"I always think that I get the best parts of myself from what my friends have taught me about strength and loyalty and spirit," Sarah Dessen reflected in Dream/Girl Online Digest. Childhood and classmate friendships play an important role in Dessen's popular young adult novels. She is known for her coming-of-age stories featuring strong characterizations of true-to-life protagonists who face predicaments with which teen readers can relate. Dessen has quickly gained a loyal following in only a few years since her first published novel, That Summer, came out in 1996. "Why do we love Sarah Dessen"" asked a Dream/Girl writer. "Because she remembers what it's like to be a teenager." Her stories, which also include Someone Like You, Keeping the Moon, and Dreamland, recognize that, as Nancy Tilly put it in NewsBank online, "although teens often want to be part of the `in' crowd, adolescence, for most...