Thursday Book Review: Sarah Dessen's "Along For The Ride"

Hello!  It's Thursday, so I'm writing up my book review.  Note that I can be brutal at times.  Just remember that I am merely presenting my opinions.  In my full length review, I will probably spoil the book for those who haven't read it yet.  So, to help fix this problem, I have split my review in two parts: an overview that has no spoilers, and the full review with spoilers.  Enjoy!

This weeks book is Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen.  I finished reading this book last week, and this is what I have to say.

Overview:

Rating: 5 Stars

Pros: 
-kept me thinking
-unique and realistic character
-entertaining storyline

Cons:
-a random, out of place scene

Recommended?
 YES! YES! YES!

Review:

Obviously, from the overview, I really enjoyed this book.  This was a surprise because I usually don't enjoy Teen books, but this one was surprisingly good.  I went in expecting the usual: plain girl ends up attracting the attention of hot popular guy, but she doesn't like him, but he shows up everywhere when she is in emotional distress, which is often, and then they fall in love, but mistakes tear them apart, and then they come back together.  I was wrong!

The main character, Auden, is rather plain, but she doesn't mope about it, thank goodness!  She is intelligent, and doesn't mind, though later she does feel a little uncomfortable with her social ineptness.  And while her parents are divorced, and her father is having troubles in his new relationship, this doesn't send her into a neverending downward, emotional spiral.

Eli is her love interest, but not at first.  When she first arrives in the summer town which her father lives in, she hangs out with another boy.  The relationship doesn't work out though.  Then she meets Eli, the dark and mysterious guy.  She doesn't, however, have deep, straight-forward conversations about their feelings ever.  Instead, they spend their evenings shopping at an all-night super market and eating pie in the backroom of laudromat.  They are insomniacs, so these midnight activities are normal.  But these activities to strengthen their bond and they learn so much about each other without having to pour out their hearts

What I really love about their relationship is how realistic it is.  They do kiss, don't worry, but there isn't a deep, super absorbed relationship.  They don't spend every waking moment trying to "fix" each other out of love.  Also, when Auden is having a near emotional meltdown, it isn't Eli that magically appears to comfort her, but people like her friends, you know, the people that would actually show up.  Basically, it is a healthy, realistic relationship where each person has their "me" time.

I do have one complaint about this book, and it pertains to Auden's first relationship.  She meets this guy the first time is in town and hooks-up with him.  Given the fact that she clearly states that she does not have much social experience makes it hard to believe that she would hook up with a guy she didn't know.  She does regret her choice, but I would imagine that the emotional consequences would've been far worse then they were.  I think this detailed should've been either toned down or further explained.

As for the rest of the book, it is amazing!  The first few chapters are a bit slow, but after that I could not put this book down.  It made me laugh, cry, and feel slighlty embarassed for Auden.  It was one of those books you wanted to finish, but never wanted to end.  And for people like me, who read all the time, it is unpredicatable, which is really quite refreshing.  I recommend it for anyone who wants a light and fun read!

~Dru

This wasn't too bad of a review, was it?  I'm not very good at this yet, so bear with me.  It make take a couple of tries, and some advice, before I get it right.  Constructive criticism is welcome!

Wednesday Writing Tip: What if?

What if I gave you the power to battle Writer's Block and create story plots?  What would you do with this power?  Why?  What if you didn't use this power?  Would you wish you had?  Are you still going to read this post?  I hope so.

All writers have the moments when they just can't think of anything good to write.  This moment is called Writer's Block, and it can last for hours, days, weeks, months, years...you catch my drift.  This block of sorts can cause stories to stop in their tracks and keep ideas from getting off of the ground.  There is a million dollar question of how to cure this "disease", and I think I may have that million dollar answer.  I call it the "What If Game".

The "What If Game" works like this:  take your idea, be it the middle of a chapter or a blossoming story, and ask a "what if" question about it.  Like, what if so-and-so jumped off a building?  What if what
's-his-face fell in love with his best friend?  What if it was illegal to brush your teeth?  This is just the begining though.

 After asking your what if question, follow it up with another question.  Why is it illegal to brush our teeth?  Why would she jump off of the building?  What would his friend think?

Then, follow those questions with more "what if" questions.  What if his friend was a guy?  How would his friend react?  What if she thought she could fly?  Is she insane?  What if brushing your teeth was a proven way to defeat mind-control?  Who is trying to control our minds?

Playing the "What If Game" helped me create an entire plotline for an idea that has been stuck for several years.  Hopefully it will help you out of any rut you are in or will get into!

~Dru

Intro

This is the introduction to my blog! Basically, I'm going to be posting book reviews, stories, and writing tips whenever I feel like it. I'm also going to create and awesome layout eventually. So...let's begin!