Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Overview: 

Ever since her parents began fighting, Auden has been unable to sleep at night. Now, spending a summer at a charming beach town with her father and his new family, she has to find new places to pass the time she spends awake. And so she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac who becomes her nighttime guide. Together, they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she has missed; for Eli, to come to terms with the death of a friend. In her trademark blockbuster-style, Sarah Dessen creates a powerful and irresistible story of two people learning how to connect.

My Opinion:

 I saw my friends reading this when I was in junior high and at the time I wasn't really into books with words, but manga. LOL. Anyways, I finally got around to reading it. This book is about an independent young lady, Auden, whom spends her last summer vacation before college with her father and his new family. In the beginning, she believes that she is better than everyone there, so let's say, kind of full of herself. Blah Blah Blah. To prove to everyone she was not uptight, she decided to make out with a boy that was flirting with her, but runs away before anything too drastic happened. Then, she bumped into the boy's brother, Eli, whom had the traumatic experience of losing his best friend. Together they discover the night life of that beach town(forgot the name) as well as help her fulfill the childhood she missed out on such as riding at bike and etc. Auden, also became friends with a girl named Maggie whom is apparently perfect(by perfect I mean she is described as both intelligent and pretty and society claims that as perfect). Be warned, this book is quite repetitive; it only takes place in an office, in her room, and a few other parts of town.  It's not a horrible book, but it could be better if it wasn't so what's the phrase, off topic for it is focused way too much on details and I was like ughhh, "I don't care about what color the guy's shirt is and whatnot." Also, while reading the book, I did get ticked off by the father for being so~ selfish and the step-mom for being such a push-over. Furthermore, this book is much like her other books, This Lullaby and Keeping the Moon, where one summer girl meets boy and has a life-changing adventure; sensing a pattern here? Definitely, her books are mostly all about summer romance. Upside: The cover is pretty. lol. I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but come on you won't pick up a book with a boring title or cover.