Y’all! Our first Sarah Dessen Netflix adaptation finally has a trailer, and I couldn’t be more excited to see Colby (and yeah, okay, Auden and Eli) on the screen! Take a gander:
My first reactions:
- Clementine’s looks PERFECT. Exactly how I pictured it. You can tell the set designer has visited many, many Southern beach town boutiques.
- Emma Pasarow seems appropriately intense as Auden. Like, maybe it’s because she’s a brunette like Sarah Dessen, but she has the look of a Dessen heroine, all the way.
- I think I’m into Belmont Cameli as Eli? I’m not immediately sold like I was with Noah Centineo in TATBILB, and he’s not what I pictured exactly, but I am digging his vibe.
- There are obviously recognizable adult actors in this movie but, like, who cares?
- I did get chills when Heidi (Kate Bosworth) tells Auden, “Life is long. It’d be boring if we had to stay the same versions of ourselves the whole time.” That moment is giving me MAJOR SARAH DESSEN, and I am HERE FOR IT.
So, what’s y’all’s take? Based purely on the trailer, do you think this adaptation will do the book justice? Pedal over to the comments and join me for further analysis!
Shop Our Sarah Dessen Themed Merch
I unfortunately don’t have a ton of specific memories of the book, but this FEELS like Colby and Sarah Dessen’s writing vibe! She definitely has the look of a Dessen protag. I’m excited for it!
EXACTLY! It just feels so very Sarah Dessen.
I LOVE “Along for the Ride.” I’ve been a Dessen fan since about 2003, when I was in college and found “Someone Like You” in one of the mall bookstores (possibly Waldenbooks or B. Dalton). I’m pretty sure “Along for the Ride” is my favorite Dessen book, though “The Truth about Forever” held that spot for a very long time.
This trailer gives me hopes! I’m normally a movie-based-on-the-book hater, though Netflix often does well (Hello, Lara Jean and Peter, and Dumpling too!). Based on this trailer, I’m into the cast. The ambiance and feeling looks good. My only complaint is that both Hollis and Isby appear missing.
Man, I miss mall bookstores! THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER remains my #1 fave Sarah Dessen, but ALONG FOR THE RIDE is certainly up there for me, and the trailer does make it look like the adaptation will capture the spirit of the book. I haven’t re-read it in a while, and I don’t plan to before the movie comes out because then I’ll definitely be disappointed! So yeah, I probably won’t notice what’s missing.
I can’t remember anything about the book (yikes!) but totally digging the trailer!
When it comes to adaptations, I honestly think ignorance is bliss.
It looks to me like they cast Auden perfectly. Jury’s out on Eli, but hopefully they cast for chemistry and they’ll blow us away. The laundry/pie place looks perfect. I’m less sure about what seems like some changes to Eli–he seems maybe a little less enigmatic in this version? But I know Netflix likely wanted this as their next TATB so I’m hoping they really did it correctly. I’ll be watching on the 22nd with my piece of pie.
Yeah, the chemistry absolutely has to be there, so I would assume the casting was focused on that. And I forgot about the laundry/pie place!!!
This isn’t a favorite Dessen; I only remember it as the one with bikes and a stepmother with a new baby. And now the baby seems to be missing? Although I guess you wouldn’t put a baby in the trailer if the theme is beach vibes, reinvention and romance, which this gets right.