Along the Way
Author: Jacqueline Kolosov
Average Rating: 4.19/5.0
Personal Rating: 4.0/5.0
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Luminis Brooks, Inc.
Release Date: 1 April 2015
According to Goodreads...
Three friends, 33 days, and 500 miles walking the Camino de Santiago add up to one journey they’ll never forget
Piper Rose, Dani Shapiro, and Alexandra ‘Tessa’ Louise De Mille Morrow share a history that goes back to their preschool years in Chicago when their families were still intact. Now Piper lives in Evanston with her divorced dad, her estranged, unstable mother popping in and out of her life at random moments. Meanwhile, Dani’s been living in Santa Fe with a psychologist mom pregnant with her fiancé’s IVF babies. The blueblood Tessa resides on a prominent street in Boston and dreams of a romantic and well-heeled love story like that of her great-grandmother who went to France during World War II. Now that it’s the summer before college, these radically different friends decide to celebrate their history and their future by walking the legendary pilgrimage along the Way of St. James, from the French Pyrenees to the Spanish city of Santiago. Along the way, each young woman must learn to believe in herself as well as in her friends, as their collective journey unfolds into the experience of a lifetime.
Piper Rose, Dani Shapiro, and Alexandra ‘Tessa’ Louise De Mille Morrow share a history that goes back to their preschool years in Chicago when their families were still intact. Now Piper lives in Evanston with her divorced dad, her estranged, unstable mother popping in and out of her life at random moments. Meanwhile, Dani’s been living in Santa Fe with a psychologist mom pregnant with her fiancé’s IVF babies. The blueblood Tessa resides on a prominent street in Boston and dreams of a romantic and well-heeled love story like that of her great-grandmother who went to France during World War II. Now that it’s the summer before college, these radically different friends decide to celebrate their history and their future by walking the legendary pilgrimage along the Way of St. James, from the French Pyrenees to the Spanish city of Santiago. Along the way, each young woman must learn to believe in herself as well as in her friends, as their collective journey unfolds into the experience of a lifetime.
Purchase Links...
My Opinion...
I received a review copy through Novel Publicity Blog Tours, but in no way does that have an impact on my opinion.
Does anyone want to walk the Camino de Santiago with me? Seriously. I have read a few books that have centered around walk a great distance allowing one to have plenty of time to think and reflect about one's self and life. I feel like I would get lonely if I went by myself, and that might be an indication that I'm not ready for a challenge like walking the Camino de Santiago.
While reading Along the Way I felt several different emotions. Awe for the mere fact that Piper, Dani, and Tessa took it upon themselves and decided to walk 500 miles in 33 days. Sympathy when I learned more about their backstories. I couldn't really empathize with any of them, but it was easy to understand where they were coming from. Peace when they all found their reasons and closures for walking the Camino de Santiago.
It was fun reading and following along as the three friends walked the 500 miles. I found the parts where we encountered new characters and cusine to be the most interesting, just because it broke up the constant details of the scenery being described and how their feet hurt.
My biggest pet peeve out of the whole book was how Spanish would be used, but there was no glossary in the back. You're probably like "Meredith, didn't you take Spanish in school?" or "Meredith, why didn't you just google translate it?" Both fair questions. I did take Spanish...well legit Spanish...when I entered high school. The language program at my grade school was a joke. We went through five teachers in one year. I dropped Spanish going into my senior year, because I wanted to take electives I had been looking forward to for a while. Should I have done that looking back now? Probably not. I really didn't feel like taking the time to get my computer or phone out and type it all in to be translated either. I got the gist of what was being said most of the time. My point is I was rusty when I came to the sentences and phrases in Spanish. So...technically...this pet peeve developed due to my lack of being able to stay on top of learning the language.
Otherwise, I enjoyed reading about the journey these three friends took part in together. I think we all at some point in our lives want to go on this big journey with close friends, whether that be driving across the country or backpacking across Europe! I had a lot of fun reading about the sites, cuisine, and the different people and places you encounter. The atmosphere and hospitality in Europe is so different from our own here in the United States that it's refreshing to read about it in order to escape from our reality.
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