The Lost Girls: Three Friends. Four Continents. One Unconventional Detour Around the World.
Release date: 2010 / 538 pages
Synopsis (from the back cover): With their thirtieth birthdays looming, June, Holly, and Amanda are feeling the pressure to hit certain milestones — score the big promotion, find a soul mate, have 2.2 kids. Instead, they make a pact to quit their jobs, leave behind everything familiar, and embark on a yearlong round-the-world search for inspiration and direction…
First Sentence: We weren’t sure what we’d just heard or it there had been any sound at all, but the three of us felt a palpable shift in the atmosphere.
Review: I’ll admit that my first thought when The Lost Girls arrived was… 538 pages! Holy Cow! However, the pages flew by and never felt belabored or drawn out. After all, the three friends had spent an entire year travelling the world — many adventures = many pages!
The memoir/travelogue is structured with all three women sharing their perspectives in alternating chapters. Since each woman is extremely likeable and different from one another, this narrative progression works very well. Beyond seeing the different countries through different eyes, we get to see aspects of each woman through her friends’ point of view, too. The three get along quite well throughout their travels — thankfully — so the focus of the work is firmly on the places they visit, which started with South America, continued on to Kenya and the United Arab Emirates, then included India and Southeast Asia, ending with New Zealand and Australia. The destinations were chosen based on the individual’s desires and dreams and each section was fascinating in its own way.
I enjoyed the section on Kenya the best, I think — probably since that was the only country I have visited myself and enjoyed reminiscing about my own wonderful journey. However, none of the sections dragged, due to the warm and engaging storytelling. Each destination is described with a minimum of editorializing — no annoying American arrogance — and all three women are able to share their impressions in a neutral, but fascinating manner. The bits about the lives they had left behind (which is the focus of the first few chapters and then occasionally referenced throughout) helped provide context for the risks and courage this undertaking required.
I do think this would be appropriate for a book club — but is also simply a great read, too. Especially for anyone who already enjoys travel.
Interested in winning a free copy? Drop me a comment below and I will choose a lucky winner by the weekend!
Tuesday, April 26th: Book Journey
Wednesday, April 27th: A Bookish Way of Life
Monday, May 2nd: Book Club Classics!
Wednesday, May 4th: Reading on a Rainy Day
Thursday, May 5th: Write Meg
Tuesday, May 10th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Tuesday, May 10th: Books in the City
Wednesday, May 11th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Thursday, May 12th: My Reading Room
Friday, May 13th: Amused By Books
Monday, May 16th: The House of the Seven Tails
Tuesday, May 17th: Books Like Breathing
Wednesday, May 18th: Steph and Tony Investigate
I wouldn’t mind winning a copy…or a trip around the world.
I love memoirs and travelogues…so please count me in!
This sounds like a great book about 3 women and their travels. Count me in. Thanks
I loved the review. For a person who loves to travel, this sounds like a book I would like. Have you read “Without Reservations, The Travels of an Independent Woman”? Reminds me of this book! Thanks.
If you can’t travel, might as well read about traveling! Thanks for the chance!
I’d like to win, please!
If you can’t go, then read about it, yes? Sounds good.
I would love to read this, what a way to connect with good friends and to learn about yourself and others around you.
I’d love to try for this book!
Thanks!!
Very interesting sounding book! I’ve traveled a bit, love to visit new places, but have not been to any of the places these friends have visited. At first, this almost sounded like an “Eat, Pray, Love” type of thing but more interesting, hearing from different points of view. Please consider me for the giveaway.
Oh, boy, another memoir/travel adventure. I just loved The Provence Cure for the Broken Hearted. Couldn’t put it down, and I just loved the honest narrator. Would love to read this one, too. Thanks.
Wow that’s a lot of pages lol sounds like an interesting read though. I’m enjoying memoirs these days but have only ever read one about travelling.
I would love to win a copy. I think that the women had a great idea to travel around the world. I have been to China and Japan but would love to go to India and Southeast Asia. There is so much to see and experience.
CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com
Would love a copy, thanks! Great review.
I love to read any book about travel and this giveaway sounds like one not to be missed. Count me in!
Thank you!
Definitely sounds intriguing. I see the book is by 3 women authors, I wonderful if the any of the authors lives were inspired into the 3 women characters in the book. I bet this is a good book
I would love this book! Thanks!
Am going to suggest to one of our book clubs looking for an upbeat book after several good but more serious selections.
Time for a new adventure. I’m interested in winning a copy. Thank you.
This sounds interesting! I’d love to read it!
Sounds very interesting. I’d like to read about all of their travels. Please enter me. Thanks!
THIS SOUNDS GREAT!!!! PLEASE ENTER ME. LOVE TO BE TAKEN ON A JOURNEY….THANK YOU!!!
This sounds like a great story – I’d love to win a copy! Thanks!
I think this is every women’s dream to escape with friends and this story has it all. I would love a copy to fantasize this escape.
Ellen
Sounds good, please enter me in the giveaway. Thanks!
Sometimes I wish I have the courage to drop everything and just go travel! Makes it harder as you get older with a stable job and a house and pets and… guess just have to read others’ adventures instead!
This sounds like a fun armchair traveler read, but one that would inspire the reader to actually get up and go as well.
Would love a copy of this book – it would provide a chance to travel the world in my thoughts, which will have to suffice until I’m able to physically do it some day!!
Another enticing review from you…please enter my name into the giveaway!
Sounds like a great read! Please enter me in the contest.
I wouldn’t mind winning this one!
thanks!
Sounds like a great book. Love adventure stories and this one really sound interesting about three different people and how they are conneted. Would like to read it.
I am not able to travel as much as I would like to, but books help with that. Please include me.
Sounds like a great story. Just to think of dropping everything and traveling around the world. Would love to read this.
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