Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen Published by Penguin on 2009
Pages: 383
Goodreads
It́s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parentś divorcéor since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life shés been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend. In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.
My Thoughts:
Can I just start off by saying how much I love Sarah Dessen? Her books are fun and yet still have some depth to them. There are always waiting lists for her books in my LMC. This means that I have pretty high expectations of her new releases. Along for the Ride did not disappoint! Auden, Eli, Heidi and the rest are interesting characters…people you know or want to know.
Along for the Ride is Auden’s story. The summer before starting college she goes to stay with her dad, stepmother, and new baby sister in a small beach town. She leaves behind her very serious mother and meets a group of easy going people that she is certain her mother would “look down” on. Auden isn’t sure what to think at first but as she gets to know the place and the people she gets to know herself too. Of course there is a love interest (or two!) and many ups and downs. In the end it comes down to discovering who you are and who you want to be. A humorous yet thought provoking read. Fans of Dessen’s other works won’t be disappointed. I would say that it most resembles Just Listen. Read it and see 🙂
Sarah Dessen Connections - YA BibliophileYA Bibliophile
[…] books. I mention waiting for it in my third post ever on my blog! It was the fourth book I ever reviewed. So, in honor of my nostalgia for Along for the Ride and my love of Sarah Dessen I have a post […]