9. Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard I read an enthusiastic review of Wanderlove somewhere,and it sounded like just the kind of book I was longing for. A bildungsroman about a girl who finds herself (and, inevitably, romance), backpacking through South America. So I really wanted to like this book. And I will say that I got what I wanted out of it, namely nostalgia for a particular kind of traveling and inspiration for future travel plans. But the overwhelming YA-ness of this book, I'm sorry, I just didn't love it. There are some books that fall in the YA category that I do absolutely love. This is not that kind of book. Wanderlove is a YA book with an eighteen-year-old protagonist, a choppy writing style, inspirational quotes, kids' book references (and yeah I was into that part), an obvious cutesy romance, and a tendency to stereotype and simplify the world. Not all YA books are like this, but it's exactly what I'm afraid of when I pick up a YA book. This book...
Life, Books, and SFF