Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Title:Along for the Ride
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 383
Publisher: Speak
Source: Barnes and Noble Book Store, Denver


 




Back of Book 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 brak out of her rut.
     Life at the beach proves more challenging that 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 an endless supply of long summer nights between then, almost anything can happen. 

 My Review:
Characters:
     Sarah Dessen does a nice job developing different characters in her novel. I enjoyed Auden and her complexities immensely. Auden's spunky, socially awkward way was endearing and had me rooting for her all the way.  I also enjoyed the other characters that Ms. Dessen painstakingly developed from Eli and his tortured brooding sexiness to Jake and his tough guy exterior. Heidi with her independent will to survive as a new mother alone to Robert, Auden's selfish author father. Each character fit into the plot flawlessly.
   The one thing that I did struggle with in this novel was the age of the characters. I couldn't quite figure out how old they were because of the reckless abandon with which they conquered their town. There was a lot of drinking and clubbing and late night adventures. I wasn't sure if they were mostly college aged or if they were high school. Either way- This minor flaw in the character development is my only complaint.

Plot/Conflict/Theme:
     While I like the character's extremely well, I was disappointed a little in the plot. I was expecting something more than the canned romance story. Girl leaves home. Girl meets boy. Boy and Girl bond. Girl messes up. Girl proves she is sorry. Boy and Girl get back together again. This type of plot is too cliche for me to rave about the novel and give it a solid I for Incredible rating. Though Sarah Dessen does provide the readers with a unique setting and some interesting elements. (Like the trouble that is brewing between Auden's stepmom and her dad, and the growing fondness Auden has for her grumpy new infant sister, affectionately nicknamed Isby) There was a potential to draw deeper into these elements to create a more unique plot. For instance, I think delving into the world of cycling or further developing Auden's Quest that Dessen loosely threads through the novel would have strengthened the novel more if it had become a more focal part of the novel.

Quality of Writing:
     I enjoyed the quality of writing that Sarah Dessen produced in her novel. There were some clever word plays and enjoyable descriptions that lead the reader to really picture this small beach town that had managed to completely upset Auden's traditional way of life.

Favorite Line: Auden and Eli are discussing her 'quest' to retrieve her lost childhood years.

"There were endless ways to spend your days, I know that , none of them right or wrong. But given the chance for a real do-over, another way around, who would say no? Not me. Not then. Call it crazy or just chicken salad. But within reason, or even without it, I was in too" (Dessen 178).

  Rating:
Book: B for Basically Brilliant
Cover: B for Basically Brilliant