What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

Ryden Brooks' daughter is six months old. At seventeen, he is struggling with how to be a father when he has never known his own as a possible role model. Hope constantly cries whenever she is in his care but is a good baby for everyone else. Senior year and soccer season are getting ready to start and Ryden hasn't figured out how he is going to make it all work with child care. His single mother helps him with Hope when she isn't working herself. He works a part time job at Whole Foods and is holding out hope that he will be offered a soccer scholarship at UCLA. Hope's mother, Meg Reynolds, stopped her chemotherapy treatments when she discovered that she was pregnant. Ryden and her parents all begged her to have an abortion, but she refused. Meg died shortly after Hope's birth. Meg's parents have nothing to do with Ryden or their granddaughter. Ryden feels like everyone blames him for Meg's death and has pulled away from his friends since his daughter’s birth. He finds a little bit of comfort in reading the one journal of Meg's that he has but his heart is broken when he looks at their daughter who reminds him so much of her mother.

With the start of school, Ryden begins to try and assimilate with his classmates. He finds it hard to juggle all of his responsibilities and make it work. When Meg’s parents refuse to even open their door when he knocks, Ryden is at his lowest. Meg's sister, Mabel, gets word to him and comes out to meet him down the street at the corner. She gets to meet her niece for the first time and immediately falls in love. She also gives Ryden the one journal of Meg's that she had. She warns him that it will not be an easy read. Her parents have placed all of Meg's things into storage. As he begins to read it, Ryden thinks that she left a journal for not only the two of them but for her best friend Alan as well. Ryden begins a ruthless search to find more of her journals and see what other clues she many have left behind for them.

When Ryden meets the quirky Joni at his job, he begins to come out of his self imposed shell. Joni doesn't know the "baggage" that Ryden hides and he wants to keep it that way. But as Joni begins to make strides into Ryden’s life, he finds that his secrets cannot be hidden and may find a way to heal not only his broken heart but relieve his guilt over Meg’s death.

Will Ryden locate the father he has never met? Do Meg's parents ever take an interest in Hope? Did Meg leave a journal behind for each important person in her life? Can Ryden make his dreams of UCLA a reality? Will he find his footing as a father? Does he ever forgive himself for Meg's death and go on with his life? Will Joni stick around after she discovers Ryden’s secrets?

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Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden West never had a childhood. She was always the perfect little adult for her college professor parents. Academics took precedence over friendship and fun. When her parents began fighting at night, Auden would disappear and hang out at the local diner all night. She soon became an insomniac while her driven mother and clueless father divorce. Auden is a loner who decides to visit her father, stepmother and new baby sister for the summer after receiving a photo of her brother backpacking across Europe for graduation.

Once Auden arrives in the small coastal town of Colby, she soon realizes that all the things her mother said about her father are true. As Heidi struggles with baby Thisbe, Auden watches helplessly from the sidelines as her father goes on like nothing has changed. After going out to pick up dinner, Jake from the bike shop invites her to join him later at the Tip, a local hangout on the beach. After growing tired of hearing the baby cry all evening, Auden decides to walk around town and soon finds herself at the Tip. She briefly hooks up with Jake but in her haste to leave, she bumps into a brooding stranger.

Later on at home with the baby stil crying, Auden decides to give Heidi a break so that she can get some rest. Auden takes Thisbe for a stroll on the boardwalk which calms her down. There she runs into the guy from the night before doing tricks on his bike. Auden realizes that her mother was right. Her father has not changed. He is still selfish and inconsiderate when he hands off Thisbe to her at dinnertime while Heidi is trying to fix things at her shop. While out with the baby, Auden realizes that the strange boy is staring at them. He takes Thisbe from her and instantly soothes her. Heidi soon arrives and introduces Auden to Eli, who is Jake's older brother.

While driving around Colby one night, Auden finds herself at the bike park. Watching frm the shadows, she finds that Eli has come up beside her. Small talk eventually leads to Eli realizing that Auden hasn't ridden a bike in years. A few nights later while hanging with the girls at a party, Auden once again strikes up a conversation with Eli only to have his former girlfriend try and pick a fight. Afterwards the gilrs fill Auden in on Eli past, including the fact that his best friend was killed in a car accident. Eli was driving but not a fault.

Auden and Eli soon realizes that they have a lot in common and begin to hang out at night. Eli shows her a side of Colby she didn't know existed and begins to take her on adventures of doing things she never did as a child. But will Auden turn over a new leaf or will she once again shut everyone out?