Along for the Ride Review

4Q 4P MS

As an avid Sarah Dessen reader in high school that is now trying to catch up on the books I missed since then, this book was like a flashback.

Though all vaguely similar in style, Sarah Dessen creates real characters that one can relate to. Reading Along for the Ride brought back the same feelings I had when I was younger and reading The Truth About Forever, and This Lullaby, or any of her other books.

This title follows Auden during the summer between high school and college. A girl that was treated like an adult since she was a small child, she missed out on having fun during the summer her entire life. So it makes sense that this summer she buys all the textbooks for her first semester of college and plans to read through them to get a jump start on the coming semester. However, the one thing that changes is her location - opting to visit her father, step mother, and new baby sister Thisbe at their beach town home (the very same beach town that many other of Sarah Dessen's books take place in - various characters from all her novels make quick appearances in others, though never mentioned by name fans of Dessen will easily spot them). While here she ends up working in her step mother's very girly boutique, and slowly becoming friends with the other girls that work there. Additionally she learns to ride a bike with the help of some of her new friends, though initially it may have been to impress a boy that she pushed away out of habit, it ends up being what finally allows her to realize that she doesn't have to follow the path expected of her, that she can make her own decisions.

Formulaic? Yes. A girl that learns something about her self to overcome a problem? Yes. That describes Dessen's novels quite well. However, fans of Dessen will not care, as this is what we expect from her books - a well thought out story that is never exactly the same as the previous, that we can relate to, or learn something from in the form of how to be ourselves.

Fans of Sarah Dessen will enjoy Along for the Ride.

Along for the Ride Read Alikes

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride is a teen fiction novel that is typically categorized under romance or "chick lit." Following her senior year of high school, the typically studious Auden goes to stay with her father, step mother, and new baby sister at their home in a beach side town. While there she learns to let go and have fun, how to have friends that care about her, and how to ride a bike. Those that enjoyed this book may also enjoy some of the following.

(Click on the titles to see more).

For More of the Small Town Life:

Any Other Girl by Rebecca Phillips

Having two gay parents has caused Kat to lose some friends,

those that stay are distracted by the other ways in which she

draws attention to herself. Spending one final summer at the

lake with her cousin Harper, they meet the new guy. For once

Kat doesn''t have to work to prove she's no different from

everyone else, and she begins to realize this new boy could be

what she was looking for - if only Harper hadn't seen him first.

(New York,, Kensington Publishing, 2016).

What I Thought Was True by Huntly Fitzpatrick

Gwen was content with her life on a small island, coming from

a family that cleans up after the wealthy summer inhabitants.

She has always wanted more but never as much as she does

now, when a rich kid suddenly takes a job on the island.

Throwing her plans for a loop, she must now spend her

summer learning about herself and what she thought about

those around her, re-imagining her future plans. (New York. Dial

Books, 2014)

For More of the Small Town Life but With an Edge:

Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

Being a cheerleader is a big deal in Hermione's home town. So

being named head cheerleader is an even bigger deal. That is

until she goes to a party at cheer camp and someone slips

something into her drink. This was not how her senior was

supposed to happen. She was the most popular girl in school,

and now she is labelled things she never imagined possible -

outcast, pregnant, rape victim. How on earth can she handle

this in such a small town? (New York, Dutton Books, 2016).

For That Smart Chick Lit Feel:

Wanderlost by Jen Malone

When Aubree agrees to take over her sister's summer job of

leading a group of seniors around Europe, she thinks she had

the plan down - including pretending to be her sister Elizabeth

What could possibly go wrong? How about everything? Left

without her phone and a surprise guest - Sam, the son of the

tour group's owner. Now she must try to continue on, even

though she starts to fall for Sam, despite the fact that he thinks

she's Elizabeth .How can she get through this without ruining her

relationship with her sister? (New York, Harper Collins, 2016).

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty

After her best friend Hope moves away, Jessica Darling is is

devastated and feels completely out of place in her own life.

She has no idea how to deal with her remaining boy crazy

friends and if they really are friends, or her dad's over

zealous interest in her track meets. Enter Marcus Flutie, an

outcast who isn't really an outcast. When Jessica begins to

develop feelings for him (both positive and negative) she has

no idea what to do. Can Jessica make it through high school

without Hope? (New York, Three Rivers Press, 2001).

Get Your Sarah Dessen Fix:

Just Listen

After the events of a party she wishes she could forget, Annabel
is withdrawn from her former group of friends who now assume
all the rumors are true. When she meets Owen, a music lover that
has spent some time in Anger Management, she finds herself. By
using one of Owen's anger management techniques of always telling
the truth, will she finally be able to come to terms of what happened
that night at the party? (New York,, Penguin Young Readers Group, 2008).

Small Town on the Small Screen:

Gilmore Girls

Life in the small town of Stars Hollow can be both wonderful
and difficult for single mother Lorelai and her teenage daughter
Rory. The neighbors are quirky and nosy, the town itself is charming.
And Lorelai and Rory are the reigning Queens and Princess, loved
by all. Overachieving Rory excels in her private school, dreaming
to one day go to Harvard, while Lorelai runs an inn with dreams to
one day open her own. Watch the Gilmore Girls dreams come true.
[Video recording (DVD)], Burbank, CA: Warner Bros, 2004).






To see these suggestions in handout form please click here: Along for the Ride