Entertainment
Email
Print
Carolina beaches and California boys
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: June 28, 2009
Continuing our theme of great summer books for the beach and pool, we spoke by phone with Sarah Dessen of Chapel Hill about her hot, brand-new release, Along for the Ride. (Afterward, Hannah said, "Oh my gosh. Sarah Dessen actually called us!")
Dessen, for those of you who may not be hip to the teen-girl literary circle, is a rock star in the young-adult book world. Along for the Ride, her ninth book (and our new favorite? How do we choose?), does not disappoint. It is sure to follow the success of her earlier novels -- Lock and Key, Just Listen and The Truth About Forever, to name three of the nine.
As effortless with conversation as she is with prose, Dessen chatted easily until time came for her to relieve her babysitter. Yes, she writes while being mom to a 2-year-old daughter. She said she was startled by the instantaneous Twitter and Facebook responses to Along for the Ride. Even though we had an advance copy (surely the best perk of our job), Hannah had to wait until after exams to delve into it. She started it one night after supper and did not put it down until 1 a.m. and the last page. Dessen has that effect on her readers.
"I like books about real people and real things," Dessen told us.
Along for the Ride, set ambiguously on the North Carolina coastline, returns to the fictional beach town of Colby, also found in Dessen's Keeping the Moon.
Hannah asked Sarah Dessen what town in North Carolina Colby represented. We were sure it was New Bern. Actually, Dessen's family has vacationed at Emerald Isle for years, and she sought to create a generic setting that pulled together the universalities of beach: mini-golf; Wings souvenir shops; great pancake places; sun; sand; and young women stretching into themselves.
"We have such a great coastline. I had in mind that if anyone had been to the North Carolina coast that they would know. It's always my hope and in my mind that by making it anonymous, readers can relate," says the author.
It must work. She hears from girls all over the world saying how they identify with Dessen's characters and places -- although she does get some desperate last-minute requests for book report help when girls cannot find towns such as Colby, N.C., in the atlas.
The beauty of Dessen's novels is that they can be read by women of all ages. As Hannah read Along for the Ride, she homed in on Auden, the main character. When I read it, I identified with the struggles that Auden's stepmother finds with a new baby.
"I'm still drawn to the teen voice. I hope teens keep reading my books, and I hope moms get them on the next level," said Dessen, who is 39 and a former creative-writing teacher at UNC Chapel Hill.
Want to "meet" the fabulous Sarah Dessen, too? Visit this YouTube link at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFyPlKoac-M where she introduces Along for the Ride or check out her Web site at www.sarahdessen.com.
ALONG FOR THE RIDE. By Sarah Dessen. Penguin. 383 pages. Ages 14 and up. $19.99.
Having two tremendously intellectual parents can be challenging. Auden's mother, a college professor specializing in women's roles in literature, expects nothing but the best. This trait, coupled with Auden's father's failure to succeed after one prestigious book, drives a wedge in their marriage.Auden's response to her parents is to super-succeed academically -- to the point of insomnia and lack of social development. Auden decides to spend the summer after she graduates from high school with her father, his new wife and their new baby. Auden does not understand or appreciate her stepmother's girly and seemingly frivolous approach to life until Auden begins working in the seaside boutique her stepmother owns. Factor in meeting Eli, another insomniac, and the young woman who is Auden begins her awakening.
This book is beautifully written and one that moms and daughters will pass back and forth this summer reading season.
Two other worthwhile beach/pool bag reads for this summer:
TWENTY BOY SUMMER. By Sarah Ockler. Little, Brown. Ages 14 and up. 290 pages. $16.99.
Even the strongest friendships can become complicated. Anna has known Frankie and Matt since she was born. The three of them have been inseparable ever since. However, Matt is Frankie's older brother. And Anna has secretly been in love with him for years.
A snag occurs when Anna's birthday wish comes true at her 15th birthday party. Matt kisses her for the first time, and their secret relationship begins. They talk about how to tell Frankie and decide that Matt will be the one to tell her when their family goes to California.
Matt never gets the chance to tell Frankie because tragedy strikes the day before the California trip. Anna does not know whether to tell Frankie. Anna accompanies the family to California for their first return without Matt. Memories are everywhere, and Frankie's family misses Matt more than ever. Tensions build as Frankie rebels, setting a goal of meeting 20 boys for their summer. Later she reads Anna's journal, finding out everything about Matt. The two best friends hit the first rocky patch ever in their relationship as they find out each other's secrets.
SLEEPAWAY GIRLS. By Jen Calonita. Little, Brown. Ages 12 and up. 297 pages. $16.99.
This light summer read comes from the author of the smart Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. Readers will enjoy the story, in Calonita style, of how Sam goes to camp for the first time -- as a counselor-in-training. Sam learns how to deal with the resident camp mean girl, Ashley. Sam also has to figure out how to let the boy she is crushing on know that she feels this way. As if this isn't enough to deal with, Sam must also decide how to stop being a people-pleaser to the point that it takes her own choices away. Sam finds camp a growing experience at Whispering Pines, set in the New York Catskill Mountains ... and she can't wait to return next summer.
Monica Young and Hannah Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com. View book reviews at the Journal in Education site at www.jie.journalnow.com.
Email
Print
