Review: Excellent Coming of Age Tale that Spans Continents
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 13, 2014
“Wantin” is a genuinely entertaining and thoughtful coming-of-age novel that spans continents and follows one girl from a shy, lonely childhood to a self-assured adulthood, with many bumps along the way.The novel opens when Talia is six years old—she has traveled from country to country with her adventurous parents her entire life, but in Haiti she finds some normalcy and comfort in her nanny, Marlee. That comfort is short-lived when her parents both perish, and Talia finds herself living in Australia with an aunt and uncle—as she grows up, she will struggle with a forbidden but lingering love, her own identity, and opening up to others. Her journey takes her to Thailand, London, Paris, and more, and through love affairs and a reunion with family she didn’t know she had; and through it all she very well may be protected by a mysterious spell cast in her childhood…I’m glad I read this book, especially since I don’t feel like the book description did it justice. “Wantin” is very well written, bringing to life the details and sensations of many different countries as well as the experiences of Talia; she is also a layered and complex character, and her slow flowering into confidence is compelling. I liked that she’s not perfect—she stumbles along the way, cruelly rejecting the love of Ethan but then redeeming herself by finally letting an old love go. I liked how the author showed her progression through actions rather than just telling the reader; it’s nice to have that kind of subtle development in a book. My favorite parts were her travels in Hungary and what she finds there—given her rough beginning, it is a very satisfying plotline.I would recommend “Wantin” to readers who enjoy modern coming-of-age stories that incorporate travel, romance, erotica, and female protagonists.