Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen - Book Review

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Dessen, Sarah. Along for the Ride: A Novel. New York: Viking, 2009. Print. 

“I told myself it didn’t matter, that it was the equivalent of those couch cushions and cul-de-sac bike rides. But I still wondered, that night and so many others, what I was missing.”

Auden West never slept at night. At least not after the fighting started. After the divorce, she spent her days and nights studying to make her mensa level mother proud. Consequently, she never had friends or fun, and her childhood was deprived of many experiences.

Now, it’s the summer before college and Auden is preparing for it. However, Auden’s frilly and bubbly stepmother, Heidi, wants her to visit them in their small beach town, and Auden reluctantly accepts the offer. There, she meets mysterious and fellow insomniac Eli. Together, Auden and Eli go on a quest to live out Auden’s childhood and help Eli get over an accident that happened years ago. She starts to bond with her father and Heidi, along with learning that feelings don’t have to be pushed aside and not everything goes the way you want it to.

Sarah Dessen tells the story of the emotionally challenged Auden beautifully in the realistic fiction novel. She wonderfully illustrates how characters change throughout the story develop. The style of writing is easy to follow and flows well. I thought the novel was was great.