Saint Anything

Title: Saint Anything
Author: Sarah Dessen 
Genre: Contemporary YA 
Pages: 417
Rating: 4/5
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Sydney Stanford grew up in the shadow of her older brother, Peyton.  Everything she did was followed by Peyton doing something better.  So, you’d think that when Peyton got thrown in jail for running over a young boy while driving drunk, Sydney would finally get some recognition for her good, positive personality.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case.  Instead, she’s thrown further under the dark, overcast cloud Peyton has created, and Sydney slowly begins to believe herself invisible. 

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I really enjoyed this book.  The beginning was a little slow, but once you got through the background information part, it began to pick up, and I was hooked! The characters were the best- Sydney was super relatable, and her friends were just plain adorable.  You wanted to hate the antagonists, love the good guys, and you felt all of Sydney’s anger and frustration just as vividly as if it were all happening to you. 

This book basically follows Sydney Stanford’s life as she deals with the aftermath of her brothers huge mistakes, which include (but are not limited to) driving under influence (and hitting a boy which resulted in his paralyze), drug abuse, burglary, and breaking and entering.  Feeling judged as she follows her brother's path through school, she makes the decision to switch schools- gaining a clean slate.  You watch her struggle with her parents inability to trust her, despite the fact that Sydney had never done anything wrong, all because of her brother’s history.  You watch life unravel as she tries to get her parents to understand how she feels; about her brother, her life, and how she’s being treated by her family.  And most importantly, you look in as Sydney finds her confidence, her meaning, and herself. 

This book really toyed with your emotions.  I truly felt Sydney’s anger and frustration at her parents, and every time she had to stay home alone with her brother’s creepy friend, I felt my heart speed up in nervousness.  

And then there were the scenes were she was surrounded by her new found friends.  Whenever they’d all be truly, truly happy, I found myself in a good mood as well. 

My one problem was that Sydney tended to make stupid decisions. Underage drinking, lying when it wasn’t necessary, and being unable to stand up for herself are a few.  There were times were I really wished I could just pop into the book and talk some sense into her.  She wouldn’t have even gotten into half of these bad situations if she had done the smart thing and just said “no.” 

Despite it’s flaws, this book is just so easy to relate to and I loved it. I think everyone’s found themselves in a point in their life where they just feel misunderstood.  Like nobody in the world sees things the way they do.  And because of that, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.