Along for the Ride

By: Sarah Dessen

Narrated by: Rachel Botchan

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

Soon to be a Netflix film!

From the award-winning and New York Times best-selling author of Once and For All.

Nights have always been Auden’s time, her chance to escape everything that’s going on around her.

Then she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac, and he becomes her nocturnal tour guide.

Now, with an endless supply of summer nights between them, almost anything can happen...

Sarah Dessen is the winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to YA literature, as well as the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.

Books by Sarah Dessen:

• That Summer
• Someone Like You
• Keeping the Moon
• Dreamland
• This Lullaby
• The Truth About Forever
• Just Listen
• Lock and Key
• Along for the Ride
• What Happened to Goodbye
• The Moon and More
• Saint Anything
• Once and for All

©2009 Sarah Dessen (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Beautifully captures that sense of summer as a golden threshold between past regrets and future unknowns." (The Washington Post)

“As with all Dessen’s books, [this] is a must-have” (VOYA, starred review)

It's slow

This was an ok book. I started out reading the physical copy of the book, but it was so slow that I knew I wouldn't be able to force myself through it. So, I tried the alternative, audible. It showed character development, but it wasn't very interesting for me.

Great

This is an old favorite of mine from high school and it definitely held up. The narrator’s voice fit the story perfectly and didn’t distract at all.

Teenage Read

I ordered this as part of the Netflix book club. It was geared to teenagers

Typical Teenage Love Story

Where does Along for the Ride rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would rank this in the least interesting and intuitive book thus far. I did expect coming from Sarah Dessen for this book to be a typical teenage love story where everything works out in the end, and yet for some reason I was also expecting more. Some of her books, such as Just Listen or Dreamland, gave more depth than just a traditional love story and I guess that is what I was looking for in this book. She isn't my favorite author, but she is in the top ranks of what I read and listen too often times. Again, if you are looking for the typical teenage love story where everything works out in the end, then get this book.

Would you be willing to try another book from Sarah Dessen? Why or why not?

Yes but with more caution. Typically when I look for a new audible book I look by author or by chance, meaning that I'll find a genre that I would like to listen too and pick a random book from there. I went searching for Sarah Dessen and found this. If I decide to purchase another Dessen book, I would make sure to read the description carefully before listening too the book or reading it.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Rachel Botchan?

Yes and no. It irritated me that half way through the book, she started to pronounce Thigsby's name as Igsby. At first, I thought I wasn't hearing right, but as she kept performing, I realized that she was saying Igsby. There was no rhyme or reason as to why she was doing this and you don't find until later in the book that the main character started calling the other character that until the very end. Otherwise she kept the same voices for each character and she kept the performance up beat keeping you interested.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Living life to the fullest, one quest at a time.

Any additional comments?

Overall the book was good, again I just wished more than just a typical teenage love story. It isn't a bad purchase, but if your in the mood for a typical love story, this is your type of book. I will say that the character development was phenomenal, considering the main character changed slowly, and I was able to identify in some areas with her.

Really enjoyed this one!

I wasn't sure what to expect but it was quite a journey. I loved all the characters and all the surprises and developments.

Great story for a summer read/listen

I have downloaded other books by this author and Along For The Ride has been my favorite so far. I felt like the characters were all well-developed and I could really visualize what Auden was going through. I think I enjoyed this story so much because it seemed believable-from her parents divorce to making friends in a new town. Many books in this genre are entertaining, but completely ridiculous and unrealistic. Great listen!

Great story!

A nice surprise, very wonderful charter development and meaningful storyline. Enjoyable! Unexpected depth for Teen Chick Lit.

Read this book growing up

I’ve always loved this book. The narrator wasn’t my personal favorite but it was still pretty good

Great book, pretty good narrator

This is turning out to be a great book. I haven't finished it yet but I had to write a review because of the narrator. The narrator is great but when she does dialogue sometimes she makes these long pauses when she switches characters. I keep thinking the audio is cutting out. It is kind of annoying but otherwise the narrator is really good and the book is fun to listen to.

An Amazing story

one of my favorite stories and very well read. its very close to my heart.