Chapters 1 - 5 (Pages 1 - 89) Summary

Auden West is a highly intelligent over-achiever who has trouble falling asleep. Along for the Ride chronicles the summer before Auden goes away to college. Suddenly, everything Auden thought she knew comes under scrutiny. She forms an unlikely friendship with a moody young man named Eli and the summer unfolds in interesting ways.

In Chapter 1, Auden West receives an invitation to spend the summer with her father, his second wife Heidi, and their newborn baby girl. Heidi annoys Auden for some reason. Heidi is significantly younger than Auden's mother. Auden accepts the invitation and then wonders why she would do such a thing.

Auden thinks back on the disintegration of her parents' marriage. Her father became successful first in academia. When his publisher drops him, Auden's mother (after having two children) rises to the top of her...