Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Published by: Viking Juvenile

Pages: 395

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5664985-along-for-the-ride

I have read almost all of Sarah's books now, and I would have to say that this is one of my top 2 for me for sure! I loved all of the characters for what they brought to the story. I did not feel at any point that the story was dragging, or unrealistic in any way.

I really liked how Auden grew through the summer, but it was not a fast growth, it was small steps at a time, and it was nice. At the beginning she seemed way to concentrated on making other people happy in her life, and trying to be "perfect", that she missed out on most of the fundamental events that should happen in childhood and in the years following, that I almost felt sorry for her. Then she chose a leap of faith and decided to make a change for the summer, and it turned out to be the best choice for her, I think that she learned more about life and how to grow in that summer than she had in years.

Some of the other characters that I wanted to note that I think Sarah hit really well on was her Step-Mother Heidi, she is a new Mother, and the way that Sarah wrote about her emotions, and what she is going through I think is fantastic from what I have seen some of my best friends go through, and I think that she captured it perfectly. I could relate somewhat to her Dad, however, he was the hardest character for me to understand.

I really enjoyed what Eli brought to the story, and how he and Auden were able to grow together, but in such different ways (if that makes sense). He for sure had his own troubles to work out, and it was very cool how he was able to work through them while at the same time helping Auden with hers.

I have not read a whole lot of contemporary, however, I am really looking forward to reading more based on what I have read from Sarah, so overall, I give this a 5/5!