Review: Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Wanderlove

By: Kirsten Hubbard

Pub. Date: March 13, 2012

Publisher: Random House Children's Publishing

Pages: 352

Source: Netgalley

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 into 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.

There are so many things that I loved about this book. The cover is so simple and basic and I loved the setting, which is Central and South America.

Bria, despite everyone telling her not to go, decides to find herself by traveling through Central America. The only problem is that she signs up for the middle age guided tour. When she meets Starling and her brother, Rowan, she knows that this is going to be her REAL opportunity to travel. After the first night, Starling has to leave so it's only Rowan and Bria and both are trying to deal with their pasts. The two of them have a hilarious connection! Rowan definitely doesn't take himself too seriously, but he is also one of those "wise beyond his years" kind of guys.

I loved the illustrations throughout the story. They were so simple and perfect. The author is also a very talented artist!

I would have liked to see more character development though. I felt Bria was just a complainer. All she did was talk about her loser high school boyfriend and why she gave up art for him (which is the most stupidest reason EVER!). Rowan on the other hand was so fantastically complicated, but by the end I still felt that I didn't know him like I should. 

Wanderlove was very refreshing because it dealt with real life issues. There were issues that anybody could face and it was easy to relate too.

Overall, I really enjoyed Wanderlove and I would definitely recommend it!