In 1996, Sarah Dessen released her debut novel That Summer while juggling both her soon-to-be successful writing career during the day and her job as a waitress at the Flying Burrito at night. Since then, she has had the pleasure of publishing thirteen novels. Her most recent novel, "Once and For All," just came out June 6, 2017 which also happens to be her birthday, what a way to celebrate! What's so great about Dessen's novels is how timeless they are. I started reading her novels when I was twelve years old. Doing community service in my towns public library, tracing my finger through the books in the teen section until I stumbled upon her name. My tiny hands grasping at the spine of the book as I tore it open. Flipping through the pages until my eyes landed on chapter one - the beginning - and wouldn't look away until they read the final sentence, begging for more.

When I think of her novels, the first word that comes to mind is nostalgia. Because every time I'm reading her books, they bring me back to a certain time or instance in my life that I long for. A time that may have been the best time of my life, or a time that was the worst of my life. Regardless, her books helped teach me a lesson, no matter the situation and it made me able to reflect on those past memories and see them in a greater perspective. Now that I'm older, I've never been more grateful to have had an author be a huge part of my life, especially in the most important moments of them.There was no way I would've been able to survive high school without carrying one of her books in my backpack to read in between classes, lunch, or any free time I had while in school during the day. We all know how high school can be and all of us go through it differently. We all need someone to be there for us, whether it be a parent, a friend, or in my case, a book. So, before you countdown the days until graduation as you enter high school for the first time, here are for me, the top 8 Sarah Dessen books every girl should read before college.

1. Just Listen

"Don't think or judge, just listen."

Published in 2006 and her seventh novel, Just Listen tells the story of a girl named Annabel Greene who on the outside, looks like she has it all. However, her life is far from perfect. Her friendship with her best friends Clarke and Sophie ended bitterly, due to certain events that tore them apart. This left Annabel alone and without any friends at the beginning of a new school year. Her sister Whitney's eating disorder is weighing down the entire family, and Annabel fears speaking out about her past and her lack of enthusiasm for modeling. Enter Owen, a music-obsessed, intense classmate who, after taking an Anger Management class, is determined to tell the truth. With his help, Annabel may start facing her fears, and more importantly, speak the truth to herself. This novel deals with a lot of issues girls face in high school; friendships, body image issues, keeping secrets from others, I can't stress how important this book is.

2. Along for the Ride

"Life is full of screw ups. You're supposed to fail sometimes. It's a required part of the human existence."

Auden West is a smart girl who didn't get the chance to enjoy the activities young children often got to do (such as riding a bike). Throughout high school, her parent's would constantly fight and because of this Auden never sleeps at night. Before heading off to college, she decides to take up her father's offer to spend the summer with him and his new wife and baby. Although reluctant at first, Auden comes to really like her stepmother and half sister. She also spends most of her nights making up for her lost childhood by driving around with a boy named Eli, a loner an insomniac with an intriguing past. Throughout the novel, Auden comes to learn that second chances are possible and questions if people really can change. This book is for all the girls who try to be perfect and hate failing at something and always want to impress others instead of doing what's best for them. It's alright to make a fool of yourself and yes, even fail once in a while.

3. "The Truth About Forever"

"It's all the view. That's what I mean about forever, too. For any one of us our forever could end in an hour, or a hundred years from now. You never know for sure, so you'd better make every second count."

Macy is still recovering from the sudden loss of her father. Since he died during one of their habitual morning runs, Macy gives up running and keeps her feelings to herself, resulting in her not being able to comfort her mother. Regardless, her summer stretches before her, carefully planned and outlined. Her days will be spent at the library information desk and her nights will be spent studying for the SAT's. Spare time will be spent helping her obsessive mother prepare for the big opening of the townhouse section of her luxury development. But her plans don't anticipate a surprising and chaotic job with Wish Catering, filled with new friends and Wes. Tattooed, artistic, anything but expected. They're polar opposites, so why does Macy feel so comfortable opening up to him? Comfortable to finally let her guard down and be able to talk and open up about her father's death. This novel takes you through a roller-coaster of events such as grief, denial, comfort, and love as we see a broken but resilient girl pick up the pieces of her life and fit them back together.

4. "Keeping the Moon"

"You should never be surprised when someone treats you with respect, you should expect it."

Nicole "Colie" Sparks and her mother used to be poor and moved often. They were very overweight and spent most of the time living in their car while her mother switched jobs. Then when her mother became a famous exercise guru, she shed her weight but not her insecurity. Most of the kids at her school back home alienate her because a mean girl and her friends spread a vicious rumor that she hooked up with the new guy on a golf course. While her mother tours Europe, Colie gets shipped to spend the summer with her eccentric aunt Mira. With no friends at home, she doesn't expect to make any while staying with her. That is until she lands a job at the Last Chance Cafe where she meets fellow waitresses Morgan and Isabel, who help Colie see herself in a new way and realize the potential that has been there all along. Colie learns to accept herself for who she is and gains the self-confidence she's been missing her entire life.

5. "This Lullaby"

"Love is needing someone. Love is putting up with someone's bad qualities because they somehow complete you."

Raise by a mother who's had five husbands, Remy believes in short-term, no-commitment relationships until she meets Dexter, a rock band musician. Described as cool, calm, and cynical, after seeing her mother's failed marriages she proclaims that she doesn't believe in love. She is emotionally scarred by her past, as her father-- whom she never knew-- wrote her the song "This Lullaby" the day she was born, and then left soon after. The song becomes a one-hit wonder and Remy constantly hears it in her life. This is a story about faith. Faith in love and just faith in general. I think a lot of girls (myself included) can relate to Remy and how she sees love after seeing it fail so much in her life. Like her, we're afraid to take a chance on something we can't always guarantee the outcome will be good or bad. We want everything already figured out before even thinking of taking that risk. But what we learn, and Remy does too, is that the living is in the leaping. Sometimes you have to just close your eyes and jump. It's no wonder this is my favorite novel of hers, and you'll see for yourself when you read it too.

6. "The Moon & More"

"Life is long. Just because you don't get your chance right when you want or expect it doesn't mean it won't come. Fate doesn't punch a time clock or consult a schedule."

Luke is the perfect boyfriend; handsome, kind, and fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, during the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough. Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film. He's sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, thinks Emaline is too smart for Colby. Her mostly-absentee father thinks the same for her too, encouraging an Ivy League education for her to realize her greater potential than staying and going to a local university in Colby. Emaline is attracted to the bright future her dad and Theo envision, but she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. She's faced with many life decisions of whether to face her fears and venture out into the world of uncertainty or stay within the familiarity. This novel explores many themes such as family, ambition, values, and finding yourself and your true identity, all things girls in high school go through.

7. "Saint Anything"

" When faced with the scariest of things, all you want to do is turn away, hide in your own invisible place. But you can't. That's why it's not only important for us to be seen, but to have someone to look for us, as well."

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and-lately-concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends and pitch in to care for their mother who has multiple sclerosis. With them, Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time. By exploring Dessen's signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change, her twelfth novel is sure to not disappoint.

8. "What Happened to Goodbye"

"Home wasn't a set house, or a single town on the map. It was wherever the people who loved you were, wherever you were together. Not a place, but a moment, and the another, building on each other like bricks to create a solid shelter that you take with you for your entire life, wherever you may go."

This novel chronicles the tough life Mclean has had to face with her parent's divorce due to her mother's recent affair. While her mother would like her to be a part of her new family-- complete with a new house, siblings, and everything else-Mclean chooses to hit the road with her dad, a restaurant consultant, and begins a series of transformations, Since her and her dad have moved three times in the past two years, she has developed certain characters, new names and personalities when faced with being the new kid at high school. Then when it's time to leave that place, she sheds that character and starts fresh with something new. In Lakeview, where she has recently moved, she already develops a new name but soon realizes that unlike those other places, this one will be different. When a series of events happen, it becomes clear that it won't be so easy this time to leave everything--including herself-- behind. Filled with themes of self-discovery, family, and friendship, one thing is for sure when it comes to Dessen's writing; she nails this idea of an exploration of a teen's life.