Friday, September 7, 2012

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen



Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
Published: June 16, 2009 by Viking Juvenille
Received: Gifted by Capillya
[Sarah Dessen's newly redesigned covers can be found here.]
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. [goodreads]

Visiting a Sarah Dessen book is like visiting the best and worst of times in my younger years.  There is something so comforting and raw about her stories that I just adore.  She can develop a character that may not necessarily be true to my exact past, but there's always bits and pieces of myself I hear in so many of the voices she speaks through out her novels. 

Along for the Ride really stood out to me.  I've read quite a few Dessen books, but something about this one grabbed me and made it difficult to put down.  The story begins just as Auden has graduated from high school.  She never truly had a childhood; always coaxed into growing up before her age defined it.  Auden's mother and father spent the later half of her teenage years in deep arguments late into the night.  Auden attempted to stay up all night, in hopes that if her parents knew she was awake in the wee morning hours, then maybe, just maybe they would stop fighting and get along. Unfortunately, that is not the case and Auden's parents got a divorce.

The summer before she is to go away to college, Auden decides to visit her father, his new wife, and their newborn daughter.  In an attempt to escape her mother's overbearing, critical eye; Auden is hoping to fly under the radar at her dad's house for the summer.  Taking all her academic books in tow, what she finds in this small beach side town is far from anything she could learn through a textbook.  Auden discovers that sometimes life gives you second chances.  Through a series of unforgettable characters, and one particular boy, Auden gets a second chance at unearthing the girl who's laid dormant for far too long.

There is something magical about the hours after midnight, that as a teen, you feel the world is yours to do whatever you want with.  My favorite moments of this novel occurred when Eli took Auden on her "quest" to experience things from her childhood, that she seemed to miss out on.  These two characters were holding on to some pretty emotional pasts, but the connection they found in the middle of the night as they walked the aisles of the 24-hour grocery store, drank coffee at the local laundry mat, or even considered learning how to ride a bike; cured their loneliness.  When the world was asleep, Eli and Auden were alive.

The deeper issues which Auden waded through when it came to her parents and their divorce presented a mature tone to the story.  Though this girl was having fun during those late night hours, she still had demons to battle when it came to accepting that her parents choices did not dictate the person she should be.  I loved the unexpected connection Auden found in her stepmother Heidi, and the girl friends she met through Heidi's store.  Though Auden expected a summer of nothing, what she got was a summer that changed her life.

Sarah Dessen has a way with words that sneak up on you when you're not expecting them to.  I found myself marking pages, line after line.  She knows how to send a message, but not in a preachy way.  If there is ever an author to recommend to a teenager, I would most definitely choose Sarah Dessen, and in particular this story.  Dessen is a timeless writer.  I feel that her stories have the capacity to touch each generation; continuously moving forward for new readers to discover.


18 comments:

  1. Glad this one stuck out for you - it is one of my favorite Dessens! I definitely think their after midnight questing adds extra intensity to the story - love it.

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  2. I read this some time ago, or actually I listened to the audiobook and I really liked it! It was a cute and sweet story, with the perfect amount of romance and drama.

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  3. I really liked this one too. It's one of my favorite of her books. :)

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  4. It's been a long time since I read SD book. I read too many of them too close to each other and they started to get lost in the shuffle of one another. Maybe I'll pick up this one on my next library run. I don't know if I'd ever call her "raw" in any of the previous books I read but I think she does know how to tap into the psyche of a young girl for sure.

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  5. You know, I have never read a single Sarah Dessen book. It seems every blog I read, or every booktube video I watch, there always seems to be a Dessen novel somewhere in it.
    Think I might need to grab one soon.
    If you could recommend any SD book for a novice, like myself, what would it be?

    Thanks!

    Happy Reading
    Emma
    http://emmaseminentbooks.blogspot.co.uk

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  6. Great review, Gina! I really need to check out Sarah Dessen one of these days ... her books look pretty awesome!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  7. I think this may be one of my favorite Dessen books. It was one of the first of hers that I read and I really enjoyed the relationship so much. SD always takes her time building the relationships and I really appreciate that. She uses a lot of tension, problems, and family issues, but those are real life things that I think teens can relate to. I definitely agree that she's one to recommend to teens. :)

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  8. Aw, this is one of my favorite Sarah Dessen books! I found Auden to be so relatable, and the story a bit more mature than some of SD's other books (which I mostly love). I thought the family stuff was well done without being overwrought or resolved too simply (which is usually my criticism of YA novels dealing with fractured families). I think I need to reread Along for the Ride soon!

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  9. I need to read these books!!! I'm in the mood for something like this right now too. Thank you for fabulous review!

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  10. Hi!
    I just came across your site and it is really lovely! I happily followed you and will enjoy reading your updates. You can find me over at Rainy Day Reads, www.rainydayreads.com It would be great if you could stop by and I would love to have a fellow book lover as a new follower.
    Christine x
    Rainy Day Reads
    www.rainydayreads.com

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  11. Aww, I like Sarah Dessen a lot, and I really liked this book. I especially appreciated the fact that a lot of Auden's most important relationships are with female friends. Yes, there's a romance, but it's not the sole focus of the novel -- which is a refreshing change from a lot of YA out there these days!

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  12. This is my favourite of Dessen's as well.

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  13. I read this one on spring break last year (my 1st Dessen book) and fell in love! :)

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

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  14. Dessen is fabulous. I think Just Listen is my favorite, but this is definitely one of the top ones. But you can't go wrong with any of Dessen's books.

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  15. Sarah Dessen freaking nails it. She gets the teenage experience without it sounding preachy (like you said) and totally authentic.

    Agreed - this one pulled on my heart more than others and her way with words left my book COMPLETELY filled with the highlights.

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  16. I don't think you even know how happy this review makes me. I <3 this book (and all of Sarah's other books) so much!

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  17. This is probably my favorite (tied with THIS LULLABY)Sarah Dessen book. My favorite scenes were also the ones where Eli and Auden revisit all the things Auden missed out on during her childhood. KICK BAAAAALLLLL...followed by drama.

    Awesome review, Greads! :-)

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  18. I absolutely LOVE Sarah Dessen - and this book happens to be one of my favorites from her. I think that the idea of exploring a "lost childhood" and those weird in-between hours at night are awesome and Sarah certainly combines the fun stuff with the hard stuff in this one.

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