Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Sarah Dessen is regarded as one of the most popular writers for young adults and I know exactly why. I've only read one of her books before (This Lullaby) which was very good, but I like this even more. Her portrayal of the teenage characters--and all her characters for that matter--are all so real. It is so enjoyable to read her books because they are so believable. In Along for the Ride, it is the realness and actual plot that captivates me.
Riding bikes. Bowling with friends. Food fights. Breaking curfew. These are just a few things that academically-focused Auden West has missed out on in her life. The socially-inept teenage girl just graduated high school at the top of her class. There wasn't much she left behind though. She had few friends, and none of them were close to her and the typical "high school experience" was just a myth to her. Then, she decides that it's time to change. Inspired by her older brother's impromptu travelling all over Europe, Auden decides to visit her father, stepmother and new born sister at their beach town home. This experience changes her life forever and helps her to develop as a person.
Among many other reasons which I've already addressed, I liked this book because it teaches the lesson to not assume and be judgmental. There's more to a person than what they wear or how they seem to act.

I knew she was cataloging him instantly: high school education, not college bound or even interested, working class. The same things, if I was honest, that I would have thought, once. But I was one night, and many hours, further away from my mother now. Even with the short distance between us.

A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar Part II

A Beautiful Mind continues to highlight the historic context of John Nash's achievements. As I continue to read this book, it becomes increasingly difficult to read because it was not exactly what I was expecting. Although I was aware that it was a biography of John Forbes Nash, Jr., I was not aware that the book would be totally based on facts and history. However, that's how it seems to be. I don't like that style very much. I am more interested in books that have a more clear storyline. I see where this book is going though, and I have learned a lot. Through the accounts of people that actually knew Nash, I could tell that he was an awkward person. I'm also very intrigued by how he got to where he did: Winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics. It's interesting to learn about his life, but also boring. I plan to stick with it though.