Book Review: "Along For the Ride" by Sarah Dessen

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.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

(taken from goodreads)

 Review:

Over the years I have heard numerous people rave about Sarah Dessen's books. I've heard people swoon and fall for all of her books. Usually, when a book/author gets so much hype, i tend to really like them. So I decided to read a Sarah Dessen book. Before reading this one, I read "Someone Like You" (I'm not doing a review for that one cause I read it quite a long time ago and I don't remember many of the details) and I didn't hate it. It was an entertaining book. After I read it I remained sort of on the fence about her books. So I decided to give them another shot. And considering how many books she has written, there must be at least one that will meet my expectations. Since a lot of people told me that "Along For the Ride" is her best book I decided to go with it. Unfortunately, this wasn't the one to wow me. It definitely isn't the worst book ever. Let's just make that clear. To me it lacked a lot of important details that I find crucial when it comes to reading and enjoying a book. The first one was the pace. It felt like it dragged on too much. Also, the main character was a huge problem for me. I did not find her the least bit affable. The amount of complaining/whining was unbearable. I realize that she's had to deal with some unpleasant situations with her parents divorce and all, and I get it, but this was just too much. I also feel like the relationships between the characters were a bit off. There was also huge lack of character development. Had there been more, this review would have been completely different. Because like I said before, it isn't the worst book ever. It simply could have been executed in a much better way. 

I was really apprehensive about writing this review. Kind of sad even. You see, I really wanted to like this book because, well, it had a nice concept for a good contemporary read. And to be honest, Sarah Dessen's writing is nice. it's clear and easy to understand. I guess it's more of a character-related problem for me. Nonetheless, i will not give up on her books just yet. I'm actually determined to read a book by her that I truly and completely love.

Rating:

2/ 5

P.s. 

If you guys could suggest some of her books that you think are really worth reading I would really appreciate it! Also, I apologize for this sort of negative review.

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