The Wanderer (Newbery Honor Book) Book

Returning to the prizewinning form demonstrated in Walk Two Moons, Sharon Creech recounts a physical journey--a boat trip across the North Atlantic Ocean--in order to tell of the many emotional journeys that each of her six characters takes. And in 13-year-old Sophie--orphan, daydreamer and headstrong tomboy--the author has created a complex, absorbing and intriguing main character. During several windswept weeks at sea, Sophie manages to inspire everyone around her despite being on the very brink of coming to terms with her own fractured and half-remembered family history.Sophie has persuaded her three uncles and two cousins into letting her join them on a trip of a lifetime aboard The Wanderer--a 45-foot sailboat. They plan to sail north up the coast from Connecticut, then east across the ocean towards England where Sophie's grandfather is looking forward to a visit from his three sons. Island-hopping as preparations intensify for the ocean crossing, emotions run high in the cramped living quarters, especially when it is decided that everyone must share a skill with the rest of the crew. Bizarrely, Sophie decides to recount stories told to her by a grandfather she has never met. Her ensuing behaviour is slowly unravelled by her cousin Cody--as he struggles with a disrespectful father and problems of his own. Sophie and Cody tackle their dramas together, and in doing so become closer than either of them expected at the beginning of their journey.The story is substantial, the writing both accomplished and highly readable and the characters so real that their thoughts, secrets and aspirations are laid bare on every page. Reading The Wanderer is a treat. --John McLayRead More