Wanderlost

April 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 This sweet and romantic story follows 18-year-old, college-bound Aubree, who is nothing like her perfect older sister, Elizabeth. Aubree throws a summer party that gets busted by the cops, and when Elizabeth comes home early from college and tries to take the blame, she gets arrested. To make it up to her sister, Aubree agrees to impersonate Elizabeth as a tour guide for a group of senior citizens traveling throughout Europe. Not surprisingly, everything goes wrong from the start: Aubree, as Elizabeth, deals with skinny-dipping grandmas, blackmailing elderly gentlemen, sex-crazed honeymooners, and more. She finds herself flirting, long distance, with cute-sounding Sam, who works for the tour company, until things get even more complicated when Sam shows up on the tour. Aubree struggles with guiltin trying to help Elizabeth, she is lying and hurting everyone else. She is a very appealing character who ultimately gains self-confidence and makes peace with the sister to whom she has always felt inferior. A lighthearted, heartwarming tale ideal for fans of Stephanie Perkins and Jennifer E. Smith.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)