Jenny Han Summer? Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

clsimpson430
Jun 21, 2023
3 min read

My Rating: 5 Stars

Yes!!! Finally a book that gives The Summer I Turned Pretty vibes!!!

This book is the perfect example of "you can't judge a book by its cover". This cover is giving Wattpad-story-by-a-13-year-old-gets-published. But NO. The story is AMAZE.

[Auden is an insomniac who has lived her whole life trying to appease her academia obsessed mother instead of experiencing teenage rites of passage. But when she spends the summer at her father's beach house with his new wife, her employees, and the mysterious Eli, she makes it her mission to make up for all the lost time.]

This book has everything you could want: romance, coming of age, bicycles, beach vibes, a fun friend group, all-nighters, EVERYTHING.

Auden is such a good embodiment of a "serious" teenager. Yes, she's obsessed with school and yes, she's very smart, but she isn't completely unrealistic. She still has emotional issues tied heavily to her parents...as any teenager would! And not just the "my parents are so oppressive and I hate them storyline". It was more developed and complicated than that. Her lack of teenage experiences was relatable, tbh. And Dessen also treaded the "I don't understand girl priorities" plot very well. She didn't make Auden too condescending or too annoying to redeem, ever.

Eli is a good love interest, but the reason I stuck around for the story was 100% Auden. I didn't really care that much about Eli, but if Auden wants him, THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE HIM.

Auden's friend group >>>

After Auden takes a job working for her new step-mom at a boutique, she learns that not all girls are either/or when it comes to brains and beauty. The girls she becomes friends with are so much fun and really bring the story to life with all of their ridiculous conversations about jeans, shoes, bikinis, and any other frivolous thing. But when things get serious, they're so loyal and sweet. There are NO one-dimensional characters, including Auden's family.

And the writing is so good!! I could perfectly envision everything. The beach house, the boardwalk, the boutique, the bike shop. It really was like watching a movie. Every description jumped off the page and created a picture.

My absolute favorite things about the plot were the subtlety and the parallels drawn between each storyline that created such a cute and simple metaphor. It's one of those stories where nothing happens, and yet everything has seemed to change by the end.

Overall: I would 100% recommend this to any summertime girlie who loves pulling all-nighters and watching indie/rom-com movies set at the beach where everyone rides around on bicycles and drinks coffee at cool independent, vibey restaurants.

Synopsis:

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.