The Wanderer Review

 

OMG! I think I found my true favorite Sharon Creech book of all time! Bloomability is now at the number two spot.

The Wanderer is about thirteen year old Sophie, who goes on a sailing trip with her two cousins and three uncles across the Atlantic Ocean to meet her grandfather, Bompie, in England. They make a lot of pit stops along the way to get their boat fixed and to pick up more supplies. Sophie and her cousins also learn a lot along the way: about sailing, stories about each other, their uncles, and Bompie, and other random things like juggling. But the trip is not a smooth one! Sailing out onto the ocean blue isn't as whimsical as Sophie thought it would be, and they run into a lot of problems. Luckily, she has her family and they always support one another. 

The story is actually told in alternating points of view of Sophie and one of her cousins named Cody. We learn that Sophie is actually hiding a mysterious past that she doesn't really want to talk about, and Cody throughout the story tries to figure out what happened to her. We readers try to figure it out along with Cody, too.

Oh, this book was just lovely! I just love the way Sharon Creech writes: her poetic style really tugs at your heartstrings, and you really feel like you are there with the characters.

I gave this book 4.5 stars, but that's just because I was a little confused with Sophie's mysterious backstory at first. It all gets explained and makes sense at the end, though!