Along for the Ride

by Sarah Dessen

[Joni Reads]

Good old Sarah Dessen. Have I mentioned how much I love her books? Well for those new to the blog, let me just tell you that you will never hear me say one bad thing about Sarah Dessen. She is amazing and I dread the day when she retires from writing. She has such unique concepts in her books and Along for the Ride is an amazing example of that fact.
Auden, our main character, is an insomniac. Ever since she was little and before her parent’s divorce she would lay awake and hear her parents fighting late into the night. Even after the divorce staying up was a habit she just could not break. Now 16, she has a nightly routine set up, driving around, all night diners, the works. Her mom has always treated Auden as an adult and never much cared what she did as long as she stayed out of trouble. But Auden is stuck in a rut. Then comes an email from her stepmom who invited Auden to visit her dad for the summer and spend time with her newborn little sister, Thisby. On a whim, Auden agrees to go.
When she arrives at her dad's she finds her stepmom completely overwhelmed with colicy Thisby who never seems to stop crying and finds her dad holed up in his study writing the same novel he has been working on for years. To escape the madness Auden agrees to become her streomom’s unofficial accountant for her clothing boutique on the beach. But being in a different town doesn't stop Auden's insomniatic tendencies. On her nightly adventures she meets Eli, fellow insomniac who shows her how to do the nighttime right. From secret pie shops to shopping for anything and everything at the 24 hour superstore. But Eli is a mystery unto himself and when Auden learns that he suffered a tragic loss and doesn't talk to anyone in town but her she's unsure how to react. A great love story of where the characters don't realize they are in love till the very end.