Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Hey everybody! Sorry we haven't been posting a lot lately. Right now we're working on a new system to our reviews. I'm not sure if we're posting on assigned days or not, but we're picking what books/series we're reviewing to make it fair. Here's another review for you all, and I'm planning to post another within the next week if not the next couple days.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden is a straight-A student. Her parents are divorced, their fights were horrible, and ever since, she’s been an insomniac. She’s ready for college, her whole life is in order, her parents expect nothing less than 110%, she has to study during the summer, and she is not happy with her life at all. Her life has been protected with school and hardly any friends, and all she’s ever known is studying. When she moves to shore-side town Colby, North Carolina for the summer to spend time with her father and his new wife, she comes across three girls that are just the type she steers clear of: happy, carefree, and...girly. She also meets another boy like her--Eli. He is also an insomniac, but his night life is totally different from Auden’s. Her parents want her to go to college, but what if she just wants to have fun?

This is the second of Dessen’s books that I’ve read so far. I fell in love with the first one I read of hers (The Truth About Forever) and I automatically picked up this one.
As you may already know, I love a good romance. Yes, this book is a romance, so if you don’t like that, step away from the book. If you do like that, pick up the book now.

This book is set in the little town of Colby, North Carolina along the Atlantic Coast. It is also in the summer--I mean, why set a romance in a coastal town in the winter? This is perfect for the book, as well as the “night life” of Auden and Eli. Also, the symbolism is huge. The biggest symbol in this book is a bike. I’ll let you figure out what it’s a symbol for when you get there. Dessen’s ability to make you feel as if you’re there is incredible. I actually felt as if I was in that car with Eli and Auden.

Auden isn’t exactly the strong female protagonist you might be looking for. She’s not weak, but she isn’t strong either. She’s hurt, can’t sleep at night, and has never done anything any normal kid would. I like her, and by the end, she is as healed as she can get. Next, you have Eli. He’s also hurt like Auden, but in a different way, even though it expresses itself in the same way. He’s dark and mysterious, and Auden can’t help being drawn to him, especially when she finds out he can’t sleep at night, either. They’re the kind of couple I love in books. (For spoiler reasons, I will not be sharing just what kind of couple they are.) Their conflict is beautiful and kept me turning pages through every moment.

Dessen creates characters that are different and likable, uses incredible imagery, and expresses her themes through symbols.

Five stars!

Goodbye for now,

Cassia