Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard Review

 

Title: Wanderlove

Author: Kirsten Hubbard

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Date Published: March 13, 2012

Rating: 5 Stars

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.-Goodreads

I know I haven't written a review in a while but I needed to write one for Wanderlove. This is one of those book. The type of book that just made me smile and when I finished it. I really don't know how to describe the book but I do know how to describe my feelings while reading this book and hopefully that will make you consider reading it. I was grinning like a maniac and turned on the Christmas lights that always hang on the wall. It made me want to travel even more than I wanted to before; it made me feel like it was possible. It's the type of book that made me so cheerful I ran outside in the rain with my sister and country danced barefoot in the grass while singing Celtic songs. It was the perfect book for me and was exactly what I have been looking for in a travel book.

Bria is different from most characters you find in this sort of novel, she's not whiny or the typical rich bitch, she's easy to relate to and is believable and likable. She's completely normal, it makes you believe that if she could survive traveling then you can. Starling and Rowan act as guides for Bria on this trip and the relationship between Bria and Rowan is a solid friendship and enjoyable to read. Rowan almost always had a book in his hand which made me like him even more and there were plenty of book references. I loved reading about what it's like to backpack around Central America, both the good things (Hostels have book exchanges?!) and the bad.  I love reading about the different places they traveled to, since I don't have the opportunity to travel I enjoy armchair travel. I really, truly loved this book. So go read it.