Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

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.

My Review:

Wanderlove has amazing writing, an amazing story, and amazing characters.  That was probably an overuse of the word amazing, but it is the truth.  

POSSIBLE SPOILERS

The characters were all very developed.  Rowan and Bria both had pasts that were revealed throughout the story.  Both of them have their own problems.  Starling was also a good character.  She seemed outgoing and she also cared about her half-brother.  It was interesting to find out about the relationship between the siblings.  They had not even met each other until Rowan came to find Starling.  Starling had not even known Rowan existed and that was interesting. 


Reading about the traveling was cool.  It made me want to go and backpack in Central America.  Not everything about Bria's trip was awesome.  But the scenery sounded amazing, so I would love to join Bria on her trip.  The travel philosophy was entertaining as well.  It was fun to learn the difference between wanderlust and wanderlove.

The romance was one of the best parts of the book.  Rowan and Bria started off by exchanging banter.  Then they became friends and began to really open up to each other emotionally.  By that point, I was rooting for them to be together, and I was wondering when they would kiss.  I was happy when they finally kissed.  Then I was disappointed when Bria pushed Rowan away so she wouldn't have to get emotionally involved.  Luckily, she realized it was too late - she had already fallen for him.

If you like YA contemporary with traveling, pick this book up.

Katie