Done with Along for the Ride

As of last night, I have completed Along for the Ride. The book was good, but I feel like the ending was a bit...rushed. I ended up liking her mom more after she came to Colby to check on Auden, and how Auden's mom agreed to take care of Thisbe while Auden went to the Beach Bash. 


I could never come to like her father, though. Always such a quitter. He just doesn't get back onto the bike when he crashes and falls. He'd probably even just get off the bike if there was even a possibility of a crash. Auden's quest with Eli was the highlight. I love reading Eli's and Auden's nights together, and also the conversations between Auden, Maggie, Leah and Esther. They are great friends. And Heidi...well, there's more than meets the eye to her. I thought Heidi would be a blonde bimbo airhead, but she wasn't in the slightest. She's a businesswoman with a passion for clothes and pink. Same with Maggie. I never would have imagined Maggie to be as intelligent as she was - at least as smart as Auden, so, like Auden, I was surprised when Maggie said she was going to Defriese, just like Auden. 


And Jason...ugh, what a jerk! He needs to get a life. I wanted to punch him when he backed out of prom the second time around. He's way too focused on academics. He's really going to regret that he didn't get out more when he was younger. Auden has so much patience and self-control. If a guy did that to me, I'd explode. 


However...as much as I liked Eli, I felt like he didn't make much of an effort to be with Auden - she made a huge effort to get back with him, when really, she didn't really do anything. She just wanted a break, to focus on her studies a bit. It made me sad that he was going to retire from biking. 


All in all, I'd give this book 3.5/5 stars - I would give it more stars, but I just couldn't compare myself to Auden, which is why I like to read books in the first place. Plus, the book started slow (which I hate) and it took too long to get to where she meets Eli. Everything else before that seems sort of unnecessary, considering that Along for the Ride is a romance novel. 

Along for the Ride

As of a few days ago, for my English class Silent Sustained Reading* (or SSR, as I may refer to it in the future) I am reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. It's a charming book, but to be honest, it's hard for me to relate to Auden West. Yes, I'm smart like her, and I get lonely sometimes because I don't have too many close friends, but I've never really remembered a time when I embraced loneliness like she does. She's quite the loner, and quite a...fun-less person. I can't imagine having a mom like hers, either. Yes, Dr. West is cool, but she's just too serious. She puts a lot of pressure on Auden to be...for lack of a better word, perfect. I'm only on chapter 7, and Hollis seems cool but really irresponsible. I'd be a bit annoyed to have a careless brother like him. I get really annoyed at her dad because of his selfishness and I really like Heidi for some reason. I guess I'm a little like her - I talk too much and I worry too much. Auden's just so...serious. She doesn't really fit in with the world. Plus her insomnia is really weird, I would DIE if I couldn't sleep. I bet it isn't very healthy for her, either. I must admit I like the name Auden but Thisbe? Seriously? Just because you have a literary name doesn't mean you're going to be an academic miracle. Her friends (well, I'm not at the friends stage yet but it's getting there) are the typical teen beach-goers - Maggie, Leah & Esther.
And Eli...oh, I could imagine myself falling for a dark, mysterious person with horrible experiences in his past. Like Auden, I just want to know more about this Eli Stock. 


I will post more about this book once I'm at a good stage to do so, with A LOT more information so I can compile it all into one post, but I am STILL reading Pretty Little Secrets, so don't fret! I am going to start Emily's POV this afternoon but I'll wait till I'm done with her to blog about it. 


Also, after PLS I will be reading Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. I've heard good reviews and bad reviews. So all of you people reading my blog who have read it - is it worth my time? 


After Miss Peregrine's (blah blah blah), I will either be reading The Help or The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I've watched the Help and it was AMAZING, and I've watched the Swedish version of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and it was very fascinating, although quite graphic. Is the American version as good as the Swedish? I plan on waiting until it comes out on DVD to watch it because I'm under 18 and I have no adult to watch it with. I haven't read any reviews of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo so those who read this, I'd greatly appreciate if you'd give a quick review to me :) 


Which book should I read first? The Help or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (and if I like the first book, then there's no way I can't read the 2nd and 3rd too) . 


*SSR is this thing we do in English class where we read for 20 or so minutes and then we record how many pages we read and write a quick 3-5 sentence summary of what we read.