Saint Anything

Saint Anything (2015), a young adult contemporary romance novel by Sarah Dessen, follows a young girl who, feeling overshadowed by her brother, must find her own way in the world when he’s incarcerated. One of Dessen’s most popular young adult novels, it was nominated for the 2015 Goodreads Choice Award. Dessen is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous contemporary young adult books. In her novels, Dessen often explores the themes of family, self-discovery, and coping with tragedy or loss. Before writing full-time, Dessen worked as a waitress.

Teenager Sydney Stanford lives in North Carolina with her parents and her older brother, Peyton. Peyton seemingly has it all. He is popular, friendly, and good at everything. Sydney always feels overshadowed by him, feeling that no one sees her. However, when Peyton starts drinking and behaving erratically, everything changes for the Stanford family.

One night, Peyton is arrested for drunk-driving. He caused an accident and seriously injured a teenage boy. A dangerous crime, he is going to spend time in prison. Everyone frets over Peyton and what this means for his future—everyone but Sydney. Sydney is annoyed that everyone sees Peyton as a victim, instead of remembering that he almost killed someone. When he is sentenced to a correctional facility, Sydney feels he is not being punished enough.



As the weeks go by, and her parents continue to worship Peyton, Sydney knows she needs a break from them all. Her brother has paralyzed a young boy, and she is the only one who seems to care. After much discussion, Sydney transfers to a new school. She hopes to find new friends and new distractions. Most of all, she is looking forward to escaping from under Peyton’s shadow.

At this new school, she meets the Chatham family. They run the local pizza joint. A friendly, well-functioning family, they welcome Sydney into their lives. They don’t know anything about Peyton or his crime, and so Sydney feels that she can forget what he did for a while. Wondering if she will ever be able to forgive him, she is frustrated that she doesn’t have anyone to talk to about her true feelings. She spends a lot of time at the pizza place.

Sydney becomes friends with Layla Chatham, who works there and goes to Sydney’s new school. A young girl, Layla has a troubled older sister, and so she understands Sydney’s situation. Finally, Sydney has someone she can talk to about Peyton, and her feelings of frustration towards her family. She has not been to visit Peyton yet, and Layla seems to be the only person who understands why.



Sydney admits that Peyton has been in trouble for a long time. He has been to rehab before and been incarcerated for breaking and entering. Layla’s sister, Rosie, has a drug addiction problem, and Layla worries about her constantly. Sydney is glad that, for once, there is someone she can talk to about Peyton’s drug and alcohol abuse without judgment.

Sydney cannot understand why her mother continues to worship Peyton instead of being honest with him; things get worse when Mrs. Stanford decides they should all visit Peyton at the correctional facility. Sydney is adamant that she’s not going. Peyton does not want her to visit, either, because he is ashamed to see her; he knows that she is critical of him.

Nevertheless, their mother insists that they make the trip to see him. Their plans change when the lawyer calls to say that Peyton has been in trouble at the facility and lost his visiting privileges. Devastated, Sydney’s mother harasses the lawyer for more information. Sydney, on the other hand, is relieved she doesn’t have to face him yet.



In the meantime, Sydney makes more friends. She grows especially close to Layla’s brother, Mac, whom she sees all the time at school and the pizza place. He used to be obese but now he has his weight under control. Admiring his determination, Sydney finds him very attractive. She hopes Layla won’t mind her fancying her brother.

One night, Layla asks her father if she and Sydney can start delivering pizzas to help more with the business. Mr. Chatham agrees, but only so long as they are careful. However, they have only started delivering pizzas when Sydney meets a handsome customer, Mason. He is rich and lives on the privileged side of town, and they start dating. He is a bad influence on Sydney, pressuring her into things she is not ready for.

Layla distances herself from Sydney, finding new friends to hang out with. When Sydney realizes that Mason will eventually get her into the same trouble Peyton is in, she stops dating him and goes out with Mac on delivery jobs, instead. The more time they spend together, the closer they grow, and Sydney realizes he is the one for her after all.