The main characters of Sarah Dessen’s 2009 YA novel, Along for the Ride, are familiar types: A socially awkward teenage girl who’s so distracted by books and learning that she hasn’t really lived life, and a manic-pixie-dream-BMX-biker who’s instantly enraptured by the socially awkward teen and takes her on a series of outings—could they be dates?—doing the kind of things that life is all about: bowling, riding bikes, and deep conversations. It’s not all sweetness and light, though: The girl’s parents are so self-absorbed that they just don’t seem to get her at all, and the boy has a dark secret in his past that explains his solitary nature. Can she help heal his sadness? Maybe—just maybe.

Is the story predictable? In some ways, yes, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, what kind of stick-in-the-mud wouldn’t want two incredibly charming leads in a romance to get together? And charming they are, thanks to Dessen’s skill at characterization and, especially, conversation. These carry over into a new film adaptation, which premiered on Netflix on May 6.

In the novel, Auden West’s dedication to academic excellence has caused her to miss out on a lot. She impulsively decides to visit her professor/novelist father, Robert, for the summer in the laid-back beach town of Colby. But even though his young second wife, Heidi, just had a child—Robert named this one Thisbe—he does nothing but hole up in his home office to work on his latest novel. Sarah helps out at Heidi’s tourist-trap shop and gets to know the upbeat girls who work there and other local teens, but still has a hard time coming out her shell.

Enter Eli Stock, whom she meets as he’s riding his bike on the local boardwalk, late at night. Like her, he’s a night owl, and they quickly bond; as they get to know each other, Eli decides that Auden needs to go on a “quest” to do all the sorts of things that she missed out on during her childhood—which include shopping at the 24-hour Park Mart after midnight, learning how to throw newspapers on a paper route, and especially, learning to ride a bicycle. It turns out that he was briefly a pro bike rider—and that he has an awful trauma in his past that he doesn’t want to talk about. Meanwhile, Auden tries to come to terms with her professor mother’s expectations, and the fact that her free-spirited, world-traveling brother, Hollis, is settling down with a woman who’s very much like a younger version of his mom.

The story hits some fairly standard beats, especially in the romantic relationship plot—I mean, of course Auden eventually gets the biker guy to open up about that past tragedy. (Even Kirkus’ starred review noted the story’s “well-traveled terrain.”) And one can easily nitpick other aspects of the story; for example, the initially standoffish Auden makes friends in Colby just a little too easily, and the book portrays literary folk—and academics, in particular—as generally smug and superior in a way that feels a bit superficial. But Dessen is wonderful at worldbuilding; the seaside town of Colby feels real and vibrant, and the people in it—even relatively minor characters, such as Auden’s co-workers at Heidi’s shop—all feel like real people with lives that extend outside the narrative. Auden and Eli’s attraction also feels earned; they’re both genuinely interesting, witty people that anyone would like to get to know.

The film version was written and directed by Sofia Alvarez, who penned the excellent 2018 movie adaptation of Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, which made our list of “10 of the Best Book-to Screen Adaptations.” Alvarez pares down the story perfectly—excising unnecessary minor players and subplots, including the strange storyline involving Hollis and his girlfriend—and focuses squarely on the romance between Auden and Eli, played by the very appealing Emma Pasarow and Belmont Cameli, both relative newcomers; Cameli recently co-starred in the Peacock sitcom reboot, Saved by the Bell. Pasarow sells Auden’s awkwardness without sacrificing the character’s considerable charm, and Cameli amiably gets across Eli’s easy confidence and subtle sadness. The actors’ scenes together are the film’s highlights, as they should be, although the supporting cast—especially Andie MacDowell and Dermot Mulroney as Auden’s difficult parents, and a wonderful Kate Bosworth as the perennially chipper Heidi—are a pleasure, as well. The town of Colby is just as fun onscreen as it is on the page; many viewers will wish that there was a cool, secret coffee-and-pie shop where they live, too. Fans of Dessen’s novel will be more than satisfied, but newcomers, too, will find this movie to be a very pleasant ride.

David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.