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YA Books to Inspire and Satisfy Wanderlust
Why do people leave their homes and travel the world?
People travel for a variety of reasons, each of which is unique to them. They may travel to learn a specific skill, such as a new language, a new cuisine, or the features of a different culture.
Conquering new terrain is thrilling, and it’s just one of the many reasons people enjoy travelling.
Or, if you’re like me, traveling is one of the lights at the end of the tunnel. Numerous pinterest boards on places I want to visit, explore, and embrace, keep me going when I’m effortlessly… struggling over math equations or biology lessons.
However, it comes as no surprise that the majority of people who want to travel can’t for a variety of reasons. [Again, like me!]
During the lockdown, my family and I traveled through Rick Steves’ famous European Travel Diaries. I explored Rome, The Cinque Terre, the French countryside, and so much more using a rectangular lens. Besides Rick Steves’ show, I traveled through books.
Following is a list of YA books I loved that are sure to sweep you away on a literary voyage!
Wanderlost by Jen Malone
Genres/Categories
Contemporary Romance, YA
Triggers Warnings
Death
Synopsis
Aubree can’t think of a better place to be than home—perfectly dull Ohio—and she’s ready for a leisurely summer.
But then her older sister, Elizabeth, gets into serious trouble, forcing Aubree to fraudulently take over her sister’s job as a senior citizens’ bus tour guide, leading them on a journey through Europe.
My Thoughts
This was one of the first books I picked up that addressed travel themes. It is a very light-hearted and fun book, except for one really sad moment in the novel.
Aubree, despite not wanting to go in her sister’s stead, discovers her love for adventure with all her old-of-body-young-of-mind friends.
If you’re not a fan of traveling, or are wondering what the hype behind tourism is, reading this novel will give you a glimpse into how romantic (in the poetic sense) and enlightening it can be to uncover something so many have done before but the fact that you, as a fellow human, do so for the first time makes it all the more special.
Wanderlost is eye-opening to the different aspects of traveling—culture, community, friendship, family, love, humanity—so if you are just starting, I couldn’t recommend it more!
The Paper Girl Of Paris By Jordyn Taylor
Genres/Categories
YA, Historical Fiction, Romance
Trigger Warnings
Death, anti-semitism, mental illness, nazi occupancy
Synopsis
Following the death of her grandmother, Alice spends a summer in Paris with her family at an apartment, left to her by her grandmother, that no one knew existed.
She finds a journal in the apartment that belonged to her grand-aunt. Alice is keen to learn why the flat was abandoned and why her grandmother never addressed the family she left behind when she immigrated to America after World War Two.
My Thoughts
Warning: The book is beautifully written and will make you cry. It’s a deep dive into the Nazi occupancy of France and its ramifications on Jewish and Non-Jewish members of the society.
My history textbooks have glossed over many important topics such as this, and it always makes me angry how sometimes textbooks tend to reduce significant moments to insignificant ones by devoting only a single sentence to them.
Jordyn Taylor crafted an intense and authentic novel that I love. Despite being fiction, her writing derives from actual diary entries of fierce women who served in resistance movements—women who gave up their lives for the next generation.
It’s clear the author wants to inspire girls to do what is right. She’s inspired me, all right.
Love And Gelato By Jenna Evans Welch
Genres/Categories
Contemporary Romance
Trigger Warnings
Death (cancer), neglect by parent
Synopsis
After her mother dies, Lina sets off for wonderful, artistic Tuscany to meet her mother’s mysterious friend. There she discovers a journal left by her mother and embarks on a precarious journey of love, loss, art, and hidden bakeries.
My Thoughts
This book didn’t feel long enough! It has stunning imagery, is perfect for the summer, and it’s been turned into a Netflix movie. It’s my favorite book ever.
The emotions that Carolina wades through, her budding romance with Lorenzo, and her relationship with her late mother’s “friend” sent me reeling. Never has a book made me feel so raw.
It also implores you to think about what family means to you. Is family always defined by blood? While I’m grateful for my own blood relations, my friends, the unexpected people who show up for me, and even my cats, are family to me.
If you loved this, check out Jenna Evans Welch’s other books: Love and Luck and Love and Olives. They follow similar themes of travel and will keep you on your toes until the end.
Check out these movies to watch if you love Love and Gelato!
13 Little Blue Envelopes By Maureen Johnson
Genres/Categories
Contemporary Romance
Trigger Warnings
Ableism, attempted sexual assault, death, mention of young age pregnancy.
Synopsis
The 13 little blue envelopes lay scattered on the floor, each one containing a clue to the next destination.
The envelopes have been left by Ginny’s aunt, who had passed away and left her with a set of rules to follow and several tasks she must complete while she travels around Europe.
My Thoughts
I’m a big puzzle and quest fan. This explains why I ate this book up like it was a cinnamon roll fresh out of the oven.
There were some hard-topics explored—which I wasn’t expecting since I read this a lot younger than I am now—exposing me to the reality and imperfections of humanity.
The novel’s use of envelopes as a plot device—sizzle. And the gaggle of eccentric characters—perfect.
The book also has a sequel—The Last Little Blue Envelope—even funnier and more enjoyable!
P.S.: Am I scaring you with all the aunts, moms, and grandmas dying? Don’t worry, I’ll try to minimize it.
P.P.S.: But where is the fun in that?
A Castle In The Clouds By Kerstin Gier
Genres/Categories
Cozy mystery, Romance
Trigger Warnings
Death, kidnapping attempt, bullying
Synopsis
Sophie, much to her parents’ dismay, decides that university isn’t for her and goes to work as an intern at a grand hotel way up in the Swiss mountains.
Guests from all over the world travel to the hotel for the annual New Year’s Eve Ball, and it’s up to Sophie to manage things.
But things don’t go according to plan, and Sophie has to navigate a path full of secrets, romance, and a little bit of danger.
My Thoughts
Despite having some “dangerous, murderous” chapters, this one is hilarious. And I’m a big supporter of character’s taking gap years to figure things out—which is what Sophie does. It deeply resonated with me considering I took a gap year too.
Unfortunately, I can’t give a review of this one without spoiling the plot—you’ll just have to read it! All I can write is crazy stuff aside, this book is the epitome of a thrilling vacation.
Field Notes On Love By Jennifer E. Smith
Genres/Categories
Contemporary romance
Synopsis
Nothing’s more romantic than a weeklong train journey with your girlfriend, right?
That is, until your girlfriend dumps you.
Hugo, a sextuplet, is left with no other choice but to find another girl with the same name as his former partner to still be able to travel across the US.
Enter Mae, still coping with her rejection from film school. When opportunity presents itself, she embarks on the journey with Hugo.
My Thoughts
You know that feeling when you find someone who understands all the parts of you: the broken parts, the joyful parts, the crazy parts. That’s love. And this book was love for me.
I cannot begin to describe the emotions I encountered when soaring through the pages. It brought me both sadness and happiness at the same time. Jennifer E. Smith has done it yet again. She’s unlocked the door to my heart.
If you haven’t read her other books, you should! Maybe I’ll make a separate post about them.
Besides the sizzling chemistry between our protagonists, the stunning setting, the sextuplet and gay parents‘ representation, the book highlights what it means to write your own destiny. And is it really your destiny if you let someone else influence it?
We all have different paths, and if we don’t decide that journey for ourselves then who else will.
