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Apr 03, 2011

Thomas rated it:

Reading Sarah Dessen is like walking into an air-conditioned store after a hot, humid day in the sun. Reading Sarah Dessen is also like drinking an ice-cold smoothie after a long, harsh marathon. And finally, reading Sarah Dessen is like eating comfort food: you always know what you're going to get, a tasty, satisfying treat.

Auden has just finished her senior year and looks forward to spending the summer like she usually does: staying home and studying, while occasionally attending t More...

10 comments like (53 people liked it)

Dec 21, 2011

Cara rated it:

This is pure Sarah Dessen . It's a comfort to read her work, because you know you are going to come away with something to think about.

I'm afraid I didn't like this one as much as the others. It's because well... it feels a little like I'm reading the same story. Tons of others have mentioned it, but she seems to be sticking to a very strict formula. Which I wouldn't mind too much if the characters didn't seem so similar. They all are so reserved and issue driven. One of the reasons More...

10 comments like (18 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2009

Steph rated it:

Cross-posted from my blog review.

Auden is your classic overachiever: she’s studious and entirely too serious. What’s more, she deprived herself of a normal high school experience—one with friends and fun—opting instead for the academic route. Which did indeed work, because she got into a great university, the one she’d be attending come August. In the meantime, there is the whole summer stretching before her, and suddenly, spending it at home with her holier-than-thou, my-feminism-i More...

11 comments like (24 people liked it)

Jun 07, 2011

Valerie rated it:

I expected a lot from this book but after reading some reviews I was getting worried. I was afraid that I would get bored in the middle of the book because everyone was saying it was the same as all her other books. It is very similar I’ll agree to that, but there were differences. I’ll also admit that after reading some other Sarah Dessen books I know that the ending turns out alright for the main girl but I personally like that.

One difference from this character is all about her st More...

2 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Cheryl rated it:

Even more than John Green, Sarah Dessen repeats the same plot elements over and over again:

1. ONE SUMMER,
2. AN OLDER TEENAGE GIRL WHO IS REPRESSED IN SOME WAY -- family secrets, personal secrets, others' expectations, her own cynicism or need for control
3. MEETS A WACKY GROUP OF PEOPLE -- long-distant family, a rock band, coworkers, a new group of friends
4. INCLUDING ONE UNUSUAL BOY -- usually artistic in some way
5. SHE DOES SOMETHING UNCHARACTERISTIC OF HER More...

42 comments like (91 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

Reviewed by coollibrarianchick for TeensReadToo.com

I have read every Sarah Dessen book published. I was so excited to learn she was coming out with a new one, ALONG FOR THE RIDE, that I marked the release date on my calendar. Was the wait worth it? Absolutely. Finished it in two days time, too - it would have taken me less time but I had to factor in pesky responsibilities like work.

I love the way Dessen writes. Her characters are always real, and the storylines are belie More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Adi (Reading in the Windowseat) rated it:

If you liked Elizabeth Scott's Perfect You, then you'd also love Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride. I know I did.

The book tells the story of a lonely girl who doesn't even know she is feeling so. Auden decides to spend her last summer before starting university with her newly re-married father, his exuberant young wife and their baby daughter after she receives a frame from her brother with the inscription "The Best Of Times". Suddenly, Auden finds that she has nothing to li More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Feb 27, 2011

Kristi (The Story Siren) added it

I’m just going to start this out saying that I love Sarah Dessen. Along for the Ride is definitely on my Dessen all time favorite list. Right up there with Just Listen and This Lullaby.

The characters is this novel are freaggin fabulous! That is one thing I can always count on with Dessen, she knows how to create a believable and relatable character no matter the situation. And Auden is no exception. I reveled in her transformation throughout the story. Ultimately that’s what this st More...

2 comments like (12 people liked it)

Sep 13, 2011

Glass rated it:

In my opinion, truly good author writes using her or his personal experience as the main source of inspiration and informations. Simple, but effective - write about things you know the best! And, surely, Sarah Dessen believes in the same principal. Althought, this is just her second novel I've read so far, I noticed some similarities and somehow it made everything about this book so much more appealing. I really liked Auden - other characers as well, but her especially because I recognized so m More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2009

Mounica rated it:

I really need to say something about the book cover. Before I started reading the book, I looked at the cover closely. The only thing that assured me that the person wearing the white shirt was a guy was the muscles in his arms. Other than that, I could have mistaken that as a girl, because, boy, no guy wears jeans like those. Seriously.

Anyway, I read the book, because you know the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” After I finish the book, I look at the cover again and feel More...

7 comments like (3 people liked it)

May 07, 2011

Amelia rated it:

Another FANTASTIC delivery from Sarah Dessen! She is, beyond a doubt, my favorite realistic fiction author. And this novel might just be my favorite of all of them but it's so hard to choose between "This Lullaby", "The Truth About Forever" and now, "Along for the Ride". But I was laughing up a storm with this one! Not that the others aren't funny, 'cause they're hilarious. But the heartening feeling you get as you read through Auden's adventure...man.

More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2010

Sloan rated it:

In my opinion, Sarah Dessen is one of the best young adult writers out there today. This book happens to be my second favorite book from her. It's odd how Dessen can make you feel like you know her characters personally. I love that about her writing, because she makes it so easy to identify with her characters. When I finished this book, I was almost upset about it. I didn't want to leave behind the characters and in some ways I felt like I was saying goodbye to friends. That’s a true sign that More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Nov 01, 2010

Sarah rated it:

ALONG FOR THE RIDE:
From Book smart to Street smart

Imagine everyday filled with academics and every night studying alone in a coffee shop. The main character, Auden, in Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen, spent her days before she decides to go to the small beach town of Colby. After talking to her older brother on the phone, Auden spontaneously decides to spend the summer with her father, his new wife, and their baby, Thisbe. While she was there, she takes a job in a small, More...

6 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

Andrea rated it:

I’ll be up front. I have major love for Sarah Dessen. Like, mega major love. She has a way, with her fluid, wistful style of writing, of sweeping me away. So I will say right now, this isn’t so much a review as it is thoughts about the way the book made me feel.

Each time I sit down to read her books, I find it darn near impossible to stop. When April and I started this read-along, affectionately named #DessenQuest2012 (Yes, I meant to include the hashtag. It’s a movement, people. Th More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 19, 2012

Alexa Loves Books rated it:

(This was posted on Alexa Loves Books.)

Sarah Dessen does it again! I've been a fan of hers since I read The Truth about Forever. This book is another masterpiece to add to her collection, and definitely one of my favorites.

Auden is an interesting protagonist and one that I easily came to like. She's a lone spirit, who works hard at her studies and rarely does anything spontaneous or fun. I enjoyed watching her transformation throughout the novel, especially as she discovere More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 11, 2011

Emma rated it:

Ha!

This review is for all the people who ask me why I'm bothering reading a book that looks so bad. Because... sometimes they turn out to not be so horrible in the end.

I was at about page 80 in this book and ready to stop reading because it just seemed kind of... pointless. And I hated it. I hated Auden, and I hated her attitude, and I hated the book. It also really bugged me that the actual book was bright carnation pink. Can't tell you why, exactly, but it was getting o More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 06, 2011

Alice rated it:

Insomnia, the lure of the night. That's what attracted me to this book, whose pages I would flip in my room when the rest of the house was sleeping, breathing slow, while I, blanketed by the dark night outside, enjoyed this charming story. I'd read Sarah Dessen's Just Listen, which was fantastic, but this one was even better, though the character of her dad was painted a little too flat in my opinion. But the possibility of nighttime, the world where everything is different, and the going is eas More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 31, 2011

Jude rated it:

http://inbetweenwritingandreading.blogsp...

When I first saw the trailer for Along for The Ride I was SOOO disappointed. I thought the story line sounded shallow and just so not Sarah Dessen…. I bought it, but it took me 8 months to actually pick it up and read it. I think I hate the trailer. It is one of my favorite books of all time and I’ve re-read it like twelve times already. Yup, I hate the trailer :)

Ok, so, for those of you who haven’t seen the trailer it is here, thou More...

5 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 04, 2010

Arlene rated it:

Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen, is a fun and enjoyable read. I have to admit, at first I could not stand the main character, Auden. She was self-centered, clueless about others feelings, snobbish and down-right annoying. I almost put the book down and called it a day because if I don’t like the main character, chances are I’m not going to enjoy the book. However, all that altered by mid-book and the story took a sharp turn down Enjoyable Avenue. I feel Dessen’s technique was deliberate, w More...

10 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 09, 2009

Laura rated it:

As usual, Sarah Dessen excels. I've enjoyed all of her books, and this one is no exception. Though I'm no longer a teenager, I still find myself able to relate to her characters (and usually, I can find different aspects of myself or my high school years within each character, which is fun!). Her cast in Along for the Ride is fully developed, with incredible depth, with their own problems or trauma or something that makes them feel real and accessible. Even the annoying ones -- Belissa, for exa More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Aug 25, 2009

laaaaames rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

9 comments like (4 people liked it)

Aug 24, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

I really liked this book. Its a quick easy read. You can put it down and walk away and pick it back up. It's also a book you can easily get swept away with in regards to the emotions. I love the relationship that is developed between Auden and Eli. Eli shows Auden a whole new world that she has yet to discover and they embark on this journey together. She gets a chance to re-do her childhood and make new memories. They both have an opportunity to over come a major event in their lives and to get More...

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 07, 2010

Lisa (A Life Bound By Books) rated it:

Loved the book! Sarah Dessen has done it again with Along for the Ride. I have been reading her books for awhile now and can say that this is now up there in my favorites from her. I was really excited to read it and was not let down by the story or the characters.

She has a way to make you feel like the people are not only real, but that there is a part of you in one if not more within her stories. It's always nice to read something where just about everyone can relate to something o More...

5 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 29, 2011

Rena rated it:

This was my first Dessen (and maybe even first YA) book and I was hooked from the start by a character that was so much like me it was uncanny (I should totally not have said that).

Auden learns a lot in this book. Her relationships and perspectives start one way and end in another. I found it enlightening that someone could hit the nail on the head so well.

Auden respects her parents even though it's clear that there are some major issues going on. I like that. Her father is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 11, 2010

Erica - rated it:

Auden goes to live with her father, his new wife Heidi and new baby Thisby for the summer. Being an insomniac after her parents divorce, she becomes friends with another insomniac, Eli. Her friendship with Eli is complicated like many teenage girl-boy friendships. Sort of by accident, Auden starts working her stepmother's very pink boutique. Auden doesn't want to like her stepmother or any of the girls at the store, they seem too shallow at first but as the story goes on Auden comes to find frie More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 02, 2012

Jessy rated it:

Honestly...I bought this book ages ago when I was 12. The girl in it was in uni so I got bored really quickly. Then Last year I read it again and this time (I know it sounds CLICHE) but I couldn't put it down. There are some books that are average adn no, this wasn't my absolute favourite book, but even though I am 14 I still connected with the characters and the author. It's funny how a book can connect, kind of like music right?? Sorry, I'm babbling but This story was about a girl who went to More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Ernica added it

I loved this book but i did realize that some of Sarah Dessen's themes are repeated but I guess that's to be expected since writers often incorporate their lives into their books. This one however - a story about a 17 year old girl named Auden who tries to fix the mistakes of her childhood of not socializing. Having been born to two genius parents- Auden has felt that she had to be the best academically to impress her parents therefore she never socialized and not even gone to her prom. For the More...

0 comments like

Jan 25, 2012

Claudia rated it:

Along for the Ride is about a teen romance that takes place in a small fictional beach town, Colby, North Carolina. The author Sarah Dessen describes the main character, Auden, as being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. When Auden gets a job at a small clothes boutique, she realizes what she has been missing out on. Ever since the divorce of her parents, she has always been treated as an adult. Now living with her dad for the summer she meets a new group of girls, Maggie, Leah, and E More...

0 comments like

Dec 31, 2011

Fiona rated it:

You've probably noticed I don't review books here. I wish I had never even rated any of them because it's hard for an author to find the balance of being truthful (if you give everything that's 'okay' 5 stars just to be nice it kind of waters down the meaning of 5 stars, you know?) and being supportive of fellow authors. Writing a book is not something anyone does on a lark--it takes months, maybe years, of dedication and hard work, and just because the end product might not suit my tastes doesn More...

0 comments like

Nov 30, 2011

Carrie rated it:

This is my second Sarah Dessen book and the first one I read, I loved. This one is mediocre. The characters are a bit bland. The main character, Auden isn't really relatable. She's an avid student who is a loner and who can't sleep because of family issues who suddenly wants to become more adventurous and wants to make up for childhood events that she lost out on because of her studious lifestyle choices. As I was reading, I found several characters making sudden changes in their lives. Th More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)