along for the ride !
So, in true Auden style I am unable to sleep and will therefore blog about sarah dessens newest installment of her amazing books along for the ride. Yes, I finished it in one day, and I am in love with my beautiful hardback signed copy. I know that you're not supposed to judge a book by its' cover, but I will admit that I most definitely do. I'm an artistic person who loves design so I can be quite judgemental over anything concerning this including book covers. The cover for along for the ride, most definitely passes the test. Sarah was telling us at the lunch where I got a chance to meet her that they did an actual photoshoot for the cover instead of using stock images as they usually do, and that she got to meet the models and see the shoot take place. However, I can't spend too much time on the cover, because as much as I love it, it is the contents of the book that really matter. Once again I was not let down through the entire novel, Sarah Dessen is such an amazing writer that I find myself lost in a totally different world, in fact I may have expirienced a bit of an identity crisis during the novel to a point where I was actually beginning to believe that I was Auden ( which is now a name on my list of amazing baby names). When I started the book, I assumed that I wouldn'tlike Heidi, but in all truthfulness she was one of my favorite parts of the novel. Her kindness was apparent even when she was going through more than she could handle, and I always have admired people who know how to handle themselves in difficult situations. I liked the fact that although there was a concept of death throughout the novel, because of Abe, it wasn't centered around it, and if anything focused more on the idea of living life to the fullest than on death itself. I also came to love Maggie, as I suppose Sarah hopes that you will, however, even as Leah and Esther became a bigger part of Auden's life, I still couldn't relate to them in any way, and almost resented their presence. Being one of those people who has trouble sleeping, i could relate with Auden and Eli's struggles on such a personal level. Although during my times of insomnia I am confined to my house, and most times my bedroom, I have learned to make do with the fact that I have hours upon end with nothing to do. It started with simple drawings and progressed to collaging my bedroom door, and redecorating my walls constantly. My room has become such a part of me because of this, and I wouldn't trade it for sleep any night. As a music junkie, I immediately downloaded the songs that Sarah posted as her playlist for the novel and I am loving them along with some of my own that I decided to add in as I read. Many of which are off of Mandy Moore's new CD Amanda Leigh, which is somewhat ironic considering her apperance in the only Sarah Dessen movie adaptation, which I am off to watch right now. I highly recommed the book to everyone, and hope that this hasn't been too terrible to read considering the fact that I didnt really sleep last night, and tonight isn't going so well either...