Sarah Dessen is an American writer, who mainly writes books for and about teenage girls. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, but she was born in Evanston, IL. Dessen’s “Along for the Ride”, is yet another one of her outstanding books. She writes in a way that would be very relatable for young girls

Along for the Ride is about a 17 year old girl named Auden. While she was younger her parents used to fight during the nighttime hours. In her attempts to stop the fighting, Auden would stay awake, thus starting her insomnia. Even after the fighting was over, Auden would stay awake, usually going to the only 27/7 restaurant around to study, or read. Auden focused on school; both of her parents were professors so getting good grades was a must. Since she was always in a “school mode” she never did “normal” kid things. Such as riding a bike, food fights, or bowling.

During the summer between high school and college, Auden decides to visit her father and new stepmother, and their new daughter, in Colby, a small beach town. That is where she meets Eli. Eli, a fellow insomniac, has a troubled past. He stopped talking to everyone around him, except Auden. Together they go on a quest to make up for Auden’s entire academic and no fun past. With many hours of the night to fill, who knows what could happen.

This book was extremely well written, you could feel the characters emotions, almost as if they were your own. That quality makes the book very relatable. You could see what the characters saw, through the descriptive sentences, you could almost taste the salt in the air, and smell the ocean just a few yards away. Dessen writes how a teenage girl would feel. Every sentence was relatable.

In conclusion, this was definitely worth reading. Though it started out a little boring, if you continue reading this book will not disappoint. The emotion that is this book, makes you not want to put it down. I recommend this book to any girl who is looking for an emotional, yet intelligent page turner.