Thursday, August 4, 2011

Jen Reviews "Along For The Ride" by Sarah Dessen

Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Published: 2009, Speak (Penguin Group)
Source: Purchased myself
Rating: 5 stars

Summary:

Ever since her parents' divorce, Auden has been unable to sleep.  She's built a routine that gets her through each night; but when the opportunity comes for her to spend her summer at the beach with her father and his new family, she jumps at the chance to break out of her rut.

Life at the beach proves more challenging than Auden expects.  In addition to trying to figure out how she fits into her father's new life, she also has to navigate the girls at work with their gossip and friendship and crushes.  And then there's Eli, a fellow insomniac who becomes her nocturnal tour guide.  With and endless supply of long summer nights between them, almost anything can happen... (from back cover).

Review:


What can I say?  I love Sarah Dessen's books.  They make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  I love how the title always fits in perfectly with the storyline.  I love the 'morals' of the story.  I love the character's unique names.  I love how Dessen has characters from her previous books make appearances (they only show up briefly though) in her newer books.  Sometimes the characters only show up so quickly you may read over it before you realize it.  Jason from The Truth About Forever makes a few appearances in this book

Auden grew up too fast.  Her parents always treated her like an adult (even when she was three) and never really like a child.  She's missed out on a big part of childhood because of this.  Auden never did things like play hide-and-seek, spin around in a circle until you make yourself dizzy, play with dolls, or even learn how to ride a bike.  Things that are considered to be a rite of passage in childhood, Auden never took part in.

This leads to my favorite part of the book:  the quest.  What do you do at 2 am when you can't sleep?  Go on an adventure and try to reclaim your youth.  Never been bowling or participated in a food fight?  This is the summer for it!

Auden and Eli bond over the fact that they both can't sleep at night.  They bot avoid sleep for different reasons.  They spend their nights together by running errands and eating pie.  If I have trouble sleeping I'll watch a movie or read a few chapters in a book or have a small snack.  If I really can't sleep I'll go for a run (luckily my gym is open 24 hours).


Along For The Ride was no exception to my love of Sarah Dessen books.  It is full of everything I love about her writing.  I thought Auden was easy to relate to. 


Question: Inspired by Auden's quest is there anything from your adolescence that you never did but you wished you did?

11 comments:

  1. I like all of Sarah Dessen's books and agree about the warm and fuzzy. They just hit a particular nerve with out being preachy.

    I wish I would have relaxed more and not worried about what everyone else was doing.

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  2. Love her books! This one looks fantastic. I'm an insomniac, so I can relate a bit.

    As for things I wish I'd done as a kid... Been able to do sports/dance/girl scouts. Anything like that. I wish I'd been able to continue my piano lessons (I took them for 2 months when I was 9. Then my mom decided I should stop.)

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  3. Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors, too. I especially enjoy her references to her previous books. My favorite Dessen book is Keeping the Moon. What's yours?

    Oh, here's my review of Along for the Ride.

    http://joriesreads.wordpress.com/2009/07/19/sarah-dessens-along-for-the-ride/

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  4. I love Sarah's books, even though I am not in her demographic. Her books remind me of how awkward it was to be a teenager and she manages to keep her characters real without being preachy. Always a good read and always leaves me satisfied. My favourite would be Lock & Key and Just Listen; also enjoyed Along for the Ride.

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  5. Lovely review! This is probably my most favorite Sara Dessen book, so far!

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  6. I never snuck out of the house - not even once!

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  7. I'm addicted do Dessen's books and I can't say the Ride is any exception, it's just great book.

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  8. "Just call it chicken salad." :)

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  9. I am also a big Sarah Dessen fan and she can do no wrong in my eyes.

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  10. Great review! I haven't been able to read any Dessen books but I do have 2 that I could get started on.

    I wish I would have taken dance lessons. I started in Middle School as an elective and had so much fun with it. :)

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  11. I loved this book and gave it 5 stars, too! I lived vicariously through Auden, thinking that if I'd had an Eli in my life at that age, I'd have happily stayed out all night with him. I guess for me, the things I missed out on were because I was shy, so if I could do it all over again, I'd try to be bolder and more outgoing and make more of an effort to make friends and socialize. Actually, as a 20-something, I should still take that advice and apply it now lol

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