the drama usually comes from everyday choices rather than big plot twists.
In more recent novels such as Along for the Ride, What Happened to Goodbye, The Moon and More, and Saint Anything, Dessen digs into insomnia, divorce, class, addiction, and the weight of other people’s expectations. Once and for All blends the glitter of a wedding planning business with the harder work of living after a terrible loss. The Rest of the Story sends a girl back to the divided lake community where her mother grew up, asking what it means to belong to more than one world. Her short fiction, including Infinity, and her upcoming novel Change of Plans continue that interest in crossroads moments when a single summer can change everything.
Over the years her books have sold millions of copies around the world and have earned numerous honors, including the American Library Association’s Margaret A Edwards Award in 2017 for lasting contribution to young adult literature. Despite that recognition, her focus has stayed on individual readers and the feeling of being seen by a story.
Dessen has taught writing at the University of North Carolina and now writes full time in Chapel Hill, where she lives with her husband Jay and their daughter. She often draws on the details of small town life around her, from diners to local beaches, to give her fictional towns texture. For many readers, her novels are the ones they return to when they want to remember how it felt to be standing on the edge of adulthood, scared and hopeful at the same time.
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