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ellie00000's review
5.0
This book delivered on on its premise. A girl travels solo at times and with her friends on other occasions and tells the story of her hardships. The book was good, it did exactly what it it promised to do, no more no less. We can see clearly what she went through. For any girl out there who’s got this same goal of traveling on a budget, I think this book could be inspiring.
jennywithaz's review
5.0
I loved this book - it was a well written, compelling and inspiring read. I particularly enjoyed the South America section, which takes you to some of the more further flung places in the world and shows you their beauty, hospitality, and the thrill involved in having both adventures and misadventures. After finishing it, I went straight to the library to begin planning my own adventures. Reading this book is a necessary reminder that your life is yours to live, and that you can and should do whatever you choose with it. Particularly recommended to recent college graduates, as well as their parents; but really, everybody should read this book and enjoy it.
iamorbiting's review
3.0
Decent. Maybe a bit above average? It's a memoir so I understand that not everything can be dramatic all the time but it felt a bit boring and redundant after part 1. I read Ireland and Australia in a day and just couldn't pick up part 3 until a week later because I was disinterested. It felt as if I was reading a side character in an rpg's journal. The ending was also a bit lacklustre. The heroine seemed to lack personality or growth, and some of the tangents or side stories(?) seemed out of place. That being said, the writing itself is very pretty. I love how she describes small details and insignificant things in a way that's interesting. The way she writes imagery is definitely her strongest suit.
whatismollyreading's review
4.0
I see a lot of myself in Rachel. I don't know if I'm brave enough to leave everything behind and go by myself for so long, but it's always been a dream of mine. Loved this book. Excellent storyteller and amazing journey. I can't wait to have my own someday.
chaptersofamirah's review
2.0
every book i have read for a level english has taken 5 years off my life
liralen's review
3.0
Girls like me choose horses, or eating disorders, or literature--we choose any number of worlds within which to disappear, but that dangerous energy has to go somewhere. (Page 31)
File under books that resonated with me perhaps a bit too much for my liking.
Friedman set off for Ireland almost on a whim -- she'd travelled before, but never on her own, and never without a plan. Her parents expected her to do something productive, something that would help career-wise, not take off for a few months. (Okay, that part doesn't resonate so much -- my father thinks it would be a terrific idea for me to be a vagabond for a while.) But she was restless; she needed something different.
After Ireland -- and after finishing her degree -- still restless, Friedman took off for Australia and then South America with a friend. Her parents were still scratching their heads (with fluctuating degrees of alarm); Friedman herself vacillated between joy and anxiety, depending upon the moment. That's what resonates with me so much, I think: The desperate need to go places, see things, do something else -- but also the uncomfortable lack of certainty, the history of being someone who until now has always had a plan, and a map, and a backup plan, and a backup map. Friedman ultimately does a number of things that are on my never-ever-ever list -- she bungee jumps, she bikes down a tremendously terrifying dangerous road -- while also feeling out of place, not like the stereotypical laid-back, confident backpacker. Her friend Carly (with whom many of these travels occur) makes a wonderful foil for Friedman, as Carly is that confident, experienced backpacker.
Friedman's adventures are often relatively low-key; she didn't pick up and move into a manyatta in Kenya, for example, and both Ireland and Australia represent fairly 'safe' choices for travelling (no language difference, well-off countries, etc.) In many ways this ends up being as much a coming-of-age story as a story of travel -- she's coming into her own, figuring out what she wants to do and who she wants to be. It resonates...and yes, I wish I'd done something like this straight out of college.
File under books that resonated with me perhaps a bit too much for my liking.
Friedman set off for Ireland almost on a whim -- she'd travelled before, but never on her own, and never without a plan. Her parents expected her to do something productive, something that would help career-wise, not take off for a few months. (Okay, that part doesn't resonate so much -- my father thinks it would be a terrific idea for me to be a vagabond for a while.) But she was restless; she needed something different.
After Ireland -- and after finishing her degree -- still restless, Friedman took off for Australia and then South America with a friend. Her parents were still scratching their heads (with fluctuating degrees of alarm); Friedman herself vacillated between joy and anxiety, depending upon the moment. That's what resonates with me so much, I think: The desperate need to go places, see things, do something else -- but also the uncomfortable lack of certainty, the history of being someone who until now has always had a plan, and a map, and a backup plan, and a backup map. Friedman ultimately does a number of things that are on my never-ever-ever list -- she bungee jumps, she bikes down a tremendously terrifying dangerous road -- while also feeling out of place, not like the stereotypical laid-back, confident backpacker. Her friend Carly (with whom many of these travels occur) makes a wonderful foil for Friedman, as Carly is that confident, experienced backpacker.
Friedman's adventures are often relatively low-key; she didn't pick up and move into a manyatta in Kenya, for example, and both Ireland and Australia represent fairly 'safe' choices for travelling (no language difference, well-off countries, etc.) In many ways this ends up being as much a coming-of-age story as a story of travel -- she's coming into her own, figuring out what she wants to do and who she wants to be. It resonates...and yes, I wish I'd done something like this straight out of college.
katkeyes's review
4.0
I read this while traveling through Europe. This made dropping everything to continue traveling the world indefinitely more appealing than it already was. :)