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Library Journal
Reviewed on January 21, 2010
Good girl Auden hid from the emotional fallout of her parents' divorce by immersing herself in academics, eschewing messy relationships. Now her father has a new wife and baby and has asked her to spend the summer by the sea. Against all logic (and her mother's urgings), she decides to go for a visit. There she finds friends, a boy, and the courage finally to get on a bike and ride. Love-o-meter: Sweet-and-low. Dessen has made a career of writing books about complicated girls who meet slightly tortured guys and become better people. Yes, there is kissing, but there is more space dedicated to the girlfriends who teach Auden how to wear a good pair of jeans. The girl power is reminiscent of a Susan Elizabeth Philips novel, without the warm parts to blush through.-Angelina Benedetti, King Cty. Lib. Syst., WA Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc. Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc. ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
School Library Journal
Reviewed on June 1, 2009
Gr 8-Up It's the summer before college and Auden goes to her father's house in the small coastal town of Colby for some well-earned R&R. Having no plans other than to preread textbooks for her first-semester classes at Defriese University, the would-be bookworm's solitude is quickly disrupted by Thisbe, her colicky new half sister. Strolling the boardwalk with a fussy baby and late night coffee runs at the Gas/Gro lead to chance encounters with the locals, whose main pas...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Horn Book Magazine
Reviewed on May 1, 2009
Auden, the preternaturally mature daughter of two self-absorbed (and divorced) academics, is quiet, studious, and responsible. She's also never had a real friend, broken a rule, or gone on an adventure. Then, the summer before college, she accepts an invitation to stay with her father, her terminally perky stepmother Heidi, and her newborn half-sister Thisbe. Soon Auden is befriended by a trio of local girls who help her reconcile her mother's strict notions ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Horn Book Guide
Reviewed on January 1, 2009
The summer before college, Auden lives with her father, terminally perky stepmother Heidi, and newborn half-sister. Auden forms a prickly al...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Junior Library Guild
Reviewed on July 1, 2009
Sarah Dessen sets Along for the Ride in the resort town of Colby and tells Auden’s story with luxurious pacing and extensive attention to detail that seems appropriate for the summery beach town. Auden’s summer in Colby offers her a chance to make up for the childhood and teenage experiences that she had missed out on. She approaches her initial forays into the world of emotions with disdain and bewilderment. “Wh...Log In or Sign Up to Read More