The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 8 books · 1999 to 2019 · Set in the fictional Colby, North Carolina

Sarah Dessen

RomanceYoung adultContemporary romanceYA romance and contemporary

Sarah Dessen writes young adult novels set in the fictional North Carolina towns of Lakeview and Colby. Each stands alone, but minor characters and places reappear across the books.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. Her novels are standalones; leads are charted per book.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Sarah Dessen books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Novels

8 books · Set in the fictional Colby, North CarolinaYA romance and contemporaryContemporary romance
  1. 1Keeping the Moon1999With Colie SparksBuy on Amazon
  2. 2This Lullaby2002With Remy StarrBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Truth About Forever2004With Macy QueenBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Just Listen2006With Annabel GreeneBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Along for the Ride2009With Auden WestBuy on Amazon
  6. 6What Happened to Goodbye2011With Mclean SweetBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Saint Anything2015With Sydney StanfordBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Rest of the Story2019With Emma Saylor PayneBuy on Amazon

Characters

8 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Leads