Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The story is simple: summer vacation, girl meets boy. But, this Beehive book award nominee is delightful reading. I think it is because Dessen creates real characters; even the minor characters are multi-faceted. Auden, the main character, goes to stay with her father, his wife, and Auden's new half-sister, baby Thisbe. Auden is a bookworm and a model student, model daughter. She doesn't have the usual teenage plans when going to stay at a beach town like the one where her father lives. Her only plans are to review the textbooks she will be using in her classes in the fall. When she arrives her new stepmother, Heidi, is having such a rough time taking care of baby Thisbe, that Auden steps up to help manage her step-mother's boutique by doing the accounting. Here she meets girls her own age, and becomes acquainted with the boys who hang out at the bike shop, particularly Eli. Auden's life is transformed that summer. It was just nice being "along for the ride" as Auden moves towards self-realization.



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