Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
Published by Delacorte Books for Young Readers; March 13, 2012
Hardcover, 338 pages
Borrowed from library 

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.

- Description from Goodreads.com

If ever anyone asks me these questions, I will automatically direct you to this book. 

1. Why do you read books like S.A.S.S.? 

2. Why do you pore over travel guides when you aren't going anywhere?

3. Why do you want to travel?

Once you read this book, I promise you, all your questions will be answered. Because once you read this book, you will fall in love with travelling. You will yearn to travel. How can you not? After reading this book? If anyone on this planet Earth has accomplished this, they should phone me immediately. Because I think you may need to reread it.

For me, this book was paradise. I loved the pictures Kirsten was able to create and everything was so well written. The little drawings inside were absolutely fantastic and made the book come together in such a nice way. This book was almost as good as going to all the places in actuality. Yes, almost. There are so many awesome aspects of this book, but for me, the absolute best part was seeing Kirsten's own experiences and passions reflect in her story. Not only did that help me get an insider's look at backpacking, I also got to get to know Kirsten in a nice, subtle way. Though I'm certainly no psychic, I can almost guarantee you that this book will be picked up once again in the future.