Along For the Ride - Past Halfway Point

The more I read, the more I like this book. I find myself thinking about when I'll be able to read again. The beginning of the book was good, but not great. While I was reading the beginning, I'm sure it seemed great, but compared to the middle it's just okay. The story has picked up, becoming more interesting and dramatic. The main character, Auden is beginning to transition from a sheltered academic to a fun loving teen. Because of her parents' tight grip on her growing up, Auden missed out on alot of childhood experiences. She's never gone bowling, been in a food fight, and though she won't admit it, I don't think she's ever rode a bike! Luckily, she found Eli - someone who can help her complete experiences on her quest, one night at a time. Seeing as neither of them sleep much, they spend the nights together; doing things that are new for Auden. She soon finds herself falling for him, something she could never imagine herself doing with anyone. Previously, she claimed that she had nothing to put in her picture frame, no great memories. As she spends more time in Colby, that soon changes. When a photo of her and Eli is snapped after her first food fight, Auden finds herself thinking, "I already had a perfect place for it: a blue frame, a few words etched beneath. The best of times" (203). I'm happy that Auden is beginning to experience new things and change in a positive way, I'm just sad that she had to miss out on so much as a child. I'm looking forward to reading more and seeing how/if her relationship with Eli develops.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Coming off from a terrific summer reading book, I was craving another great book to read for school. A few of my classmates mentioned that they loved this book, so I immediately picked up a copy. I've only read about 130 pages, but I love the book so far. Along For the Ride isn't the type of book that leaves you hanging with suspense, or shocks you with something unexpected. Instead, it follows the life of a young girl, Auden, and how she deals with different situations. The story is extremely realistic, and it's a nice change to read this genre. Something that bothers me in the book, though, is the way Auden's parents behave. They are divorced, and entirely different from each other. Auden's mom only seems to be concerned with the education of her daughter. She doesn't appear to be interested in her daughter's happiness. Her father is not really much of a father after all. He has a new daughter, yet fails to be of any help to his new wife. She struggles and is exhausted, but he never offers his hand in help. It makes me wonder what Auden would be like if she grew up with different parents. When she receives a picture frame as a gift, the words "THE BEST OF TIMES" jump out at her. She immediately realizes "[Everyone] probably had a million pictures that belonged in this frame, but [she] didn't have a single one" (18). This made me sad. I feel bad for Auden and I hope that she becomes happier as the novel unfolds.

The DaVinci Code By Dan Brown

I wasn't all that motivated to read this book. I felt that it would be too difficult for me, and the fact that I have absolutely no knowledge of anything religious worried me. The beginning of the book was tough, I'm not gonna lie. There was alot of vocabulary I wasn't familiar with, which made it sort of confusing. But once I pushed past the first few pages, I was gripped. I just could not put the book down. It was so exciting and suspenseful that I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Just when I thought it couldn't get better, something more exciting happened! I actually looked forward to reading this book, and that rarely happens. I also loved the fact that Dan Brown wrote extremely short chapters. This helped me find a nice place to stop, but it also pushed me to read a little bit more. I was never bored, and as it went on, the language got easier to understand. All the religious content was explained, so it was easy to follow. The plot switched back and forth between two stories, but in the end they came together. I enjoyed seeing how the main characters worked together to solve problems, and their undeniable chemistry. This was my favorite book of the summer, and I recommend it to anyone who loves a mystery, or wants to read something exciting.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Alot of people recommended that I read this book, so I figured why not? I really enjoyed reading it, so the frequent praise it received proved itself true. The main reason that I loved this book was that it was realistic. It deals with real life situations and highlights some possible effects of making poor decisions. An author can have the best story line ever, but if the characters aren't well developed, then the story suffers. In this case, John Green did an excellent job of creating life-like characters. The relationships they share, and the connections they have were exciting to read about. I also really liked how the book was set up. The first half was the "Before" section, while the second half was the "After" section. The beginning describes life before a traumatic accident, and the ending shows the effect the accident had on the lives of people. Looking for Alaska was a very enjoyable book to read, and it went by pretty quickly. I couldn't put it down, and I recommend it to realistic fiction lovers.