“The Wanderer” by Sharon Creech

Love Sharon Creech. As an author, she does something amazing. She manages to write simple tales which attract a broad range of readers. The heavily awarded “The Wanderer” is no exception, and many students have told me how much they enjoyed it. Like her other books, the prose is clean and yet lyrical. The themes are familiar – lost kids trying to connect to parents who are either physically or emotionally absent; a physical journey that represents an emotional one; and a serious twist or two. This book focuses on the cross-Atlantic sea journey of young Sophie, the only girl among a handful of male relatives, going on the trip of a lifetime. There are enough details to understand the workings of the boat without bogging down the story, but the best part of it, for me, was the flip-flop of perspectives between Sophie and her cousin Cody. Both are writing journals of their trip and the chapters go from one journal to the other, often detailing the same events. There is deep humor here seeing a pre-teen girl and a disaffected teen boy describe how things are unfolding. There are also gentle lessons. The book is an extremely smooth read that flew by. The pen & ink drawings that begin each chapter help set a tone for the artistic complexity within the plotline. A definite must-read, particularly if you have never enjoyed one of Ms. Creech’s books.