Gap Year Girl

September 15, 2015
Though this title may snag bona fide gap-year readers (those seeking a break before college), the U.S. girl here is 55, and she and her husband, Joe, after seeing their last child through college, have given up jobs, home, and possessions for the dream of a lifetimea year to wander through our destinations in search of local color, history, architecture, drink, and food. Hence, steering clear (mainly) of pricey destinations, Bohr and her intrepid husband visit the Pyrenees, Slovenia, and Albania in addition to France, Italy, Holland, and Turkey. A year in France when 21 made Bohr determined to return, and though she notes that many boomers crave and insist on predictability, these two seek out the unknown and find it in locations famous and relatively obscure overseas. Bohr provides a pretrip countdown and schedule, but the majority of the book details the backstories, specialties, and highlights of the places they visited. Bohr's freshly detailed look will satisfy and perhaps intrigue boomers with the time and money (and bravery), and her heartfelt realization, The most important thing in life is to be kind, should resonate with all readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)