Along for the Ride
Ratings53
Average rating3.8
15
Ratings53
Average rating3.8
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
“It was so easy to disown what you couldn't recognize, to keep yourself apart from things that were foreign and unsettling. The only person you can be sure to control, always, is yourself. Which is a lot to be sure of, but at the same time, not enough.”
Normally you'd expect the romance to take center stage in contemporaries like those written by Sarah Dessen, but I have to say, this element in her books is almost always sweet but highly underwhelming, it takes a backseat to character development, friendships and complicated family matters, and I truly appreciate this. Auden and Eli as a couple left me pretty cold, but I loved their personal growth and their relationships with the supporting cast.
the beginning was pretty slow-going and vague to me but the ending was pretty darn satisfying :)
I loved this book way more than I was expecting to. Honestly I picked it up because I had never read a Sarah Dessen book and wanted to, and this one is coming out as a netflix movie next week.
I liked it so much because Auden was so relatable to me. I tend to get worked up about how I need to finish whatever school work and feel like I can't go out and do something fun because of it. But this summer, Auden didn't try to get ahead in school and she just let go and had a summer filled with new experiences, new adventures, and new friends.
I also think it was impactful in the idea of not being so over concerned about the future and instead enjoying where you are in that moment.
That was how this book resonated with me, but there were so many other ways I think it could resonate with different people. I think that's what makes it such a beautiful book.
