Overview –
Along for the Ride
Product Details
- Pub. Date: April 2011
- Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
- Format: Paperback , 432pp
- Sales Rank: 843
- Age Range: Young Adult
- ISBN-13: 9780142415566
- ISBN: 0142415561
Synopsis
Ever since her parents began fighting, Auden has been unable to sleep at night. Now, spending a summer at a charming beach town with her father and his new family, she has to find new places to pass the time she spends awake. And so she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac who becomes her nighttime guide. Together, they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she has missed; for Eli, to come to terms with the death of a friend. In her trademark blockbuster-style, Sarah Dessen creates a powerful and irresistible story of two people learning how to connect.
My Thoughts
This the first Sarah Dessen book I had read and I must say that I am thrilled to find an author this good. I picked up this book this morning and could not put it down. The story of a young woman, Auden, who has always been a little adult focused on her future and the new and life changing experiences she goes through when she visits her dad, step-mother and new baby stepsister in Colby. I can totally relate to Auden and her lack of social experience. I could understand her feelings and the choices she made because it is exactly what I would have done. I love the town of Colby and the girls that Auden meets there. They take her in even if she did make a huge mistake of making out with Jake the first night she is in town. That very same night she see a boy doing tricks on the boardwalk but doesn’t know who he is. Auden learns that his name is Eli and he is going through a difficult time since the summer before his best friend, Abe, died in a car accident where he was the driver.
This is a wonderful story of a girl chance to take control of her life and really live. There is a perfect amount of detail in the story and many different story lines moving at the same time. I enjoyed that the story was not just a romance but really that of finding friendship, family, yourself and love all at the same time. It is a story of taking chances and growing.
My Rating
4.5 stars a great simple fun loving read! Check it out!
* I purchased this book and all opinions are my own.