Everybody Knows That!

Everybody Knows That!

By Susan Pearson, Pictures by Diane Paterson; The Dial Press 1978

Summary: A young girl decides to teach her playmate a lesson after he lets her know she can’t do certain things because she’s a girl.

My Review: I really liked this book as a child. I think I liked it so much because I totally related to the girl Patty. I was the type of girl who played games that both girls and boys played. Cops and robbers, barbies, and boy toys. But when I entered kindergarten I didn’t play with the girls because I didn’t like what the girls played. I liked being and playing with the boys because their games were more exciting. At times the boys would say that because I was a girl that I couldn’t play with them. So I can understand Patty’s feelings in this book. I really enjoy this book because it shows that boys and girls can do whatever the other does.

Watch Out for: Boys being mean to a girl just because she is a girl. 

Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride

Sarah Dessen;Viking Juvenile 2009

Summary: It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live. 

A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

My Review: I am very picky when it comes to Sarah Dessen books. I will either really like the book or not. Along for the Ride turned out to be one that I really liked.  I found the character Auden to be a relatable character. She is a teenage girl who suffered from her parent’s divorce by having a lack of a childhood.  She didn’t have a social life in high school because she was busy doing homework and working. I felt really sorry for her most of the time because of the ways she coped with her parents fighting and dealing with her parents once they were separated. She became an insomniac and left the house in order to escape from everything. Once she moves in with her Dad and his new wife and child things start looking up for her. She works with girls who help her break out of her social problems and she meets Eli who becomes a close friend. Eli brought out the best in Auden and Auden brought out the best in Eli. I thought their relationship to be adorable. All in all I really enjoyed this book.  I couldn’t put it down. I actually read it in one night. So if you like stories about troubled teens then this is a book for you!

Watch Out for:  Teen Drinking, Brief occasional use of swear words, partying, clubs, and non descriptive sexual moments.