Margot Hahn
Along for the Ride
Sarah Dessen
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
275

1. In my book right now the main character Auden is visiting her dad at his ocean side house during the summer of being a freshman in college. Auden never really talks to her dad or visits him because she lives mostly with her mom who is a teacher at a very good college called the U. Auden's father is writing a book that he has been working on for 10 years and is always in his study working on it. Leaving Auden, with his new wife and her new born baby girl who is very colicky. Thisbe is the baby's name and she always cries and is very hard to get settled down. Auden stays up very late every night away from the house so she doesnt have to put up with Thisbe's behavior. Auden's father though has a very strict schedule and he needs 9 hours of sleep everynight so he doesn't help Heidi(his wife) with their baby and she is sleep deprived and can't handle anymore. Heidi has a store called clementines and it is a tourist shop off of the boardwalk that is all pretty in pink. One day Auden came home and saw all of Heidi's books open that handle her accounting and Auden heard the baby upstairs crying so decided to help out. From then on Heidi hired Auden to work at Clementines to do her books for the summer. After she finishes work she meets this guy named Eli at his bike shop every day around midnight. Eli and her go around town doing errands and eating at this Laundromat that has great pie and coffee. Eli a few years before got in a tragic accident and won't talk to anyone. In this accident he and his friend Abe were struck by a car on the side of their car and Abe died. Abe and Eli were inseperable and did everything together and they were both great bike riders, and could do flips and everything and they won quite a few competitions as well. But after Abe died, Eli gave up on everything he didn't go to college, doesn't ride bikes anymore, and doesn't talk to anyone ever, except for Auden. A few nights ago Eli kissed Auden when they decided to go to a club for part of Auden's quest. Auden wasn't really a kid during highschool because she was so focused on school work, so Eli is helping Auden get to have a childhood. So during one day of their quest Auden was delivering her newspapers and heard Heidi and her father fighting and how she was kicking him out. Auden cried and ran back to Eli and they went back to his place. Eli said that his mom makes his sisters rice krispies treats when they are crying so thats what he did. That night Auden fell asleep on Eli's chest and walked home. When she walked home her father was leaving through the door with a bag because he was spending a few nights at a hotel.

2. I like this book but I dont like it as much as I like other books. It is a little too slow for me, but I like the characters and the setting. There isn't really a Antagonist either so its at some parts it's hard to stay intrigued because your not really waiting for anything to happen its more like just reading.

3. I have noticed friendship as a major theme in this book because Auden didn't have a social life in highschool it was all books. So when she met friends here and told Eli about this he is letting her live her childhood. Also, she is learning how some people have different sides to them like Maggie does. Maggie has the whole girly side and then shes brilliant.

4. My favorite character is Maggie because she is so diverse, and isn't kept quiet. She isn't afraid to say what she's thinking she just says it. She also has many different sides and sort of has the best of both worlds. Maggie is very, very smart and is going to a really good college but she also is the manager of a fashion boutique.

5.Auden's dad is my least favorite character because he is really selfish and only cares about himself and he depends on Auden and Heidi to take care of him and he never says thankyou. I dont know why anyone would get married to him because he seems like the worst person you could ever meet

6.I think Eli and Auden are going to get into a serious relationship and she will drag him out of his little slump he's in and come with her to college.