Along For The Ride- Sarah Dessen

As a student studying abroad, I do get homesick. When I'm homesick or otherwise feeling down I like to pick up a good book that will remind me of home and be relaxing and enjoyable as well. Romantic teen fiction is my favorite genre because the emotions run so much higher than in many of their adult counterparts and they aren't bogged down by the obligatory steamy scenes that characterize adult romance novels. Not that there's anything wrong with a good scene of passion, but only when they take a backseat to the actual storyline.

One day when I first arrived across the pond I was exploring the area that I live in and I stumbled upon a small bookstore. Bookstores are my weakness. It's very rare that I can pass one and not go in and even then I usually make a mental note to go back. But I had nothing but time on my hands so I went in. As usual, I headed straight for the teen fiction section. Once there, I saw a lot of titles that I recognized, and one caught my eye. It was Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen, a novel that I had been waiting patiently to come out in paperback in the States. But here it was, in paperback, at a time when comfort and familiarity was a big deal. So, without a second thought I bought it and headed home to begin reading.

I have been reading Sarah Dessen's books since I was in seventh grade, a little less than a decade now, and they have yet to get old. I started with Dreamland, which I found to be one of her most emotional and troubling books so far. My favorites are Keeping the Moon and Someone Like You, both of which I had in a single volume that has since been misplaced. I frequently look for it, but so far no luck. It must be buried somewhere.

Along for the Ride is the story of Auden and the summer after she graduated from high school. Going to visit her dad and stepmother and their new baby, she is introduced to a world that she never imagines. Growing up she lived in an intellectual household, both parent professors and writers, and had never quite fit in with her peers. But in Colby, she meets Eli and Maggie, two people who help her to discover that it is not necessary to be closed off to be smart, and that life experience is just as important as book knowledge.

When Auden first arrives in town, she runs into Eli, and again when she is caring for her newborn sister. Quickly, they become friends, spending all hours of the night with each other, and eventually things turn to the romantic. I found her relationship with Eli to be believable, if only because I too used to have someone with whom I would spend all hours of the night exploring. This is not a chance to read about those steamy love scenes, but rather self-exploration and a chance to see all of the things that she missed in high school. They go bowling and wander the aisles of the nearby 24-hour superstore, there's also a lot of pie.

Maggie is the typical girl in novels of this genre, pretty and popular, with a love for pink clothing. But of course, she turns out to be much more than that. In time, she becomes a friend to Auden, and helps her to understand that there is more to life than being smarter than everyone.

None of the characters in this book are without purpose, and all are developed in relation to their involvement with Auden. I found her stepmother Heidi's character to be one of the best, because she was almost a combination of all the other characters, strong but vulnerable, smart but pretty, driven but giggly, a veritable living contradiction.

I'm not going to lie, sometimes Sarah Dessen's books are a little formulaic. The female lead is misunderstood, but she meets a boy who is even more misunderstood and together they change their lives. The mother is both a best friend and despised. Even so, they are good solid teen novels and are enjoyable to read. A story does not have to be fully unique to be well-written, and I find that I am led to reading her books, not by the need for an exciting read, but for comfort, and that they deliver.

I'm not going to call Along for the Ride my new favorite book, but I've read it three times since purchasing it, and see at least two more times in the future. It may not be legendary, but it's most certainly worth reading.