TWU - LS 5623 Realism, Romance & Censorship - ALONG FOR THE RIDE: A NOVEL

YA

Dessen, Sarah. 2009. ALONG FOR THE RIDE: A NOVEL. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670011940

PLOT SUMMARY - ANALYSISAs Auden is facing her last summer before college she reflects on all the things she has missed.  With the help of some new friends and a love interest she finds herself outside of her usual protective, serious, and studious demeanor with the wind blowing through her hair, some scabs on her knees, and cupcakes and coffee for comfort.

Never stayed out late

Never ridden a bike

Never dated a boy

Never went to the prom

Never had close friends

Never the kid

Always the adult

In this tale of becoming a child again, Auden’s controlling mom, who is happier when surrounded by adoring male graduate students, sets the dysfunctional daughter-mom relationship when she quotes “Oh darling, don’t be bitter. It’s the first instinct of the weak.” (page 122). Auden’s mom is beautiful with long flowing hair and serves as a muse to the students that gather at her home for parties - always the center of attention with Auden just off on the wings.

In this romantic quest story, Auden’s dad and his new wife, Heidi, have a baby and Auden decides to go visit them in their beach cottage, which portrays the laid-back summer setting. This gives Auden a different living situation where she gets a fresh start for her summer life.  Without school to steal her focus, she is able to have peer relationships for the first time. The peer group in this book helps Auden develop her sense of independence. The inexperienced Auden falls into a regrettable, one night stand, navigates through authentic, supportive girl relationships, comes to terms with her dad as an adult, and has her first relationship. Dessen’s mature writing style portrays the older teen conversation perfectly and helps the reader get into the head of Auden with so much reflection written in Auden’s voice. From dating, driving around, spending time picking snacks at the convenience store and deciding on a prom date, all the language is typical of a teen’s life in the summer at the beach.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2009 (Vol. 77, No. 10)):

“Dessen reworks well-traveled terrain and creates a remarkably original story with realistic teen dialogue, authentic girl friendships and a complex underlying question: Can people really change?” Auden learns that maybe it is not the people who have changed, but her relationship to the people. When seeing others in a different light, of course they appear different, sometimes stronger, sometimes weaker, and even sometimes not what they appear at all.

This book is very appealing to a YA reader because it is a story of growing up, getting away from a possessive mother, and learning how to value people including Heidi and her new friends - Leah, Esther and Maggie. Auden discovers that Heidi is not what her mother had told her or what she seems on the surface as a fashion conscience store owner, and comes to find a true protective, business-savvy mother figure.

Auden’s personality is in contrast to her brother, Hollis, who is a free-spirited, never committed soul touring other countries while Auden is steadfast at school. 

Auden fights her obsessive scholastic nature and starts spending time with Eli, who was a for-profit trick bike rider. Auden finds him after he has lost a friend and has lost his passion for riding. The two share in a unique nighttime dating arrangement including

pie, clean laundry and convenience store food.

The theme of this book is that one should not rush to be an adult too soon, but to enjoy all things that are steps in childhood. Relish the time as a young person. Learn to ride a bike, have friends, and try relationships.  Value your family…whatever definition that might be. When Auden tries to over-evaluate her summer, Dessen writes “It was fast and furious, the talking, the emotion, the back-and-forth and forth-and-back. I realized that if I tried to focus on it too much, I got overwhelmed. So I just decided to relax into it, bumpy and crazy as it might be, and try for once to just go along for the ride” (page 323).

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Booklist 04/15/09

Publishers Weekly 04/27/09

School Library Journal starred 06/01/09

Horn Book 10/01/09

Kirkus Review starred 05/15/09

Wilson’s Junior High School 01/09/10

New York Times 08/16/09

Wilson’s Senior High School 02/01/11

CONNECTIONS

Masterton, David. 1991. GET OUT OF MY FACE. New York: Atheneum. ISBN 9780689316753

·         Partner this book in discussing stepfamilies and challenges of adapting to new siblings.

Sones, Sonya. 2001. WHAT MY MOTHER DOESN’T KNOW. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780689841149

·         Partner this free-verse poetry book as a different genre in discussing first loves and divorce.

Dessen, Sarah. 1999. KEEPING THE MOON. New York: Viking. ISBN 9780670885497

·         Partner this book by the same author as a similar story of a teenage girl working in the summer developing friendships and exploring her own sense of self.