This debut novel — is full of adventure, historical fiction and science fiction aspects — with the main characters’ mysterious illness and a miraculous way to cross the world so quickly, this book grabs you from the beginning and pulls you along on a fantastic ride.
Aubrey is reminiscent of the historical figure of Isabella Lucy Bird who travelled the world — who also suffered from illness and was recommended to live an open-air life by doctors and started her major travel adventures in the 1850s. I loved how the book makes you lose your sense of time and place. You become very invested in Aubry's life, and adventures and what her outcome be. Will she beat this mysterious illness or will it kill her? It is an adventure ride as you travel with her across the wide world.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster— this is my honest review.

Wow, wow, wow. I will be recommending this far and wide because I want to discuss all the details with someone. There is so much I need to discuss and understand! I loved following Aubry Tourvel in her travels throughout the world (many times over). And I want to visit all of the secret libraries she found in her travels: bookshelves in trees, among rivers and lava, and cozy rooms. Yes, please. I will be thinking of this book for quite a while - thank you for the wonderful journey! And thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Avid Reader Press and Simon Schuster Inc for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one is outside of any genre I normally stick to, and I definitely did enjoy it. I especially liked how it shows how some things have a funny way of coming together, and anything with a butterfly effect (whether it’s small or big) always gets me. Aunty’s illness and her resilience always had me questioning “If I had her illness, would I keep going or would I give up?” and I still don’t know how to answer that!

Accidentally submitted this review early!! I am currently reading this and will post my review shortly!!!

I adored this book. It is definitely in my top ten reads this year. Mysterious and magical and tense.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press (Simon & Schuster, Inc.) for allowing me to experience the wonder that is A Short Walk Through a Wide World.

“How will we find Juneau without a map?” “How did we find this view without a map?” “You’re just walking?” “There is a beauty to this, you know.” “To starvation? To hypothermia?” “To wandering aimlessly.”

Douglas Westerbeke has created a work of art through writing this novel. It begins quickly and does not slow down. Aubry Tourvel cannot stay in place for more than four days, and with each page turn, Westerbeke has created another obstacle, adventure, wonder, or miracle for Aubry to overturn.

The reader will be completely drawn in, sucked in, to the worlds within the pages of this beautiful novel. It is a harrowing tale of human connection, a plaintive look at what can and will be found and inevitably lost, all while contemplating the true meaning of a life well lived.

If you enjoyed The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, Around the World in 80 Days, Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore, and The Midnight Library - you will absolutely love this book. Adventure, realistic fantasy, history, and connectivity make this a well rounded novel!

A Short Walk Through a Wide World was a truly unique story about Aubry, who can not stay in one place for more than a few days due to a mysterious illness. We are taken on a journey to various countries and towns with Aubry as she tries to out run her illness. Along the way she meets some very interesting people and tells her almost unbelievable stories of her encounters.

It took me a good amount of weeks to finish the book, which usually signifies that it didn't capture my interest immediately. But I continued on and ended up really enjoying A Short Walk Through a Wide World.

Thank you NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Suddenly at the age of 9 Aubry starting bleeding profusely without control. It was soon realized that in order to stop the bleeding she needed to travel far away. Usually not able to stay in one place longer than 3 days. She could never go to the same place twice.
This was unlike any story I have ever read. I had no idea what was going to happen. I love reading original stories. I did find it confusing at times because of the changes in the timeline. But all in all I really enjoyed it.
Thank for to NETGALLEY and the Publisher for the ARC.

Kind of a melancholic book overall, but also one that made me think about the value of living in the moment, about all the stories one makes in a lifetime, and how you can affect someone from just a brief meeting and never even know it. I finished this book yesterday but still find myself thinking about it at work, so I guess that’s the mark of something I really got a lot out of.

Aubry harbors a disease. Not a contagious disease, but one that, if left untended too long, will kill her. The treatment isn’t a conventional one—as long as she keeps traveling, the disease stays dormant. But stay in any one place for more than a couple days, and it rears its ugly, bloody, awful head and Aubry must move on or die. She can’t retrace her steps, can never return to cities she’s already been, and thus can’t form prolonged attachments to people or places without being forced to give them up to keep her disease happy. This is a story of her journey, the places she travels, the people she meets, and how this endless cycle that dominates her life affects her.

First and foremost, not a lot happens. I know that’s a weird thing to say given the premise, but the story is about Aubry’s journey and not about the disease per se. Lots of short stories in Aubry’s life, but don’t go into this expecting neat answers. It’s very much in the realm of magical realism, from some of the situations Aubry ends up in and some of the people she meets, but the book still maintains one foot in reality and always brings her back. I really enjoyed the journey and was able to overlook that some of my main questions were never explicitly answered in the process, but it might not hit the right notes for someone looking for a definitive resolution.

I really did love the way this author wrote Aubry. All along the way I felt simultaneously bad for Aubry who has to give up all these people and places she loves every few days and also really admiring the mental fortitude it took her to do it. The longer she’s with this disease the more it starts wearing on her, and I appreciated that the author was able to convey that so well.

Just a beautiful, melancholy story about a woman and her time in the world. I really loved it, honestly.

This book has an intriguing premise - a little girl in Paris finds a mysterious puzzle ball, but when she refuses to sacrifice it in a magic well to save the life of a sick infant, she is cursed. Unless she keeps on the move, she will spontaneously start bleeding to death, and she can never visit the same place twice or stay more than a few days. This leads to a lifetime as a world traveler, exploring the globe, getting to know its geography and people over the decades that follow, but never able to settle down anywhere or call anyplace home. Along the way she forms relationships which give meaning to her nomadic life roaming the earth, and she puts down roots with people instead of places.

The writing is clear and descriptive, and I liked seeing the many different places she went, which were vibrantly depicted. The nature of her curse was unique and original, if somewhat ambiguous, although i confess it made me surprisingly squeamish. I found the ever-present theme of disease, the relentless health threat, and descriptions of the bloody manifestation of the curse increasingly uncomfortable, so perhaps this book wasn't the best fit for me, or I'm not the ideal reader for this book, at least right now.

A Short Walk Through a Wide World is often compared to The Secret Life of Addie LaRue, and there are definitely some parallels in the wandering, untethered existence of the protagonists. There were many things the book did well, but unfortunately I didn't really connect with the characters or the story as much as I would have liked. I never felt fully engaged with the plot or invested in the characters, and I frequently found my attention wandering.. Although not quite my cup of tea, overall I still liked it, and fans of Addie LaRue, or magical realism, will likely enjoy this book.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for providing me with a free advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Wow. This book was so good and very original. I really enjoyed this and love that the places mentioned are actual characters in the story as well. Loved it.
I just reviewed A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke. #NetGalley
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My god, I loved this book! What a unique and interesting idea, and the execution was gripping. I was enchanted by Aubry from the get-go and couldn't stop myself from turning the pages fast enough to learn what would happen next. I highly recommend this book to anyone aching to see the world and fall in love with another main character.

The flow and pacing of the story was intriguing and I wanted to reread right after I finished, due to wanting to soak to journey all over again and catch anything I may have missed. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more stories from Douglas Westerbeke.

Definitely see the connections from the write up! Usually those fail me so I'm pleasantly surprised since the comps are books I resolutely adore.

So get ready to explore the wide world and the small intimate one throughout the eyes of our MC Aubry.

Interesting premise of a novel. Didn't always capture my attention and sometimes missed the 'wow' factor, but other times felt completely swept up in Audrey's story.

Fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue will be enraptured with A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke.

The story features the story of a young French girl - Aubry Torvel - who is struck down by some mystery illness that prevents her staying in the one place for more than a few times.

Her illness sees her forced to endlessly wander the globe and fend for herself.

It was an interesting read and I was engaged throughout.

I was captivated by the story line: a young French girl who has a mysterious condition that requires her to constantly be on the move. Audry spends her life traveling to remote places developing short term relationships.
I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it stayed with the simple story line. However, it randomly digressed into fanciful places, such as endless libraries hidden in caves. I started losing interest halfway through the book and had to make myself finish it.
Despite the fantasy aspect, the book has some profound messages about the meaning of life, relationships and the need for home.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What an enchantingly lovely book! I went into this book feeling very skeptical--with the publisher comping it to Addie LaRue AND having a female protagonist written by a male author, it was not one that I was hopeful for. BUT.
BUT.
Westerbeke has written a fantastic novel. Here's me all the more fool for doubting. I enjoyed his lyrical prose and how well he captured Aubry's voice. I loved the different glimpses into cultures and locations around the world through her eyes and experiences. The middle especially, felt wandering and a bit lost--the author seems to have lost the thread of the themes for a bit there. But the end result is still an absorbing and fascinating read.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Avid Reader Press, Simon & Schuster for the ebook ARC. All opinions are mine alone.

A book whose promotional promise of a book that is a meeting of "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" and "Life of Pi" does not let the reader down.

In this book our protagonist is one Aubry Tourvel, a young girl who is suddenly stricken with a terrible curse that forces her to endlessly travel, to never remain in one place for too long or ever return to the places she has been before. As she wanders, grows up, and starts to see everything the world has to offer, her story spreads and her name becomes known across the globe. But even a person as widely traveled as Aubry can be surprised by what the world has to offer, and while struggling to survive she stumbles upon deeper mysteries than she could have possibly imagined.

A great and very accessible read! Fans of Addie LaRue and Life of Pi will definitely enjoy this one.

I liked the idea of this book but didn’t love the execution of it. The plot felt muddled and once I finished it I didn’t feel like anything was resolved or that the ending was complete. Some of the parts, like the random doors, felt like they were taken straight from other books (The Ten Thousand Doors of January) and didn’t really make sense in this book. And it wasn’t explained why??? There were random doors to bring Aubrey to a library?

I have to say I really enjoyed reading the stories of Aubrey’s encounters with everyone she came across. It was interesting and kept the story going.

In the end I didn’t feel like I understood exactly what this book was about. Like what the point of Aubrey’s curse/illness/spell was. I wish it made more sense to me, even the reasoning on why not giving a puzzle ball to try and save a baby from dying made her have to walk and travel the world unless she died. It was a decent book but not my favorite.

This book was very overwhelming. I am someone that can pick up easily where stories are going, specially moving from past and future. I was, at most, lost and confused and needed to re-read to make sense of what I just read.

The story as a whole is very interesting and lures you to want to know more of what will happen. However, I found the execution on past, present and even future was very poorly. A minute you are here and the next something totally different is going on without a bridge to connect what just happened.

The book left me wondering the main plot of the story since it was not reveal. It was an interesting read, very different but unfortunately did not wow me, I feel if it was executed better it could definitely make a mark.