Before Jenny Han, there was Sarah Dessen. Funny enough, I’m pretty sure they’re friends.

As readers may know, the motel is a big Sarah Dessen fan, which I also talk about in this post. She has a nostalgic place in my heart. One thing I admire about her books and stories is they’re very timeless, which I believe is a very underrated writing tactic. No pop culture references, no real indication about what time period the story takes place. The same can even be said about The Catcher in the Rye. A timeless story means timeless success. A book that you can pick up at any stage of your life to look back and reflect on.

Along for the Ride takes place in Sarah Dessen’s infamous world of North Carolina beaches. Auden spends long, insomniatic nights with a cup of coffee at her local diner, anticipating her first year of college in the fall. In rigorious academics her entire life, she’s never had a real childhood full of fun and laughter. Her parents are divorced, and she goes to spend the summer with her father and his new wife at their house on Colby Beach, a fictional beach that makes me wish actually existed. There, she meets her new family, new friends, and of course, a new boy, who will ultimately change her life and show her what it means to live and to finally learn how to ride a bike.

I’ve had my copy of this book for 15 years now, though it feels like the story hasn’t aged a bit. It’s a book that I go back to whenever I feel like revisiting Colby Beach and Auden, who I once related to so much while growing up. Pick this one up – you won’t regret it!

Absolutely, under any circumstances, watch the Netflix adaptation of this book. On a bored day, I almost gave it a chance, before I read some mixed reviews. If you’re an avid follower of this blog, you know I usually do not trust reviews. But if reviews essentially confirm my initial thoughts on something I’d disliked in the first place, I might as well listen to them!