Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

It's been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents' divorce--or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she's been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

(booktalk by the Bookscreening Team)

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

The moon reflects on the ocean, waves gently wash onto the shore, and at 2:00am in a sleepy beach town Auden is wide awake. It is the summer before she starts college and in addition to dealing with her parents' divorce and her father's new life which includes a new wife and baby, Auden struggles with her own sense of self. Being raised by parents who focused on intelligence and could not connect with one another, Auden's main coping skill of getting perfect grades and isolating suddenly doesn't work anymore. And while wandering the beach town streets at night she meets another insomniac, Eli. Not only is he very attractive to her but he is also dealing with his own issues of love and loss. Together they forge a friendship that could be something more if Auden's heart will relax enough to allow her to let go. Just like how riding a bicycle takes a balance of letting go and making decisions, she tries to learn how to trust herself and others. But will she be able to learn before the summer, and possibly her chance at love, is over?

(booktalk by Kathleen Dunbar, Cleveland High School Library)


Check out the book trailer created by the Palos Verdes Library District staff.


2002 Evergreen Trailer