I don’t usually find too many books that I would want to read again figuring you only need to read the book once. Not so with Girls Who Travel. This is one of those books you want to read when you are staying in at night after a day full of sightseeing in another country. One of those type of books that make you want to curl up with a cup of hot chocolate, sitting on the couch, wanting to finish reading it as it is pouring down rain. Come on, I finished reading it and wish I was back at the beginning learning who these characters were; Kika, Lochlon, Aston and even the Benson-Westwood’s of the world.
The author, Nicole Trilivas, gave depth to each character making them flawed which in turn made them appear more real. Seriously, who doesn’t love flawed characters because you don’t want a wooden character leaping off the pages of the book you are reading. You want characters that appeal to you; depending on the type of book you are reading, even characters that help bring you back to a time when you yourself were traveling.
That is how I felt reading parts of this book. From the first page when Kika was reminiscing about her travels; it brought me back to the time I went a week before I realized I forgot to email my mom to let her know I was fine. Or when Kika was thinking, ‘But I only started to get a sense of who I wanted to be when I traveled alone.’ Parts of this book made me feel like I could have said those very same words because Nicole understands what it means to travel. She gets it….
Another one of my favorite excerpts from the book was the part where Kika got it too…. When she realized that ‘And all girls who travel know that it’s not about arriving; it’s the getting there that’s the good part.’ That has become my mantra, per se, because it isn’t about the destination but more about the planning, organizing, and putting everything into the arriving and getting to where you want to go which makes traveling so much fun. More realism on the part of Nicole Trilivas because she started with delving into who Kika thought she was; defined by travel knowing whichever direction she took it would continue to lead her to where she needed to be. Isn’t that what we all want?
Besides travel, which I absolutely love, Nicole threw in the quintessential romance. Lochlon or Aston. I won’t tell but all I can say is I started off liking one, realizing the other one was the better choice for Kika.
What I absolutely loved about the book since it has become one of my favorite ‘independent, solo, travel books of all time:
- I love that Kika was written as an independent person. She didn’t need to rely on anyone else for what she wanted out of life. She knew what she wanted; finding ways to achieve those dreams she set for herself whether it had to do with travel or her website ‘Gypsies & Boxcars’
- For me, a book isn’t complete without this amazing love story tied to it. The love itself could be the main focus or it could be the back drop to the story. It just needs to be there. I felt it was more of the back drop to the story because the story had more to do with Kika finding out who she really was, moreso, than having some man define who she should be.
- I love that this perfect, for her, anyway, job fell into her lap at the time when she needed it. In turn, it opened up another world for her that in a way had to do with travel and in a way didn’t. You will know what I mean when you read the book.
- I love that Kika was there for Mina and Gwen and that she could help them through whatever problems may be going on in their lives. Problem (s) that couldn’t be confided to their parents but to their nanny who was more of a friend or even a big sister than a nanny.
- I love that the story was wrapped up in a nice little bow and that ‘Girls Who Travel’ may find the most exhilarating aspect of travel where they least expect it; in their own backyard or in this case another country.
Don’t take my word for it. This should be on your list of must read books when traveling or when you want to feel as if you have left your own world for a bit to see another.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a free copy of Girls Who Travel from Nicole Trilivas for consideration of review purposes only. This is solely my opinion
