Customer Reviews

The Wanderer

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Sharon Creech has a special ability to touch the hearts of young girls. This is a story in which she uses several writing techniques to tell a poignant and powerful story of one young girl searching for her place in the world, and coming to terms with her difficult past. The story is particularly effective in the use of dual diaries, written by Sophie and her cousin Cody, which give the reader two revealing perspectives on the past and the present. Also delightful was the writing technique of Sophie's stories - told with a fable-like eloquence - of her 'memories' of a beloved grandfather. As an adult, I had serious questions aout the wisdom of the decisions made by the adults in the book (allowing Sophie to undertake the cross-Atlantic sail in the first place, not dealing with Sophie's inability to understand and accept her history)but the story is one that speaks well to the imagination and spirit of adventure of young girls. The Wanderer is an excellent choice for Mother/Daughter groups, with many opportunities for discussion on the craft of writing, and the importance of finding one's place in the spectrum of family and the world.

A Young girl becomes enthralled with the sea.. a trip with her relatives to go see her grandfather. Stories they don't think she could ever know about him - she does. Yet Her own story she doesn't know - and the adults seem to be reluctant to tell it. A trip they don't think that they will survive they do. Each with a story to tell.

The book told from journal entries by two of the main characters is an effective way to tell it. You get to see what each is feeling - what they think the others are feeling... How they react to what each one does - the different points of view of the same events.

The big storm they survive through...

The lost loves discovered and then lost again?

The secrets of the family revealed and solutions found.

This book I would put at the top of the reading pile by the side of my bed. Finish what you are reading and be sure to start this one next. I've read it twice in the past couple of days to make sure I caught all the details... All the thoughts and all the feelings.

Report on The Wanderer By: Sharon Creech

Do you dare to sail across the ocean? Sophie,her three uncles, and two cousins sail across the ocean on a sailboat to Ireland seeking their grandfather, Bompie. Along the way they stop at cool places, where they explore and discover. They also meet neat people who tell them incredible stories about their lives or scary stories about the island they were on. And they find out things about each other they never new before,like what happened to Sophie's parents and that their uncle Dock wanted to be an artist before he went to college. I give The Wanderer five stars because The Wanderer is a great book and the writing style is very unique and neat. This book is set up as two dog logs Sophie and one of her cousins wrote on the sail boat. I think that the way the book is set up makes it more fun to read and more exciting. The Wanderer is my new favorite book!

Book Report By: Alyssa R.

The Wanderer
In this book there is two main characters; Sophie and Cody. They are cousins but of different gene pools. Sophie was adopted when she was little. She's what you would call a three sided person. One side is dreamy and romantic, another side is logical and down to earth, and the other side is hard headed and impulsive. Cody, on the other hand, is very frivolous. He always was fooling around and didn't take things seriously.
Sophie was always dreaming of sailing across the ocean. When her Uncle Dock (Sophie's favorite) told her that she could go with him on a journey across the ocean to see his father, Bompie, Sophie plead to her parents. Her mother decided to let her go knowing she would be safe. When Sophie set off, she didn't know what she was dealing with. On her trip everybody had to teach the crew something. Sophie told stories that she heard from Bompie when she was little. Cody, the knuckle head, showed juggling. Everybody else (Sophie's Uncles and other cousins) taught sailing. But nobody knew about the fierce storm ahead.
I find it very unique that Sharon Creech writes the book from a different point of view. She had you read from Sophie's and Cody's journals. Sometimes things are repeated but I like her style because it's different. I would recommend this book to anybody. It is exciting and you'll never want to put it down. I usually don't like these kind of books but this was great.

This is a great book, with some mystery in it! Sophie is 13, and is going to England to visit Bompie, her grandfather, on a small boat, 'The Wanderer'. Accompanying her, are her 3 uncles, Mo, Stuart and Dock. Also, her 2 cousins, Cody and Brian. The book is Sophie and Cody's journal entries. I liked Cody's best, he was funny. There is one bad word in the book, one of the uncles, Stew, I think, says the Lord's name in vain, but that was the only objectionable part in the book. Sharon Creech wrote very well, and the journal entries are exactly like what 2 13 year olds would write. A very good book!

The Wanderer has to be my favorite book of Sharon Creech's. If you love the sea, sailing, fishing or swimmming, marine life or any sea animal then you'll love this book. The book has Sophie's and Cody's journals of their journey on the sea. It is especially neat to see what Cody writes about Sophie and what Sophie writes about Cody. Everyone in the story has a distinct character. This book is a must read! It is also not very hard to get through, the print is rather large and I read it in only two days! It really shows the ups and downs of a sailor's life!

The beginning of The Wanderer was slow. It admit that at first I thought the book was boring. A bunch of brothers and cousins fixed a ship and went out to sea. Well, after I got about half-way into the book I realized it was much more than that. Sharon Creech describes the ocean, how it feels, how it looks, how it smells, so well, you actually feel like you're on the ship yourself. As this book is told from diary entries of two teenaged cousins, it is not hard to follow. Reading the two cousin's descriptions of life aboard the Wanderer, their ship, is very interseting as they have extremely different personalities. Toward the end, when the ship and its crew finally reach their destination, it is more emotional than any other part of the book. It makes the reader realize the plot and the history of one character that was a total mystery until now. The wonderful descriptions and extrememly moving experiences for the characters and the reader make this book an incredibly wonderful and amazing read for any book lover.

It's a shame when a book like this is marked ages "8-12" because I'm afraid it keeps the very people (those of us who are supposedly Grown Ups) who may most need to read it from ever giving it a try. This is a wonderful book. The format is extremely appealing (journal entries that bounce between Sophie and her cousin Cody), and helps to set up early on a question that keeps the reader wondering until the end. The author uses enough words to give the feeling of being on the ocean, without bludgering the reader with overly descriptive passages. The ending is unexpected and moving. After this and Walk Two Moons, I'm off to read Sharon Creech's other works. I recommend this to everyone.

I have been a fan of Sharon Creech ever since i read Walk two moons but this one was probaly the best. I really liked having the point of view of Sopie and then of Cody. It made it much deeper. This is basically a story about Sopie coming to realize what her life really is and her trying to pull out of the world that she created for herself to ignore her loses. Sophie has to do this well dealing with her lazy uncle, and his charming son, and her way too organized other uncle and his son. It was a great book.

I love all of Sharon Creech's books, I have been waiting for a new book to come out. I liked the Characters in this book and how they think. my Fav. book is Chasing red bird because I love Zinny and how she was so much differnt from her other brothers and sisters. Well this book is just as good as all the others and I recomend it as a good read.