The Queen returns triumphant! Sarah Dessen is back to do exactly what she does best: Create a beautiful, hopeful, layered coming-of-age story with complex family dynamics, relatable friendships, blossoming romance, and overflowing heart. Reading Change of Plans felt like having a book club with my thirteen-year-old self. I felt the same type of ups and downs and yearnings and hope I experienced whenever I read anything in the Dessen oeuvre as a tween/teen. Not an “adult” version of those feelings tinged with knowing so much better now. I was truly transported to the moment at the library where I picked up my first Dessen book (Keeping the Moon) and feeling both seen and uplifted. These books promised me that life would get difficult sometimes and throw me a few curveballs, but these were the moments where I’d change and grow into the person I was meant to become. Sarah Dessen books made me almost want to face those curveballs head-on and see what I was made of, who I was going to be. Change of Plans bubbled up that exact reaction again, and although I wasn’t fully prepared for young Abigail to take the emotional wheel yet again, I’m glad she did because she is why I know I can handle anything. Sarah Dessen taught her that over and over again through her crackling dialogue and courageous protagonists and beautifully plotted epiphanies, and maybe I needed that reminder. Additional aspects I loved: every single person in Finley’s growing friend group as she struggled to get her feet beneath her in the Woods (especially Lana!!), the lovingly fleshed-out small summer town (reminiscent of Stars Hollow but summery, with its kooky cast of locals and strange traditions), the sweet (clean!) romance with Ben, the heart-wrenching and complicated sisterhood dynamics among the adults, and even the maybe-too-charismatic-for-his-own-good ex (Colin!) who really is just on his own journey, too. In re-reading this review, maybe I love absolutely everything.
Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen, (List Price: $21.99, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 9798347108770, May 2026)
Reviewed by Abigail, E. Shaver Bookseller in Savannah, GA
