Point of View

In What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen, the author uses a first-person perspective in the narrative. The main character is a teenage girl named Mclean Elizabeth Sweet. Although her inner turmoil is situation-specific as she tries to come to terms with her parents' divorce, her feelings of trying to find her identity are universal.

Because it's first person, the reader gets an inside look into the life of the nomadic high school senior, understanding that her situation is not ideal, but is still a life she has chosen. The reader can see what Mclean is thinking and feeling as well as how she reacts to different people and situations. This is very important because she has a tremendous amount of internal growth between the first few pages of the book and the last few pages. This growth is a result of inner thoughts and reactions...