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)

Just as good as I remembered

What made the experience of listening to Along for the Ride the most enjoyable?

Rachel brought the book to life in a brillant way. She gave Sarah's characters new life and a new voice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ester. Her wry humor and no nonsense personality was the perfect contrast between all the happier characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

The scene where Thisbee smiled up at Auden.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to. But I would have if I could.

Any additional comments?

It's a must read!

it was awesome

Sarah Dessen never fails to get you hooked. loved it :) Can't wait for her next novel.

The narrator has an irritating habit

She kept pausing frequently and taking audible breaths. It was like a burst of words then a pause to breathe and this continued all thru the book. I want her to breathe but make the reading fluid. The story itself is great so I might get the ebook but I’m returning the audiobook. I personally find her narration hard to listen to.

Not a romance story

The description of this book led me to believe it was a romance. Not even close. It's about a girl coming to grips with her parent's divorce and their new relationships. Just when I thought the romance might build- I was let down. There is little to no description of characters so it was impossible for me to visualize them.
The narrator has a squeaky voice. And, like another reviewer mentioned, takes awkward pauses. Not just in dialogue, but at random times. I thought it was the end of a chapter a couple times.

I wish I hadn't wasted my credit on this pick.

My favorite Dessen so far!

What did you like best about this story?

this book was easy relatable to and covered a multitude of situations. I laughed a lot!

As always enjoyed and loved Sarah Dessen's writing

If you could sum up Along for the Ride in three words, what would they be?

well written and amazing

Who was your favorite character and why?

Auden herself, like many of the people Sarah writes about I can see alot of myself in them back when I was that age and I can relate to most situations she writes about.

Which character – as performed by Rachel Botchan – was your favorite?

Maggie, I'm not sure why but I just really enjoyed her

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes

Any additional comments?

I've never been let down by any book Sarah Dessen has written they've all been good.

Pretty Good

I loved the story and the voice was pretty clear, but like many audio books, it was far too slow. I sped it up to 1.25x speed, but any slower was too slow and any faster distorted the voice. I had to read this for a book project and I waited for the last minute, so listening for 12 hours as I multitasked got fairly repetitive and annoying. Lol.

A feel good original

I enjoyed the story, the character is very likeable, and encounters a lot of social problems in her life. A great perspective on people who have no social instincts and seem to be conceited. 9/10, would read again (the reader for this book sounds exactly like Mika kunis)

Lovely coming of age novel

So I might be too old to read this, about an 18 year old girl and her last summer before college. But I like a good coming of age story and this seemed like a good choice. I must say I really enjoyed it. The author has a subtle, patient writing style that allows a story to gracefully unfold, without feeling forced or rushed. The characters weren't totally predictable which I like. And best of all it had a wonderful ending. Total satisfaction!

Terrible narration

I made it through two hours of this book before I had to return it. I bought it because the movies on Netflix was sweet and I wanted to know how the actual book was, but Lord I wanted to shake the hell out of the narrator the entire time. She’s constantly pausing and breaking sentences up at weird times and it just didn’t flow at all.