Review By Veronica
A Short Walk Through a Wide World is a unique and emotional story that is hard to put down.
Favourite Quote:
The paper is clean and white—she hasn’t drawn her first line—so when the drop of blood falls and makes its little red mark on the page, she freezes. Her pencil hovers in her hand. Her heart, like it always does, gives her chest an extra kick. She drops the pencil. Hand, like a reflex, goes to her nose. She feels the wetness creeping through her sinuses, tastes the brine in the back of her throat. It’s a trickle now, no more than a nosebleed, but in moments it will be much worse—and here, of all places, just as she’d sat down.
It’s too soon. It’s bad luck. She’d hoped to sleep in a real bed tonight, not hammocks or hard ground, and in the morning have a bath, a proper bath in warm water, with soap.
Goodreads Synopsis:
Paris, 1885: Aubry Tourvel, a spoiled and stubborn nine-year-old girl, comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school. She tosses it over the fence, only to find it in her backpack that evening. Days later, at the family dinner table, she starts to bleed to death.
When medical treatment only makes her worse, she flees to the outskirts of the city, where she realizes that it is this very act of movement that keeps her alive. So begins her lifelong journey on the run from her condition, which won’t allow her to stay anywhere for longer than a few days nor return to a place where she’s already been.
From the scorched dunes of the Calashino Sand Sea to the snow-packed peaks of the Himalayas; from a bottomless well in a Parisian courtyard, to the shelves of an infinite underground library, we follow Aubry as she learns what it takes to survive and ultimately, to truly live. But the longer Aubry wanders and the more desperate she is to share her life with others, the clearer it becomes that the world she travels through may not be quite the same as everyone else’s…
Fiercely independent and hopeful, yet full of longing, Aubry Tourvel is an unforgettable character fighting her way through a world of wonders to find a place she can call home. A spellbinding and inspiring story about discovering meaning in a life that seems otherwise impossible, A Short Walk Through a Wide World reminds us that it’s not the destination, but rather the journey—no matter how long it lasts—that makes us who we are.
What a gorgeous and emotional story. The premise of this book instantly piqued my interest. The story follows the journey of Aubry, who realizes as a child that she is inflicted with this terrible disease. Essentially, if she stays in one place for too long, she will die. How can that not capture your attention? I really enjoyed the flow of this book. It’s beautifully written, and the author knows how to tug at those heartstrings. Many bookworms have been comparing this story to books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and Life with Pi.
This story is this sweeping, magical adventure that captured my attention right from the beginning. I’m a bookworm who loves to travel, so visiting so many different places with Aubry was an interesting and fabulous experience. The author does a beautiful job of transporting readers to these places through lush and vivid descriptions. I really loved Aubry and her journey. The life that she has to live is incredibly fascinating and also heart-wrenching. On the one hand, she travels all over the world and has experienced many amazing things. She has met and made friends with a lot of wonderful people. But on the other hand, Aubry’s life is very lonely. She is constantly on the move, so those friendships she has made don’t last, and she can’t build those deep connections she craves. She wants a home but can’t have one. Her isolation and loneliness just leaps from the pages and right into your heart. This story was just so powerful at times.
A Short Walk Through a Wide World is a beautiful and captivating story that is hard to forget.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
