After Nicole posted about Sarah Dessen books being adapted into Netflix movies, I had a sudden hankering to read another one of her books. I first read The Truth About Forever (still my favourite book of hers) in Secondary School and binged everything back then, but many years later, there are new books for me to read. Saint Anything was one of them.

Saint Anything revolves around Sydney, who’s always felt invisible. First because her brother Peyton was so charming that he attracted all the attention like a black hole, and then because Peyton started getting into trouble and ended up in jail. But when she transfers to a new school, she bumps into Layla and gets drawn into the noisy and loving circle of Layla’s family and friends where she’s finally seen.

The synopsis only mentions Mac, Layla’s brother, but I think Layla is more important because Sydney was friends with Layla first and it’s through this friendship that she started to feel seen, accepted, and safe. The romance stuff comes in the latter half of the book. I know authors don’t get much (if any) say over the synopsis so it’s not a criticism of the book, but I do wish they emphasised her friendship with Layla more. You don’t have to go into a relationship just to feel “seen, really seen” because you can have emotional intimacy with platonic friends as well – the way Sydney feels she can trust Layla with her personal history.

I’ve already mentioned Layla’s name eight times but I’m going to talk continue talking about her because she is my favourite character and such a good friend to Sydney. For example, she instantly notices that Ames (Peyton’s friend who worms his way into Sydney’s family) is a creep and she takes active steps to protect Sydney from him. She’s also the reason why Sydney even found a friend group when she first moved to Jackson. Her only flaw is that she doesn’t have the best taste in guys, but it’s okay, she has Sydney to look out for her now. I really liked everything about Layla, even her intense obsession with fries.

The romance bit between Sydney and Mac (that can’t be a spoiler because the synopsis hints at it so heavily) was nicely done. I’m not a big fan of romance so I’m not going to gush over it, but the development of their relationship felt natural and I can totally buy it. No insta-romance here, which is a huge plus.

Since it’s been a while since I’ve read a Sarah Dessen, I didn’t catch all the references to her other books. I know the schools frequently pop up and ume.com is mentioned again, but I probably missed something out. This just makes me want to read all her books from start to finish so that I can link everything together.

(Should I? I’m so tempted to do so now that I’ve thought of it)