Along for the Ride

By: Sarah Dessen

Narrated by: Rachel Botchan

Soon to be a Netflix film!

From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Once and For All


Nights have always been Auden’s time, her chance to escape everything that’s going on around her.

Then she meets Eli, a fellow insomniac, and he becomes her nocturnal tour guide.

Now, with an endless supply of summer nights between them, almost anything can happen. . . .

“As with all Dessen’s books, [this] is a must-have” —VOYA, starred review

Sarah Dessen is the winner of the Margaret A. Edwards Award for her contributions to YA literature, as well as the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award.

Books by Sarah Dessen:
That Summer
Someone Like You
Keeping the Moon
Dreamland
This Lullaby
The Truth About Forever
Just Listen
Lock and Key
Along for the Ride
What Happened to Goodbye
The Moon and More
Saint Anything
Once and for All©2009 Sarah Dessen; (P)2009 Penguin

Critic reviews

"Beautifully captures that sense of summer as a golden threshold between past regrets and future unknowns." -The Washington Post

Pretty good!

It took me a few minutes to get into this book, as I thought the narrator was kind of annoying. I gave it a chance and her voice began to grow on me. Book was very cute, with a good story. I was pretty sad when it ended! Will download another from this author.

Finding your childhood

What made the experience of listening to Along for the Ride the most enjoyable?

The story of finding your childhood while dealing with an over controlling mother and realizing that it is similar to what I've experienced or seen in the world.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Along for the Ride?

Auden watching her dad and step mom argue and her step mom trying to deal with the new baby and balance the checkbook with no help from her dad and then Auden decides to balance the checkbook for her one night.

What does Rachel Botchan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

A kind of innocence to the characters

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really it is a little long but I did manage it while on the bus

Fun Story

I always love Sarah Dessen’s novels as a high school and college student. Now as an adult, it’s always nostalgic and fun to read or listen to them. This particular story line is a great one about growing up and learning to find yourself when things don’t always seem to work but then it turns out in the end!

The Best Of Times

Along For The Ride is undoubtfuly my favorite book. I learned from it so much. Every second sentence is one that I would be proud to quote. I laughed and cryed with the carichtors, I could really feel for them all most of the time. The author has a really good sence of humer. The reader is excellent, I really loved the way she read. Her reading made the book come alive for me. The carichtors are developing and changing during the book, and the ending is a kind of new begining for everyone. When you buy this book, you are along for many rides. So enjoy your rides.

Took a while to settle into the narrator

The story was, as usual, well done, difficult & painful. I had trouble with Ms Botchan's reading as I found it sounding a tiny bit too young for the MC (but I did get used to it so that's probably on me). The primary issue I had was the cadence. The pauses were at times, seeming inappropriate & most definitely WAY too long for the most part. However, this book is well worth the read, be it print or aural.