Along for the Ride

It's been this long since Auden was sleeping at night. Ever since the divorce from her parents—or since the fighting began. She now has the opportunity to spend a carefree summer with her father and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. A job at a clothes boutique introduces... Auden to the girls' world: their talk, friendship, crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being her demanding mother's perfect daughter. Then she meets Eli, a fascinating loner and an insomniac fellow who becomes her guide to the town's nocturnal world. They embark on parallel quests together: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she's been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for a friend's death. Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people, learning to connect, in her signature pitch-perfect style.