Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Release Date: June 11^th 2009

Publisher: Speak

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 399 pages

Source: Purchased

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or 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 she’s 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.

As always, Sarah Dessen is capable of drawing a smile on my face every time I finish one of her books. As a reader I always grow up with Dessen's characters emotionally.

Auden, the main character, can't sleep at night. She spends her time reading in a café at night. She's not really girly, if I have to describe her, she is more of a tomboy. I loved how Auden is always engrossed in one of her books; zoning out from the world's problems. Auden is also different and complicated character. She doesn’t know that of course, but as a reader you notice that right away. I liked how Auden was not flawless …just like everybody else. She's not perfect.

Eli, the main male character, was different from any other Dessen's characters. It was so easy to picture him because Auden couldn’t stop from describing him( thinking of him).      

The pacing of the book was normal. Not too face or too slow. Auden was fun to follow anyways.

Overall, this book had taught me that my love for Dessen's work should increase every time I read her books. Along for the ride was a fun, edgy, summery, sad book that will make you bite your lower lip for being so proud that you had joined Auden's adventure from the first page.