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.

Heartbreaking, soul crushing, hope mending, magical and completely beautiful. This HAS to be the book of the year read for me. Its gorgeous, took me places I never thought I would go. I met people from my wildest dreams and fought battles alongside the MC I could never have imagined. What an honour to read this book. Add it to your TBR for release day, you will not regret it.

Thank you to the publisher author and NetGalley for this ARC.

A Short Walk Through a Wide World was so interesting, different, and full of imagery all in one. This magical realism book is about a young girl named Aubrey who obtains a disease and is forced to move from place to place every 4-5 days in order to stay alive. The book goes through all the places and people Aubrey meets during that time.

The book was very well written and reminds me a lot of an Erin Morganstern book. I know it’s said for fans of Addie La Rue and while there are similarities there is much less plot. I like books with imagery and hidden meaning a bit like a puzzle in itself so I enjoyed the weirdness of it.

I would have rated this a 4 or 5 star but there was one part with an Aubrey and one of the characters she meets along the way that made me uncomfortable. Maybe it was just the way I read it but it felt like Aubrey was telling the man that she didn’t want to continue on and he covers and mouth and doesn’t let her move. I expected Aubrey to voice her feelings for this scene and she doesn’t and when she tells the story to another traveler he says he’s jealous of this man and she says well the story has a bad ending. The character does end up locking her up but I just thought it was odd that it felt a bit like rape and no one was addressing it. Maybe I mistook what was happening in the scene but it did bother me throughout the book.

With that part removed the book was very interesting and great and I think the author did a great job writing such an imaginary book!

What in the world did I just read? I'm at a loss for words.

Aubry Tourvel has a mysterious illness that doesn't allow her to stay in one place for any more than 4 days tops. She's forced to leave home at 9 and travel the world - always a new place. Aubry is resilient through her journey but also longs to finally find a home.

This is book contains history, magic, adventures, love stories, survival, and loss. She's always walking, she stumbles upon these little lost libraries full of books with no words, and this wooden puzzle ball is woven throughout the whole tale.

I think it's well written and constantly pushing you forward - with a few flashbacks and asides. I still am not sure what exactly happened to her or why. This is definitely unique and a little bit strange but in a good way.

I don't think this book is for everyone, but if you don't mind slow and meandering stories then definitely give it a read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster for this ARC

I loved the vibe of this book. It had a very wanderlust feel - even though the main character did not dream of traveling. It satisfied my own wanderlust and the places were vivid. Some places were more immersive than others in the book, but I did appreciate the ones I really got lost in. It was a fun, adventurous read!

"A Short Walk Through A Wide World" is a moving and powerful story about self-discovery, human connection, and hope. The story follows Aubry Tourvel who, after falling violently ill as a young girl, discovered that the only cure to her illness was constant movement. Forced to travel the world, cursed to never return to a place that she has already been, Aubry makes her way through a vast array of human experience, making profound connections with the people she encounters along the way.

Westerbeke's descriptions of Aubry's travels and struggles are compelling and heart-wrenching. The book grapples with questions of identity, memory, and the value of a life spent at the mercy of wanderlust. It is also a poignant portrait of the power of human connection. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and AvidReader Press for the ARC!

5 STARS. Obsessed.

If you asked me to describe this book to someone, I would say an adult fairy tale. This would not fall under fantasy (with dragons and demons, although there is, arguably, one dragon and maybe one demon. haha) but more so magical realism. There are some magical elements that play into a realistic picture of what walking the earth in the late 1800s might look like.

Honestly, this book is just too weird and unique (in the best of ways) to really explain what's happening. Not to mention, giving anything away would take away from the fun you'll have when reading it. I smiled, I cried, I felt butterflies in my stomach, and an ache in my heart. This book is all the things and I highly recommend it for something different. It will make you deeply reflect on what's important: family, possessions, a daily routine, experiences. And it will touch your soul.

Oh, this story was fascinating. A woman, unable to stay in one place, is forced to travel, see everything, and witness things no one else ever will, as if the earth itself is telling her a story. I really loved the creativity of the author for this one, all of the stories, the way they were woven together it all worked so well. The chapters were short, which meant the book felt like it read quickly while progressing slower. This also meant I could read small portions when I didn't have much time. My only struggle was the ending, it felt quite unsatisfying and could have ended at the 90% point without much change. I only felt more confused by the end.

I love historical fiction and magic realism, which this story blended beautifully! It was described as similar to Addie LaRue, but I found that this storyline was unique and incomparable. The leaving people and not being able to stay in one place resonated, I appreciated the deep emotions this story evoked!

This was rather unusual. Sad, beautiful, eerie, confusing and weird. Definitely keeps a person turning the pages.