Book Review: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Dessen, Sarah. 2009. Along for the Ride. New York: Viking. 382 pages.

I will be the first to admit that even to this day, I still buy Sarah Dessen books from the bookstore for my own personal reading. Whenever I need a good dose of real life that just happens to work out in the end with some romance and drama thrown into the mix, something labeled with the name Sarah Dessen always holds the answer. In Along for the Ride we meet Auden, an overachiever and highly motivated student to the core, with two impressive scholar/authors as parents. Auden is also an insomniac, a habit built up from long late-night drives she would take that began when her parents started arguing behind closed doors, eventually splitting up. So Auden's world became more and more immersed in schoolwork and less and less in the world of people and friends. But no matter, as she graduates at almost the top of her high school class and is ready to move on to one of the most highly selective colleges in the area. But in a flash of spontaneity, Auden gets frustrated with her mother's attempts to rewind back into single-hood and Auden finds herself heading to the beach town where her father, new stepmom Heidi, and new baby stepsister live for a summer unlike any she would have foreseen.

The beach town creates the setting for Auden's unlikely mission--to go back and make up for all the things she missed as a kid--girl friends, hanging out, sleepovers, and riding a bike. Life at her dad's also isn't quite what she expected: her stepmom is stressed out of her mind, her dad completely oblivious and out of the picture--it's a pattern Auden's seen with her dad before. So Auden keeps some of her old habits, driving through the streets in the dead of night in order to find another haunt, but no luck for a while until she meets Eli, another night owl and a mysterious once-famous biker star that the townspeople say hasn't touched a bike since his best friend died in a car accident. And together Eli and Auden develop a connection or late nights and long talks over good coffee and fabulous pie, creating a friendship somewhat secret from the rest of their friends. What will Auden make of Eli? A friend closer than she had had for many years, and she cannot help but be drawn to his mysterious nature. But circumstances arise that compel Auden to close herself up again, but now she is clearly changed. But is she too late to go back?

How do the people in our lives make an impact upon our way of thinking, our way of interacting, our way of being? Any readers who like Sarah Dessen will thoroughly enjoy this novel, as well as readers who like Mary Pearson and similar authors. Readers will find themeselves surprised at the depth of content, amused by the vibrancy of well-formed characters and settings, and unable to pull away for even a second until they find out what happens between Auden and Eli. In this story Dessen crafts a real and alluring tale of Auden's summer of letting go, simply being, and for once enjoying life as the present and not as the future.