Customer Reviews

Along for the Ride

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I must admit, I did everything I could before writing this review. I checked my e-mail at least 10 times, I watched an old episode of Friends, I snacked on sunflower seeds. It's not that I didn't want to write the review because I didn't like the book, it's quite the opposite. I knew that once I wrote the review, I would be done, moving onto another book. The truth of the matter was, I didn't want to be done with Dessen's book.

Along for the Ride is about 18 year old Auden, a remarkably smart girl who's parents divorced when she was younger after years of bickering. She became an insomniac, avoiding her problems by staying awake, studying at a nearby cafe. Meanwhile, being raised by two academic parents, Auden organized her life around school - she could answer any educational question, yet barely had any friends and missed out on every important childhood landmark (prom, bowling, learning to ride a bike..) After a strangely inspirational message from her older brother Hollis, Auden decides to spend the summer before her freshman year of college in Colby with her father, his new extremely cheerful wife, and their even newer baby, Thisbe. There, Auden discovers something about herself through interactions with Heidi, her stepmother; babysitting Thisbe; working at a clothing store with girls her age; and, above all, meeting the mysterious Eli who helps her rebuild her past.

The story talks about love, redemption, and second chances. It's about how it's never too late to rediscover yourself and grab hold of your present.

I really loved Along for the Ride. The characters were interesting, deep, and always surprising. Yes, as many young adult books, the plot was a bit predictable, but that didn't matter. Along for the Ride took you away from your life and put you into Auden's. It's the perfect young adult book - one that presents a problem and finds ways to solve it.

The main characters were incredibly real - everyone had one of them in high school. There was the beautiful Maggie who was actually smarter than she looked. The party girl Leah, and the big mistake Jake. There was Eli, the secretive love interest with a heart of gold. And Adam, the extremely affectionate best friend. And then there was Auden, a girl with a secret of her own, who was still trying to figure herself out.

I loved so much about the book. I loved that I could actually see Colby - I knew the map of it like my own neighborhood. I loved that everyone went to the Gas/Gro before going out because in the past I had a similar place. And I loved the importance of the summer - the last for everyone before college. How important it was to make it "the best of times," because at that age, everyone wants to.

The writing was spot on, incredibly detailed and relatable. It's a book you could pick up and easily slide back into Dessen's world. I liked the hope it brought, as well as the message. I liked how Eli and Auden hung out at night because neither could sleep. How the world is so much different once people are asleep. And now, I too now look at the houses around me and wonder why someone else might be awake at 1am. What's their story?

There was one quote that I especially enjoyed. Towards the beginning, the girls stock up on food at the Gas/Gro. After Auden asks why they do it, night after night, Esther replies "I don't know. It's like, we're headed out somewhere. You never know what's going to happen. So you stop for supplies." Indeed.

Along for the Ride is the perfect summer read - set at the beach, you could practically hear the waves pouring out of the pages. It's the first book I've read of Sarah Dessen's and definitely won't be my last. In fact, I might have already set up a book store trip with my own group of friends to get another.

I really want to gush about how awesome this book is, but sadly, I don't think I can. I wanted to like it, I really really wanted to like it, and as a book, it was pretty decent, but I'm getting so sick of the standard Dessen formula. It was cute the first time. And maybe the second. But by now, it's gone way too far. It's always the same: Annoying, messed up family situation, girl doesn't know how to deal with it, girl meets boy, boy fixes everything in girl's hypothetical world, and then there's always that really annoying cringey moment when you just know that Dessengirl and Dessenboy are going to have a falling out, but you also know that they'll be back together by the end. The story moves along quickly, which is what I've always liked about Dessen, but I'm reading the same story over and over and over again. I'd like some change! I love all her characters, but why is it always the same outline? Character-wise, Auden's a sweetheart, and I definitely sympathize with her. Eli is not as well developed as the other Dessenboys, but he's still someone you can get to like. The family situation is aggravating, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one really wanting to pummel Auden's dad with a baseball bat (and what happened to that, anyways? Dropped storyline, much?). I'm glad Jake wasn't used as the character to come between Eli and Auden, as that would have made me flip out even more. I don't know, I really want to be enthusiastic and tell you to buy the book and read it and love it, but it's all the same. Pick up any Dessen novel (and do pick one up, they're fantastic and should be read by every teenage girl out there) and you'll get the same story with minor changes. I want some more originality. I know she can do it, she's done it before, why the rut? She's such a fantastic writer, and I want to see more of her writing, but I'd like a new story next time, okay?

Rating: 3/5

With the exception of "Dreamland," the plots of Sarah Dessen's books are as alike as slice and bake cookies--girl with relationship hang-ups forged by family dysfunction meets boy and makes new friends who teach her life lessons. Over the course of a summer or school year, said girl falls in love, and comes in to her own.

Although "Along for the Ride" sticks like a squeaky wheel to this formula, I actually found it to be my favorite Dessan novel to date! I thought Auden was a more sympathetic and fully developed character than Niki, Remy, Macy, or Annabel, and her fear of making mistakes and letting her guard down made sense and were justified within the context of the story, which is a problem I've had with "This Lullaby" and "Just Listen."

I also found the supporting characters--Ester, Leah, Wallace, and especially Maggie, Adam, Heidi, and Auden's family to be much richer, and the life lessons Auden learned from them (ie how to let loose and express your emotions and that women can be BOTH girly AND intelligent) to be more nuanced and entertaining than Dessan's usual scope.

It's certainly true that Eli and the plot points surrounding his romance with Auden are very reminiscent of Macy and Wes in "The Truth About Forever...," but the little details of their late night escapades, made their chemistry feel fresh enough to me, although I would be interested to see if Dessan could crack her romantic interest mold of Eli/Nate/Dexter/Wes/Owen etc., and give us a guy who is truly original.

I felt that Dessan's trademark extended metaphor "riding a bike" gelled with the plot and with Auden's growing realization that when you makes mistakes, you should get back on that bike, in a way that previous Dessen metaphors such as "lock and key,""modeling," "running," "painting" etc. seemed forced.

Overall, I was happy to coast along on this ride, and I would recommend this book to fans of Dessan and young adult literature. However, should readers wish to ride along a different path, I advise seeking out new ground.

Since the day Sarah Dessen announced the release for ALONG FOR THE RIDE, I waited in severe anticipation to have the book in my hands. I hoped that not only would it be a NEW story with NEW characters, but that it'd be have the same top notch quality of THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER and THIS LULLABY.

Unfortunately, I feel that Sarah Dessen did not *fully* deliver. While the story was eager and darling, I found myself thoroughly bored %90 of the time and skimming pages to try and get to the point. The characters were flat. Auden was unlikable throughout most of the book and the only girl from the boutique group that seemed to have substance was Maggie. I loved Maggie. I cherished Maggie. She may have saved this novel.

While I loved the concept of insomnia bringing Eli and Auden together (and those late night scenes were beautiful), I was irritated with Dessen for her depiction of it. From my understanding, insomnia is a disorder where you can't sleep (it's something I've suffered from for years), and Auden slept relentlessly during the day. Maybe I'm misinformed on insomnia and if so, my bad, but I would have loved to have read about the draining effects of insomnia. I don't think it was done justice. Insomnia was portrayed as a little, no biggie thing when it really is life impacting.

Like I said before, I was disappointed. I felt like there could have been some MAJOR editing and revising done. Despite my disappointment though, I did enjoy ALONG FOR THE RIDE at times. Heidi and Maggie glowed in the novel. Eli made the story intriguing and the bike metaphor pushed it over the top. If you're a true blue Dessen fan, you'll probably enjoy the book. If you've never read Dessen, I highly suggest you start with THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER or THIS LULLABY - that's where Sarah Dessen truly shined.

Auden has always been highly motivated and focused on her schoolwork, pushed by her successful scholar of a mother and bestselling writer father. When her parents split up, Auden becomes an insomniac, and becomes all too familiar with the night. The summer before she starts college, she decides to live with her father, his new wife, and their newborn daughter. There, in a small beach town full of eclectic people, Auden realizes all that she has missed out on, and discovers that maybe it's not too late to grab on to all the life has to offer.

Along for the Ride is a heartfelt, humorous, and thoughtful read by popular author Sarah Dessen that readers will devour. Dessen creates an enchanting setting in the beach town of Colby, one that every girl can't help but fall for, and a cast of characters that are charming, witty, and captivating. Auden's epiphany of all the things that she missed out on while concentrating on her academics and her resulting mission to make up for all of the things she missed out on is entertaining and perceptive, and sure to resound with many readers. Her other discovery, that people aren't always as they appear, may be cliché, but nonetheless meaningful within the context of the novel. A reoccurring debate within the novel is whether or not people ever really change, and Dessen does an exemplary job relating that issue to Auden's story. Full of all the wonders of summer time, Along for the Ride is an insightful and enjoyable read full of romance, healing, discovery, and wonderful friendships that will charm readers and inspire them to take advantage of every opportunity to live life to its fullest.

It's a good book don't get me wrong.

However...

Most of the characters feel very impersonal. The motifs are painfully obvious and over worked. There is a lot of telling vs showing which is a first for me with a Dessen novel. As I read I couldn't help it when the word formulaic came to mind. The only thing I found convincing in this book was Heidi and her baby. All the other things seriously just kind of died in a gimmicky pink blur of previous awesomeness (I mostly am referring to previous books by Sarah Dessen).


What disappointed me the most though: Eli and Auden's adventures were glossed over. The adventures were (I thought prior to reading the book) the meat of the book; the crux of all of Auden's problems; the heart of her relationship with Eli- all of that totally just got... skipped. The book never tapped into the magic of being out at night, on a quest, with the boy you like-like, or even the chemistry that happens between two people when they share experiences like that. It seemed to be a lot more telling vs showing when it came to this rather critical part of the book. (I am REALLY not a fan of one paragraph to sum up a week's worth of magical nights that bonded the characters together that I never even adequately got to see!)

I think there was a LOT going on in this book and it I got lost along the way. Too many loose ends, the focus was all over the place, and the Beach Bash Prom thing just seemed like a cop out. C'mon a prom-night centered climax? Uh...no.

All in all I'm disappointed and would recommend her earlier works. When I don't personally connect with the characters I can't seem to have much love for the book as was the case here. I will probably get a lot of thumb downs but that's really how I felt about the book.

Along for the ride is pretty quick read, and a good book. It has the same feel as the rest of her books and is one her best. Honestly I would give this book a 4.5, but that's not an option. The main charechter, Auden, is a girl who really has no friends, or social skills, and she spends the summer with her father,stepmother and new baby sister in the town of colby. Auden doesn't sleep at night, she hasn't since her parents split up, and instead spends her nights driving around, or walking on the boardwalk, wasting time. It's one of these times that she is walking on the boardwalk that she meets Eli, who ( what a coincidence) doesn't sleep at night either. Eli gives Auden her second chance, calling it a quest, to do everything she missed out on. These nights, and her quest bring them closer and ultimately makes Auden realize that a failures happen, and to give things a second chance. If your a fan of Sarah Dessen, you'll definatly like this book,(and finding all the different characters,places, and things that are in the rest of her books,)and even if you're not a fan it's a good book that deserves a chance.:)

It's the summer before Auden heads off to college, and out of sheer boredom she decides to visit her father, his new wife, and their new baby daughter for the summer in Colby, a little beach front town. Her dad's new wife, Heidi, who owns a trendy clothing boutique and surrounds herself in everything pink is completely opposite of her Mom, an academia celebrity and the head of the English department at a university, who considers things like Barbies to be weapons of chauvinism. At first Auden can't stand the manufactured waves Heidi uses to try to lull the baby to sleep, can't stand the way Heidi always talks and talks, saying whatever comes to her mind, and especially can't stand how the girls in Colby do nothing but gossip about boys and talk about clothes. But the more time she spends in Colby, the more she realizes all that she's missed out on, spending her childhood like a miniature adult rather than a child.

Then there's Eli Stock. Aloof and judgmental at first, he works at the local bike shop and Auden seems to always run into him in the middle of the night: both of them dealing with insomnia for different reasons. And then he comes up with the idea of her quest, and they spend their nights searching for new ways she can have a second chance at her childhood: going bowling, starting food fights, playing dodgeball, breaking curfew, dancing at a club. There are moments that seem perfect and there are moments that are hard - hardest when Auden has to face something she's not good at. Of course, one thing she isn't good at is having a boyfriend and relating to people, because before this summer she never really has. And Eli has some issues of his own.

As should be expected from any Sarah Dessen novel, these characters are complex in contrast to the simple plot, and the book is hard to put down at any moment. And for fans of The Truth About Forever, this book has several similarities. Auden is very similar to Macy. Both are trying very hard to be perfect and do what their mothers expect of them, and something chaotic (for Auden it's Heidi and the baby) changes them for the better. Eli is very similar to Wes - he's also a minimalist and is dealing with loss. And Jason Talbot even makes an appearance as they guy who stood Auden up for the prom, for an environmental conference of all things - and she understood! Despite the similarities, I liked both Auden and Eli very much and didn't have too much trouble distinguishing them from Macy and Wes and keep the stories separate.

One big difference, I felt was Auden's parents. Her mother, the woman who prides herself on always being the smartest person in the room, is tough on Auden and not exactly warm and fuzzy, and also like Macy's mother doesn't really supervise her daughter much since she's a mini adult already. But some of her thoughts and some of her dialogue is hilariously original. Despite her selfish nature and the moments when I wished I could smack her, she really was one of my favorite characters to read about in the whole book, even if it was just reading about her through Auden's words.

When Maggie, one of Auden's new found friends in Colby says baby's always wear pastels rather than black, Auden, as her mother would, questions "Says who?" And as if she is channeling the voice of her mother, herself, she adds: "Society. The same society, I might add, that dictates that little girls should alays be sugar and spice and everything nice, which encourages them to not be assertive. And that, in turn, then leads to low self-esteem, which can lead to eating disorders and increased tolerance and acceptance of domestic, sexual, and substance abuse."

I did, however, find myself frustrated with Auden's father. I didn't like him, at all. Usually, I feel Sarah Dessen's characters are all complex enough that even through their faults, they're likable. I just didn't feel that way about her dad. He was selfish, manipulative, and immature, and I couldn't fathom how two such driven and intelligent women could have allowed themselves to fall in love with and marry him. The rest of the minor characters, I really enjoyed, especially Maggie and some of the other local teenagers in Colby who despite not much face time still managed to have unique personalities.

Overall, I really liked the story, and I don't think Dessen fans will be disappointed, but it won't keep me up at night stewing over the story or thinking about the characters, and I won't read it over and over again. It was a feel-good, and it made me smile, but just good.

I loved reading all of Sarah Dessen books. I couldn't wait to read this one and while reading it I wished that it didn't have to end. I really hope Sarah continues to write because she is really gifted. As always I fell in love with the characters. I also really enjoyed the plot and the way the lessons that are learned in Dessen's books are incorporated into the overall theme of the book.

Auden goes to spend a summer with her dad and stepmom looking more or less for an adventure but she had no clue that she would be learning from some unexpected characters. Auden missed out on the normal childhood and spends the summer trying to find what she missed out on.

If you liked Dessen's other books you will love this one!

The book Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen reminds me why I love the wonderful Sarah Dessen. True it's the same "formula" but it's the "elements" added that make Along for the Ride great. Okay fine the heroine's in her stories always have a problem and they discover their solution in some way towards the end but the problems differ entirely. None of her stories are the same. Her way of writing engages you into the story and its characters
With Auden I find myself feeling like I know her and have been her. There is this naïve or an almost childlike feeling to Auden that makes me relate to her, she's new to everything so to say. But give her a book to read or an essay to write and she can do those kinds of things. Academics define Auden. She never really related to girls her age, never had any real friends, but that all changes the summer she decided to stay with her father, his new wife, and newborn sister.
Personally I think that the reason she "recycles" characters is because it's kind of an Easter egg for the long time readers. But if you're new to her stories then you don't miss anything. Also the message isn't only that you can't judge someone by their appearance. But something much more than that, such as if you're given a second chance then do something and don't let that chance pass by we shouldn't take them for granted. And secondly that people don't always stay the same but do in fact change; not always but there are those rare occasions. Auden learns this in one summer that will be known to her as: "The Best of Times."