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.