Wanderlove

Title: Wanderlove
Author: Kirsten Hubbard
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Format: e-book

Summary (from Goodreads):

It all begins with a stupid question:

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.

Kirsten Hubbard lends her artistry to this ultimate backpacker novel, weaving her drawings into the text. Her career as a travel writer and her experiences as a real-life vagabond backpacking Central America are deeply seeded in this inspiring story.

Review:

"Wanderlove is about forgetting the bad things and focusing on the good. Out with the old and in with the new."

Looove it!

Being a senior in high school myself makes me want to go to see the world. In fact, my friends and I are planning to go after national exam--we won't go out of town. Boring, I know. x) But that's the point; we will be like those college girls/guys and we have ID card (not a fake one). And I know some of you who's like, five year older than me will think, "Ah, kids, they don't know anything." but that's okay. I'm used to it. XD

I love Wanderlove. And I love Bria. She was sarcastic yet funny--and spontaneous! I always love spontaneous girls in YA, I don't know, they're just waaaay funnier. x)  Oh, and the drawing! I mean, look at this one:

Imagine seeing something like this sketch in the book. (Image source)

I also love Rowan, and his chemistry with Bria. He was not like that mysterious-guy-whose-part-is-so-terrible. Yes, his past was no good but yet he was funny and I loved seeing him with Bria. And he read. He had read The Giver, and Narnia! I'm falling in love, everyone.

“If you’re lucky,” he adds, “I’ll even tell you my whale shark story.”

Now I grin. Because despite the plummeting sensation in my stomach, Rowan is irresistible when he’s like this. “I would love to hear your whale shark story."

The story took several days, but the relationship between Bria-Rowan was not insta-love. You won't even realize they just traveled for a week or so!

I'd be glad to recommend this to you who's new to road trip YA (I'm also new here.)

“I’ve come to realize that sometimes, what you love the most is what you have to fight the hardest to keep.”

“Isn’t it the opposite? If you love something, set it free, or whatever.”

“I don’t think it’s the opposite, necessarily. If you really, truly love it, it’ll find you again, no matter what.”

Rating: 4/5

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