What Happened to Goodbye Analysis

What Happened to Goodbye takes place in a town that may be familiar to discerning readers of Sarah Dessen's other books. Mclean and her dad move to Lakeview, a fictional town based on Chapel Hill t...

The entirety of What Happened to Goodbye is told from Mclean Sweet's perspective, which makes sense—after all, this is her story. More than that though, because Mclean is a pretty closed-off pers...

Young Adult LiteratureThis is definitely the kind of book that's geared toward teenagers—the angstier the better, right? (And yes, we know angstier isn't a word, but whatever.) Mclean is the huma...

Since the tone of the story is dictated by its narrator—Mclean Sweet—it's no wonder that the tone in this book is somewhat jaded. Even though she's going through an exciting time in her life—...

The writing style of What Happened to Goodbye is extremely straightforward, but also stark and honest. Mclean doesn't have many close friends that she can talk to, so it makes sense that the book w...

The title—What Happened to Goodbye—refers to a message that Mclean gets through her Ume.com account at the beginning of the novel. One of her friends from the last town she lived in is asking h...

Break away from what you've known You are not a lone We can build a brand new home You are not alone - Ben Lee, "Families Cheating at Board Games"The epigraph of What Happened to Goodbye is a...

The ending of What Happened to Goodbye wraps things up pretty nicely for the reader, letting us know that Mclean ends up staying in Lakeview after all (yay) and graduating with her friends. It give...

As always, Sarah Dessen's writing is crisp, simple, and easy-to-read, which makes What Happened to Goodbye a pretty straightforward read for teenage readers. The subject matter, however, makes the...

On the Road Again The book opens and we meet Mclean and her dad, who are constantly on the road thanks to his job as a restaurant consultant. He's called in to fix up restaurants and Mclean moves w...

What Happened to Goodbye isn't the work of a literary novice; in fact, it's Sarah Dessen's tenth book. Cue the confetti and the cake. (Source.) What does it take to become a writer? Apparently fo...

For a book where all the main characters are teenagers who are probably plagued by raging hormones, What Happened to Goodbye is pretty tame in the sex department. Mclean hardly gets anywhere with D...