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.

I loved, loved, loved this book and will be recommending it widely. Not only did it remind me of the Invisible Life of Addie Larue, but also of the Ten Thousand Doors of January - and these two were my favourite books in the years they were published. And it has a magical library! What more could anyone want?

I'll be lining up to buy my copy when this book is released, because I need a physical copy on my shelf. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read a digital ARC in advance of publication. I'm already looking forward to re-reading it!

Ethereal and captivating. We follow Aubry, a young girl in late 1800s Paris, as she is driven around the world by a curse that doesn't allow her to stay in one place for more than a few days. The story is centered squarely around the journey, not the curse, as we encounter the significant people and places that she crosses over many years. There are parts that are incredibly fantastical and allegorical in a way I haven't yet wrapped my brain around, but I loved every moment and could not put it down.

Thank you so much to the publisher, author and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC. I look forward to recommending this widely on release.

The description of this book compares it to the Invisible Life of Addie La Rue, which is one of my favorite reads of the year, so I had high hopes, and it did not disappoint. The writing was truly beautiful and the story was engaging.

Enchanted. Captivated. Entranced.

I adored A Short Walk Through a Wide World. We follow the story of Aubry Tourvel and her extraordinary life spent traversing the globe after she comes down with a mysterious illness aged 9 and can no longer remain in any one place for more than a few days.

The stories and key characters meander and flit around, with Aubry as the thread between them. Wanderlust, adventure, longing, poignancy, bittersweet.

This is a beautifully written debut.
I can’t recommend this highly enough for a read once it’s published in April 2024.

Thanks to Netgalley and Avid Reader Press for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Paris 1885, Aubrey, a nine year old girl, finds a wooden puzzle ball on her walk home from school and tosses it over a fence. She later finds it in her backpack. That night she begins bleeding and after being in the hospital she runs away and leaves the city. She begins a lifelong journey. An inspiring story and a well written and fascinating book.

What a heart wrenching and beautiful novel! Have a taste for wandering? Aubry Tourvel has no choice but to wander through the world. Unlike most, she has a time limit!

When Aubry Tourvel is 9 years old, she comes across a wooden puzzle ball on her way home from school. Despite initially throwing it away, she finds it again in her backpack later that same night. Days later she begins to bleed to death at the dinner table.

After finding that medical treatment makes her worse, she flees and finds that movement appears to heal her condition. Temporarily. It is from this point of the story that Aubry is on the move every few days, for if she stays in one spot for longer her condition returns and she could die.

Aubry travels the world, unable to stay long or ever return to any place she has ever been before. She manages to form relationships under unlikely circumstances. As the reader you get to go along for the ride and what a beautiful ride it is.

There is so much in this book that defies explanation but only made me like it more. I could see some people saying parts of the book are slow but I truly savored this book without rushing because I was enamored with Aubry from the very beginning.

Go along with Aubry as she travels the world on foot, by boat, through the air. See her navigate the life she was chosen to lead. It’s a beautiful story.

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

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read the ARC!

As a child Aubrey develops a mysterious illness that requires her to constantly travel, she may spend 3 or 4 days somewhere but never 5! We follow her on her travels across Europe and Africa, through the jungles of the Amazon and across the Ocean

A few of the narrative choices clearly reflect the story, the timelines and places blur together in a way that reflects Aubrey’s constant state of movement. Anyone who has done extended travel will tell you that the exact format of a holiday sort of mushes together in your head leaving only impressions.

The timeline and places she visits are chaotic and beautifully written! I did feel like I wanted a tad more plot? It almost reads like two separate books, there is the Library storyline and the travel story line (told like a series of short stories almost). The concept is very sporadically introduced and I was surprised that the book continued after what I thought was the ending.

Aubrey as a person doesn’t change much, and there isn’t a clear difference between young and older Aubrey. The younger sections almost feel like they are being retold by an adult which doesn’t really make it convincing that a 14 year old is surviving by herself.

I think this is an excellent debut from an author with imagination (and a passion for travel). One to read for beautiful journeys!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC!

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this before. I do think the comparison to “The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue” is apt, but the story and conflict in “A Short Walk Through A Wide World” feels a lot more internal despite the fantastical settings. If you’re seeking hard answers and concrete endings, this might not be the book for you. Instead, you have to let yourself get swept away by the story and accept things as they happen (sort of like Aubry!). This was a good escapist read, and the author’s descriptions help create a dream-like atmosphere throughout.

A few things I thought could make this book stronger - the narrative is not linear, which I don’t mind as a reader at all, but we jump from Aubry’s youth to middle age repeatedly without great shifts in Aubry’s tone or viewpoints. I think this added to confusions at times for me, and I would’ve felt more engaged with her as a character if I felt like I grew up with her. The characters around Aubry are also not always super fleshed out, which might have been a conscious choice as this story really focuses on Aubry through the world around her rather than the other way around. That being said, the plot line between Aubry and Marta is abandoned without real resolution (we essentially get a sentence about how Marta ends up) and I found myself wanting to know more about their relationship and if the strong sapphic undertones ever come to fruition.

Despite the feedback above, I did enjoy this novel and I’m interested to see what the author comes out with next.

The concept of this story is fascinating. In 1885, 9-year-old Aubry develops an illness that is cured only by movement. If she stays in one location for more than a few days or returns to any place she has already been, she will begin to bleed to death. So begins a life of constant travel, at first with her mother, and eventually alone, all around the world.

There were some magical realism aspects to this novel that were less appealing to me, personally, but the story was intriguing. And the book definitely made me consider the pros and cons of adventure travel and examine the joys of home.

To be frank, this book didn't resonate with me. While the writing was skillful and the plot had potential, it fell short of my expectations. It bore similarities to "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," featuring a French woman cursed due to a mistake, with the curse occasionally communicating with its victim. This lack of originality was apparent. However, unlike Addie, Aubrey is a remembered legend, though she is still mortal, aging as time passes. The story's non-linear structure mirrors Aubrey's fraying memory from her constant travels, resulting in a somewhat chaotic narrative.

Throughout the book, we encounter the people Aubrey meets on her journey, with her life story retold through these interactions. Despite her intriguing adventures, I failed to feel deeply engaged with the story. It lacked that magnetic pull, and I wasn't eager to pick it up again. While Aubrey is witty and intelligent, her charm only shone in small doses. At times, I expected the story to conclude, only to discover I was still far from the end; it dragged on.

Even the ending left me dissatisfied, as it lacked a proper resolution. As a reader, I prefer closure – understanding why events unfolded, who played a role, and having a reasonable expectation of the characters' fates. Unfortunately, this book didn't offer that satisfaction.

However, the redeeming quality here is the writing itself. Despite the story's shortcomings, the writing was commendable. The author's imagination in crafting Aubrey's adventures and their ability to breathe life into such an unconventional premise is commendable. While it may not possess the lyrical beauty of "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," it compensates with richly detailed scenes and a vivid narrative.

In summary, the writing was exceptional, but the plot left much to be desired. My personal reading preferences likely influenced my reception of this book, as it departed significantly from my usual genre. If you enjoy mind-bending speculative literature, this book may be a treat, but if you prefer neatly wrapped endings and answers, it might not be your cup of tea.