My rating:

add to my books

The Wanderer

by Sharon Creech, David Diaz (cover art)

3.78 · rating details · 3,481 ratings · 358 reviews

Thirteen-year-old Sophie and her cousin Cody record their transatlantic crossing aboard the Wanderer, a forty-five foot sailboat, which, along with uncles and another cousin, is en route to visit their grandfather in England.

Library Binding, 305 pages

Published by HarperCollins (first published April 28th 2000)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists. Add this book to your favorite list »

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 4,586)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Mar 09, 2011

Josiah rated it

· review of another edition

A family mystery, dealing with the enigmas of one girl's past, set before the ominous backdrop of the romantic high seas...What could be more enticing than that?

The Wanderer really isn't as much a complex mystery as I had thought from reading the book's description, however. What lies at stake in these three hundred five pages is less about unraveling a mystery after following numerous leads to nowhere and then finally hitting upon the hot trail that begins an exciting endgame...more A family mystery, dealing with the enigmas of one girl's past, set before the ominous backdrop of the romantic high seas...What could be more enticing than that?

The Wanderer really isn't as much a complex mystery as I had thought from reading the book's description, however. What lies at stake in these three hundred five pages is less about unraveling a mystery after following numerous leads to nowhere and then finally hitting upon the hot trail that begins an exciting endgame, and more a matter of listening to the outpouring of a girl's fearful, fragile mind, and the facts about the permanent exit of her parents that she wants to keep under wraps, hiding them even from herself. Sophie is a strong, independent, wonderfully abled person who has many skills that set her apart from the rest of her adopted family, but even one so sure has to have a central weak spot.

Set in modern times, thirteen-year-old Sophie embarks with her three uncles and two cousins on a seafaring voyage across the Atlantic, from the United States all the way to the magnificent coasts of the UK. Their mode of transport, however, is no luxury cruise liner. Sophie and her extended family are making the trip in a traditional ship powered primarily by the wind in its sails, which can carry only a few necessary assorted acknowledgements of the technological age in which it rides. Just as in the centuries of sea travel's prime, dangers from element and creature loom in the waters through which the ship glides, dangers that seem so insignificant while land is in view, but have the lurking potential to grow and grow and grow once the sight of firm soil has become a distant memory.

With only six people to run a ship, Sophie knows that all of the crew members must be capable of saving the lives of the others, while also each feeling sure that everyone else aboard is equally capable. Sophie measures up well in this regard; her physical skills and maritime knowledge make her easily an invaluable part of the crew, capable of some things that none of the others could ever match. It's Sophie's thirteen-year-old cousin, Cody (who acts as the co-first-person narrator for this novel), who doesn't necessarily seem able to carry his end of the deal. Tensions mount between Cody and his father, Cody and his uncles, and Cody and his older cousin, Brian, as the voyage begins and their ship, christened The Wanderer, makes its way through the initially calm waters.

The sea can be a terrifying place, but there's more to Sophie's on again/off again aquatic fear than all of the crew realizes. While learning to adjust to life lived on the rolling glass of the ocean, Cody wonders why it is that Sophie wants so badly to see her adopted grandfather, Bompie, as he nears the end of his life in England. Sophie has never met Bompie before, having been adopted into the family only three years back. How does she know so many stories about the old man, stories with which her uncles aren't even familiar in more than little bits and pieces? How does the death of Sophie's parents fit into the puzzle, a tragic loss that Cody has been told very little about?

Friction is common in the early days of the trip, but the expedition is not to be a short or easy one. As the ship heads toward Ireland, still with nothing but water stretching to the limits of every horizon, a continuous blast of horrific storms begins to rock the boat, and suddenly the five passengers will need to muster every bit of their guile and will just to survive. It is under these circumstances that they all finally work together, as can only be brought about by such extreme, prolonged hardship, braving the awesome storm side-by-side in a waterlogged world of seemingly unending discomfort, pain and nausea.

When it's time, when we have come to know all of the characters well enough to be prepared for it, we find out the multi-tiered secrets of Sophie's past. There's nothing earth-shattering to be learned, but in some ways I guess that the truth is made up from parts that an attentive reader could have pieced together all along on the journey, strung together like pearls on a necklace; and when that's finished, Sophie is still Sophie and Cody is still Cody, courageous young sailors who have proved that their own personal toughness lies in more than simple seafaring knowhow and execution.

The Wanderer is told by way of alternating journal entries, a format successfully utilized by author Sharon Creech on a number of occasions. What really raises the story up to its admirably high level of success are the awe-inspiring scenes of when the ship first enters the storm's heart of darkness, when the fear of mammoth, totally overwhelming waves shifts from a mild apprehension to an absolute certainty, when cataclysm grinds its way unflinchingly straight into the boat and shows us what it's really like to be trapped in the power of nature's wrath. The descriptive prose throughout this time in the story is jaw-dropping in its intensity, better than I could have realistically expected; I could practically feel the aching cold and the merciless weariness, and even the eventual hopelessness of Sophie and her crew, almost as if I had actually joined them out there on the ocean. It is powerful, powerful stuff, and probably the reason why the book was awarded a Newbery Honor citation for 2001.

I would say that The Wanderer measures up well to the other lauded volumes authored by Sharon Creech over the years. The story is expansive and well-written, and the characters are treated even-handedly and with much individual care. I would probably give the full three stars to this book.
(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 02, 2012

Olivia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: drama

She is hard to change the mind of, he can be bossy and only bossy but is very smart , he can only laugh at himself or make a joke out of everything. This is Sophie, Braian, and Cody plus there's also all the dads. (except sophies her mom is there sister so there dad I guess wasn't invited or didn't come along.) sophie is concurring her dream..... to sail a boat across the world. All she wants is sea life that's who or what she is comfortable with. Brain is bossy, he makes lists and criticizes e...more

· see review

Nov 27, 2011

Sue rated it

· review of another edition

A good adventure story of and especially for a young girl.

Thirteen-year-old Sophie is the only girl amongst the surly crew of The Wanderer made up of her three uncles and two cousins. They sail across the Atlantic toward England, the land of Bompie, her grandfather. The sea calls to Sophie -- promising adventure and the chance to explore and discover. But the personal journey she takes brings her deeper into a forgotten past than she ever knew she could travel to.

Sophie's thi...more

· see review

Nov 09, 2011

Johnny rated it

· review of another edition

Title: The Wanderer

Genre: Contemporary Realism

Summary: Sophie, a 14 year old, is the only girl in a sailboat crew that is attempting to sail across the ocean to England. Plagued by nightmares of a large wave that comes crashing down upon her, Sophie wrestles with frightening memories of her parents as she tries to come to terms with her forgotten past.

A. This critique addresses the theme of the adaptability of the human mind to cope with grief and tragedy to ...more Title: The Wanderer

Genre: Contemporary Realism

Summary: Sophie, a 14 year old, is the only girl in a sailboat crew that is attempting to sail across the ocean to England. Plagued by nightmares of a large wave that comes crashing down upon her, Sophie wrestles with frightening memories of her parents as she tries to come to terms with her forgotten past.

A. This critique addresses the theme of the adaptability of the human mind to cope with grief and tragedy to allow us to live normal and happy lives without going insane. Sophie has suffered a mysterious tragedy involving her parents that she not only represses, but transfers these past experiences onto other people. This allows her to continue to believe that her life is fine and everything is normal.

B. While everyone around Sophie is aware that she is an orphan, Sophie only acknowledges her real parents through the recollection of dreams, or recalling short stories about tragedies that happened to a little girl. For example, Sophie had a nightmare about a little kid on the beach being rescued by her mother from being washed away by a huge wave (pg 165). And, Sophie says that everywhere the little kid goes, people ask what the little kid remembers about the grown-ups who have gone away to that beautiful place, but the little kid does not want to remember that painful thing pg 231). Sophie's grandfather, Bompie, told her tales of how he occasionally fell into the water as a youth, however, when Sophie recalls these stories she includes near drowning experiences that never really happened to the grandfather (pg 156-157). It is not until Sophie's re-encounter with her grandfather that Sophie accepts her past and is able to really live in the present. The story has a strong psychological component where the main character battles with what is real and why she has recurrent nightmares, however, the pace of the story is slow, and there is a lack of a strong build up of tension or suspense, only mild curiosity.

C. Curriculum connection: Psychology classes addressing topics of coping with grief, transference, repression, projection, and self-defense mechanisms. ROTC naval classes addressing the knots used on boats, and nautical terminology.
(less)

· see review

Aug 20, 2011

Margaret added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2008, newbery_medal

I liked this book a lot - I am fond of stories with strong female characters. And I did think Sophie was strong and mature with a mind of her own. But not too strong to show some vulnerability at times. Part of her growing up was trying to deal with the difficulties of the past - I didn't feel like she really acknowledged/accepted her past well enough to the degree where she could move on without continuing to deny it in her mind but she made a good start.

I also liked the characters...more

· see review

Jan 04, 2011

KidsFiction Teton County Library rated it

· review of another edition

J CREECH

Debbie-4 stars

"The sea. The sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in. Come in."

These are the words of Sophie, a young gal who is the predominant voice in the book, The Wanderer, which is actually the name of the boat Sophie and 5 men use to sail across the ocean.

Their destinationn on the boat is to England to see Bompie, who is the father of the 3 brothers and the grandfather of the 2 younger boys. Who is Bompie to...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Dec 08, 2010

Chris Murray rated it

· review of another edition

Creech, Sharon. The Wanderer (2000)
The sea has always called to 13 year old Sophie so she is determined to sail across the Atlantic in the 45 foot sailboat, The Wanderer, with her 3 uncles and 2 cousins on a trip to visit her grandfather, Bompie, who lives in England. Sophie has many stories about Bompie that she shares with the crew – surprising stories because Sophie has never met Bompie. She was adopted and has only been in the family for 3 years although she refuses to acknowledge t...more

· see review

Feb 21, 2010

Faith rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, timeless, recently-re-read

This has been one of my all time favorite books since I was maybe seven or eight. I've at least liked all of Sharon Creech's books, but this is the one I truly loved and has stuck with me ever since I read it for the first time. I found Sophie the only main character Creech has written that I was not annoyed by. The others all seem the same to me. Sophie, while maybe just as unreasonable as many of the other characters from other books, is very easy to relate to and her character is one you can'...moreThis has been one of my all time favorite books since I was maybe seven or eight. I've at least liked all of Sharon Creech's books, but this is the one I truly loved and has stuck with me ever since I read it for the first time. I found Sophie the only main character Creech has written that I was not annoyed by. The others all seem the same to me. Sophie, while maybe just as unreasonable as many of the other characters from other books, is very easy to relate to and her character is one you can't help falling in love with. I don't think there's a single person in The Wanderer I don't enjoy reading. Normally I find Creech's protagonists to be selfish and unreal (Yet for some inexplicable reason I DO like them). Sophie was called selfish several times in the book, but I decided that she made up for any of her selfishness by making me smile almost every page and showing everyone else how amazing the littlest things can be. I could really relate to how she's drawn to yet afraid of the ocean (Like Sophie, I've had recurring nightmares about the sea for years) and her casual denial of the past was certainly something I've done before, though not to the extent she took it to.
Cody is probably one of my earliest fictional crushes. I think I've been in love with him for about six and a half years, and when I re-read this book last night, I fell even harder for him. I think we can safely call him my soul mate.

I think another big difference in this book was there weren't many things that sounded just plain silly. Especially in Bloomability (though it was a nice read) her dreams just sounded ridiculous. In The Wanderer, maybe just because I've had similar dreams, they just seemed so much more realistic to what most people dream about.
And the writing. Did I mention the writing? Her writing is so to-the-point and clear, it never drags on, but it's still beautiful and poignant.

So this book gets placed on the shelf right next to the Book Thief and 13 Reasons Why, because while very different, they are all among the few books that have made me cry AND really think about life.

Very well done, Creech.

(Oh, one last comment... would people GET BOMPIE'S NICKNAME RIGHT? BOMPIE. B-O-M-P-I-E. BOMPIE. IF you love him so much, at least have the decency to remember his name.)

(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Sep 09, 2009

Alexa SOF2014 rated it

· review of another edition

The Wave by, Todd Strasser is about a teacher named Ben Ross who makes an experiment to show the kids in his class what it was really like to be a Nazi. In beginning of the book Mr. Ross shows the kids a movie about the Holocaust. This was shocking and horrifying for them. Mr. Ross explains to the class that only ten percent of the population was Nazi’s at this time but everyone was afraid to stand up to the leader, Adolf Hitler. The next day he writes STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE on the blackboa...more

· see review

Jan 03, 2010

Beth rated it

· review of another edition

Traditional Sharon Creech - the journey theme. In this case, orphaned Sophie takes off on a sea adventure from Connecticut to England with her 3 uncles and two cousins. Together the motley crew repairs the Wanderer and sets off to England to see Bumpie, the father of the uncles, and grandfather of the cousins. Each take a turn not only at each job in the ship, but also at narrating; Cody, a wisecracker, gives us all the details about Sophie that she purposefully leaves out. Everyone has to teach...more

· see review

Jul 28, 2011

Adriane Devries rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-fiction

This novel for young adults was a gentle, sweet read for me, so reminiscent of my own childhood spent sailing all weekends and holidays with my parents. In these pages you too can enjoy a marvelously visceral ocean adventure, with salty sea air you can feel in the back of your throat, dolphins skimming playfully alongside, mystical whale sightings, and a rollicking storm at sea—all from the dysfunctional safety of the Wanderer, a marvelously flawed, always-needing-repair sailboat that perfectly ...more

· see review

Jun 25, 2011

Elizabeth rated it

· review of another edition

I thought that The Wanderer, by Sharon Creech was a wonderful book. It was about a girl named Sophie who is an orphan. She goes on a boat with her "uncles" and "cousins". She goes on the long journey to see her grandfather who lives in Ireland. The book shows Sophie's quest to figure out who she really is, as she has made up a whole new life for herself and "forgotten" her past (in which her parents die.) She starts telling stories about her grandfather or "...more

· see review

Jan 16, 2009

Tammy rated it

· review of another edition

This is a beautiful YS story, essentially about coping with grief, in all of it's forms, and an innocent yearning, by each of the characters to feel needed, wanted, and useful. Sophie is an endearing young character, who you initially feel is lying to get attention, and then as the story unweaves it's little secrets, Sharon Creech once again takes what it "looks" like and shows you what is really under the memories and the journey her young women must take to come to terms with a tragi...more

· see review

Sep 16, 2011

Sophia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya

A very quick read that went in an entirely unexpected direction. I was expecting something related to self-discovery and maturation (since they're sailing across the Atlantic and confined trips like that usually lead to "growing up quickly due to desperate circumstances") and I was only partially right: the characters do sort of "grow up" but there are a lot of other factors at play. Creech manages to fit in backstories for each character (although it helps that the cast is p...more

· see review

Jul 23, 2011

Kristin added it · review of another edition

Didn't hook me--but then again, I'm an adult now. Walk Two Moons was my most favorite book for much of my early adolescence, and still when I read it again I find it very rich, layered, and amazing. I didn't get past the beginning of this one, though, mostly because my disbelief wasn't suspended that this 13 year old girl "had to" sail the sea. Maybe the reasons why she "had to" were upcoming, I don't know. I just thought that since sailing the ocean is a pretty time, cost, a...more

· see review

Dec 12, 2011

Katie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-16-30

The Wanderer is the story of a teenager named Sophie who goes on a transatlantic boat trip with her three uncles and two boy cousins. They are on their way to go visit their grandfather, Bompie. On the way they have lots of adventures and Sophie learns more about herself. The Wanderer is told in "dog-log" format and switches back and forth from the point of view of Sophie and her cousin Cody.
I really enjoyed this book. It caught me from page 1 where Sophie talks about how she ...more

· see review

Jul 29, 2010

Amber Officer rated it

· review of another edition

13 yr. old Sophie goes on a trip from Connecticut to England in a ship called The Wanderer with three uncles and two cousins. Along the way, each of the characters' lives unfold, and Sophie's past life slowly reveals itself. Written from the point of view of Sophie and her cousin Cody's travel logs. I gave this book a 4 because although it has good characters and foreshadowing, the author fails to give a sense of significance to the story. It's a bit too stream-of-consciousness, and leaves t...more

· see review

Oct 24, 2011

04EmmaC rated it

· review of another edition

The Wanderer
By Sharon Creech

“The smell of the sea, the feel of the wind on your face and your arms, the flapping of the sails - oh, it was magic!” This is how thirteen year old Sophie feels when she is on a boat, just like me! You can probably guess why I liked this book - I can totally relate to Sophie’s personality and how she feels!

Sophie, two of her cousins (Brian and Cody), and a few of her uncles make the journey all the way across the ocean on a sailboat....moreThe Wanderer
By Sharon Creech

“The smell of the sea, the feel of the wind on your face and your arms, the flapping of the sails - oh, it was magic!” This is how thirteen year old Sophie feels when she is on a boat, just like me! You can probably guess why I liked this book - I can totally relate to Sophie’s personality and how she feels!

Sophie, two of her cousins (Brian and Cody), and a few of her uncles make the journey all the way across the ocean on a sailboat. Sophie writes in her journal about how much she loves the ocean (which I can totally relate to), but also has conflict within herself about finding who she really is. Her parents drowned when she was very young, and she tries to make herself believe that her adoptive parents are her birth parents, but Sophie’s cousins and uncles try to make her see that they are not. Life on the sailboat is hard, but Sophie loves learning about the boat and the ocean. Eventually, everyone on the boat finds out that Uncle Dock, one of Sophie’s uncles is in love with Rosalie, a woman he has not seen in years. When they arrive in England, Uncle Dock finds Rosalie and they fall in love with each other even more. In the end, Sophie learns to like herself and accept that she is an orphan.

I liked this book because I can relate to how Sophie feels, because our personalities are a lot alike, and we both love the sea. At the beginning of almost every journal entry, she writes: “The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolls and rolls and calls to me. Come in, it says, come in.” Like Sophie, I love the sea. It seems to call to me and tell me to come in. Also, Sophie and I are both a little nervous about boats. At the beginning, she is excited to get to travel on a boat, but when she is actually on it, the storms start to make her nervous. That is exactly how I am!

I would recommend this book to young adults or older children. It does not have a mature subject, so it is easy to understand and the vocabulary is simple. This book caught my attention right from the first page because of the likeness between Sophie and I and our love of the ocean. Although I really liked this book, the plot was not absolutely exhilarating, so I would not recommend The Wanderer to someone who needs an action-packed adventure story. I loved the theme of this book, which teaches that learning to accept yourself and your personality will help you through trials and help you learn to like yourself for who you are.
(less)

· see review

Mar 07, 2010

Julie rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: People who like adventure books

Recommended to Julie by: Danielle

Shelves: book-club, realistic-people, danielle-recomended

I really enjoyed this book. I had to read it for a book club that my friends had started last year. It was a story of a girl named Sophie who enjoys sailing. When her three uncles and two of her uncles sons decide to go on a sailing trip across the Atlantic to England to go visit her "Boppie", Sophie can't wait to go with them. One of Sophie's uncles believes that Sophie may be better than her two cousins, Brian and Cody at sailing and Cody shares that opinion. However, Brian, his fa...more I really enjoyed this book. I had to read it for a book club that my friends had started last year. It was a story of a girl named Sophie who enjoys sailing. When her three uncles and two of her uncles sons decide to go on a sailing trip across the Atlantic to England to go visit her "Boppie", Sophie can't wait to go with them. One of Sophie's uncles believes that Sophie may be better than her two cousins, Brian and Cody at sailing and Cody shares that opinion. However, Brian, his father and Sophie's uncle Stew don't think that Sophie is ready to endure a hard life at sea. Sophie, Cody and Brian go through many things in order to sail all the way to England safely and Sophie isn't exactly warmly welcomed on the ship (except of course for Cody and her one uncle whom she claims to be her favorite people on the ship).
The only thing that I did not enjoy about this book was the fact that Sophie and Cody kept switching parts. In one chapter Sophie would be the narrator and the next Cody and so on. I think that this would have been okay, if only the author didn't give completely different facts in the different chapters. For example, Sophie would tell stories about Boppie and act as if her parents were her birth parents and she would just say that Boppie told her the stories. This was totally believable until Cody said that Sophie was adopted and that she had never met Boppie. They gave completly different facts and I found myself skipping over some of Sophie's chapters and liking Cody more and more, because he actually started to make more sense than Sophie did. At one point durring the book, I asked my friend Danielle, who had already finished it what was wrong with Sophie. I started to think up things like she was completly crazy and had no idea that she didn't really know this person. It did become clear in the end, don't make this stop you from reading it, it was a really good book, but I got very confused with Cody's and Sophie's contradicting thoughts and words. However, all in all I enjoyed the book and would recomend it to everybody out there who loves adventure and action packed books.(less)

· see review

May 09, 2009

Story Revolution added it · review of another edition

In a starred review of this Newbery Honor book, PW wrote, "Like Walk Two Moons, this intimate novel poetically connects journey with self-discovery. Creech once again captures the ebb and flow of a vulnerable teen's emotional life, in this enticing blend of adventure and reflection.""I am not always such a dreamy girl, listening to the sea calling me. My father calls me Three-sided Sophie: one side is dreamy and romantic; one is logical and down-to-earth; and the third side is har...moreIn a starred review of this Newbery Honor book, PW wrote, "Like Walk Two Moons, this intimate novel poetically connects journey with self-discovery. Creech once again captures the ebb and flow of a vulnerable teen's emotional life, in this enticing blend of adventure and reflection.""I am not always such a dreamy girl, listening to the sea calling me. My father calls me Three-sided Sophie: one side is dreamy and romantic; one is logical and down-to-earth; and the third side is hardheaded and impulsive."Thirteen-year-old Sophie, skipping between "dreamland or earthland or muleland," hears the sea calling her. Much to the concern of her adopted parents, she decides to join her uncles and male cousins on a sailing voyage from Connecticut across the Atlantic to England (and her grandfather Bompie) on a 45-foot sailboat. Not only does she want to make the trip, she feels she has to.This perilous cross-Atlantic journey will make young readers feel the wind in their hair and the salt spray on their face. Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech (Walk Two Moons) describes the sailing experience with astonishing precision--from the smell of the sea to the intricate workings of The Wanderer itself.Along the way, Sophie proves her bravery and competence to the rather grumpy all-male crew; intrigues and captivates her cousin Cody with her beautiful, odd stories of Bompie that always somehow end in underwater disaster and apple pie; and spills her heart into a daily journal. Readers get another angle on her, too, as Cody keeps a log that alternates with hers. He grows to know, and like, and wonder about, his new cousin Sophie along with the reader, and as her mysterious past reveals itself bit by bit, we are all right there on the edge of our seats, ready for the boom to crash over to the other side.Sophie's adventures take her not only straight into perilous waves higher than buildings, but deep into her hidden past. This profound, suspenseful novel will pull you into its swift current and barely let you surface for breath.(less)

· see review

Nov 02, 2008

Wfbcreeds rated it

· review of another edition

Thirteen-year-old Sophie, skipping between "dreamland or earthland or muleland," hears the sea calling her. Much to the concern of her adopted parents, she decides to join her uncles and male cousins on a sailing voyage from Connecticut across the Atlantic to England (and her grandfather Bompie) on a 45-foot sailboat. Not only does she want to make the trip, she feels she has to.
This perilous cross-Atlantic journey will make young readers feel the wind in their hair and the salt...more

· see review

Oct 11, 2008

Heather rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to Heather by: hillary

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

· see review

Jul 11, 2008

Kathryn rated it

· review of another edition

I love this book! I believe I've read it 9 times, and now I'm reading it again! Sharon Creech's writing style is wonderful. She describes ordinary things like waves and boats with a magical quality. I love how Sophie is able to discover things about herself, her past, and her other shipmates, all while traveling across the ocean and making her way to "Bompie." The story is told from the journals of Sophie and her cousin Cody. I love Sophie's poetic entries, with wonder and myster...more

· see review

Jul 13, 2008

Kristine rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: newbery-honors, i-own

I thought this was a good book, took a few chapters for me to get into it . . . it's about a girl who sails across the ocean with 3 uncles and 2 cousins. It's interesting how they have one of the cousins provide another point of view. The one thing that kept bugging me was I was trying to figure out the ages of all of the kids - it seemed like she thought and acted like a 9-10 year old but the cousin who is "checked out by girls" is definitely a teenager. It kindof bugged me that it...more

· see review

Feb 29, 2008

Raylynn 8-3 rated it

· review of another edition

The Wanderer is about a young girl who is invited to spend her summer sailing across the ocean with her two cousins and three uncles. Sophie was her name, and she loves the ocean even though it killed her birth parents. No one really wanted her to come on this voyage but her Uncle Dock to pitty on her or so her know-it-all cousin Brian thinks so, but not Cody he likes Sophie. The voyage was to go see Bompie, their grandfather in England. Sophie was so excited to go, her parents had her write a d...more

· see review

Nov 03, 2010

Melee rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, wishlist

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Sharon Creech? Because I do... ever so much!
I don't know what it is about the way she tells her stories, but I just love them.

Here's one quote from "The Wanderer" I especially loved:
"I am not always such a dreamy girl, listening to the sea calling me. My father calls me Three-sided Sophie: one side is dreamy and romantic; one is logical and down-to-earth; and the third side is hardheaded and impulsive."

...more

· see review

Feb 06, 2010

moe rated it

· review of another edition

The sea, the sea, the sea. It tells Sophie to come in and have fun. When Sophie goes wandering with her uncles and cousins, she meets an adventure.
The pictures were only drawn by black and white but beautiful. The stories were wonderfully described and could imagine that you were there with Sophie in the sky blue ocean under the sky with golden sun shining over you or inside a very sick fog like a tiger feet. I can't believe how greatfull I am to be on land. A place you would be happy to b...more

· see review

Dec 12, 2010

Erin Mahollitz rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature

Like "Walk Two Moons," there is a mystery in this book. Slowly, throughout the story you piece together the story of Sophie's childhood. The Wanderer is told through the perspective of two cousins on a boat as they sail across the Atlantic. I love the child-centered nature of the narrative. Some chapters are powerfully short. The prose is amazing! Descriptive and also poetic. Great character development as well.

Themes: perseverance, grief, moving on, family, perseveranc...more

· see review

May 18, 2010

Cara rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: ya-lit

Sophie and her three uncles and two cousins decided to sail from Connecticut to Ireland, to visit their grandfather Bompie whose health is failing. Told by the journal entries of Sophie and her cousin Cody, the reader is taken in by their adventures and excitement. However, this book contains more than it appears on the surface. Sophie is an orphan, and the people she travels with are not her biological family--but she acts fully convinced that they are. In this story Creech explores what it mea...more

· see review

Oct 20, 2011

Ellen rated it

· review of another edition

I have like Creech's work in the past and I can tell that _The Wanderer_ is solid in its use of language. I can also see how it was chosen for a Newberry award because it attempts to be much more than just another children's book. All this is true. But I just couldn't get into it. At first, I enjoyed the author's use of language. I could feel the rocking of the boat on the sea, the sea, the sea. I was disappointed, however, that I never connected with the characters. I never felt as if I ...more

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 152 153 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Boring?	11	40	Jan 31, 2012 10:01am
What's The Name o...: MG book about a girl and a ship [s]	11	62	Jan 23, 2012 03:22pm
cool book	1	15	Nov 22, 2008 02:43pm

combine
Other Editions (32)

More editions...

Genres

Young Adult

64 users

Adventure

24 users

Childrens

21 users

Realistic Fiction

18 users

Childrens > Juvenile

10 users

Young Adult > Teen

8 users

Contemporary

7 users

Young Adult > Coming Of Age

5 users

Adult

4 users

Childrens > Chapter Books

4 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

Getting Near to Baby
by Audrey Couloumbis
Our Only May Amelia
by Jennifer L. Holm
The Winter Room
by Gary Paulsen
Yolonda's Genius
by Carol Fenner
Show Way
by Jacqueline Woodson

About Sharon Creech

I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only fu...more I was born in South Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up there with my noisy and rowdy family: my parents (Ann and Arvel), my sister (Sandy), and my three brothers (Dennis, Doug and Tom).
For a fictional view of what it was like growing up in my family, see Absolutely Normal Chaos. (In that book, the brothers even have the same names as my own brothers.) Our house was not only full of us Creeches, but also full of friends and visiting relatives.
In the summer, we usually took a trip, all of us piled in a car and heading out to Wisconsin or Michigan or, once, to Idaho. We must have been a very noisy bunch, and I'm not sure how our parents put up with being cooped up with us in the car for those trips. The five-day trip out to Idaho when I was twelve had a powerful effect on me: what a huge and amazing country! I had no idea then that thirty-some years later, I would recreate that trip in a book called Walk Two Moons.
One other place we often visited was Quincy, Kentucky, where my cousins lived (and still live) on a beautiful farm, with hills and trees and swimming hole and barn and hayloft. We were outside running in those hills all day long, and at night we'd gather on the porch where more stories would be told. I loved Quincy so much that it has found its way into many of my books--transformed into Bybanks, Kentucky. Bybanks appears in Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird and Bloomability. Bybanks also makes a brief appearance (by reference, but not by name) in The Wanderer.
When I was young, I wanted to be many things when I grew up: a painter, an ice skater, a singer, a teacher, and a reporter. It soon became apparent that I had little drawing talent, very limited tolerance for falling on ice, and absolutely no ability to stay on key while singing. I also soon learned that I would make a terrible reporter because when I didn't like the facts, I changed them. It was in college, when I took literature and writing courses, that I became intrigued by story-telling. Later, I was a teacher (high school English and writing) in England and in Switzerland. While teaching great literature, I learned so much about writing: about what makes a story interesting and about techniques of plot and characterization and point of view. I started out writing novels for adults: The Recital and Nickel Malley were both written and published while I was living in England (these books were published in England only and are now out of print.) But the next book was Absolutely Normal Chaos, and ever since that book I have written mainly about young people. Walk Two Moons was the first of my books to be published in America. When it received the Newbery Medal, no one was more surprised than I was. I'm still a little bit in shock.
After Walk Two Moons came Chasing Redbird, Pleasing the Ghost, Bloomability, The Wanderer, and Fishing in the Air. I hope to be writing stories for a long, long time.
I am married to Lyle Rigg, who is the headmaster of The Pennington School in Pennington, New Jersey, and have two grown children, Rob and Karin. Being with my family is what I enjoy most. The next-best thing is writing stories.

© Sharon Creech(less)

More about Sharon Creech...

Books by Sharon Creech

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About The Wanderer

4 trivia questions
1 quiz

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from The Wanderer

“I started thinking about life insurance and how nice it would be if you could get insurance that your life would be happy, and that everyone you knew could be happy, and they could all do what they really wanted to do, and they could all find the people they wanted to find.” — 3 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved The Wanderer

What's The Name of That B...

3604 members

last activity 1 hour, 39 min ago

shelf: read

title link	preview: The Wanderer
avg rating	preview: The Wanderer Goodreads rating: 3.78 (3481 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1190702.The_Wanderer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181764370m/1190702.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1190702.The_Wanderer?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Wanderer by Sharon Creech[/url]

The Wanderer

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website