She learns that Cass, despite Caitlin's impressions, is not perfect that being Rogerson's victim does not mean Caitlin is weak and that she can be herself.Along for the Ride is a novel by Sarah Dessen. Caitlin is sent to rehab and it takes time for her to come to some conclusions about her life. When she returns, later than she had planned, Rogerson is waiting and begins a brutal beating that is interrupted when a friend sees the fight. Rina and Caitlin's mother insist and she finally gives in. Caitlin is fearful because she knows Rogerson will probably come by and he will be angry if she is not waiting for him. She continues to see Rogerson despite the abuse and wonders each time he lashes out at her if his father has lashed out at him.įinally, Rina convinces Caitlin to take an afternoon trip with her. Caitlin knows that she could tell anyone this horrible secret, but does not because she believes it means she is weak. Her parents reconnect with Cass but Caitlin, fearing her sister will know her secret just from her voice, avoids talking to Cass on the phone. As the sex, drugs and abuse become more prevalent, Caitlin struggles to keep it all a secret from her parents and friends.

Rogerson strikes Caitlin several times and their relationship escalates sexually. She also begins smoking a great deal of marijuana and becomes friends with a young woman who supports that habit. Over the coming months, they are together a great deal and Caitlin's school work, friendship with her pal Rina and cheer performance suffer for the amount of time she spends with Rogerson. The incident forms an instant bond between the two because Caitlin is the only person who knows Rogerson's secret. They return to his house where Caitlin witnesses Rogerson's father hit him for being late. He invites her out and takes her along as he sells drugs. He has been in trouble with the law but Caitlin initially believes that Rogerson has turned his life around. Caitlin drifts into joining the cheer squad though she has no real desire to do so, then is drawn to a young man who represents the total opposite of what Cass had done in her life. Caitlin's parents are immediately caught up in their search for Cass and Caitlin's birthday-including the trip to get her driver's license-is put aside. Caitlin O'Koren wakes on the morning of her sixteenth birthday to find that her eighteen-year-old sister, Cassandra, has run away from home just before she was due to go to Yale.

Dreamland book summary sarah dessen