I had never heard of this book until I saw it as an add-on selection when I picked my BOTM books this month. The premise sounded very intriguing, so I went ahead and added it. While I enjoyed the journey and the adventures our main character experienced, in the end, I was left with a few too many lingering questions to consider this a truly remarkable read.

The story begins in 1885 Paris and revolves around Aubry Tourvel, a somewhat spoiled nine-year-old girl who, one day, develops a mysterious condition that forces her to constantly be on the move. It all begins after Aubry finds a mysterious puzzle ball and then refuses to drop it into a wishing well as an offering at her sisters’ request. Sometime later, Aubry begins to bleed profusely from her mouth, nose, and ears. Her parents rush her across town to the hospital, but by the time she gets there, the bleeding has stopped, but once she returns home, the bleeding begins again. At first, she and her family believe that maybe it’s her home that causes her to bleed, but she soon discovers that she can never stay in a single place for more than two to three days before her illness kicks in, and she begins to bleed to death all over again.

And so begins Aubry’s life of perpetual motion. She travels the world across deserts, savannahs, oceans, and snow-capped mountains, meeting many types of interesting folks, including bandits, princes, thieves, and hunters. Over the years she makes several friends and lovers – some who accompany her for periods of time and others whom she loves for only a few days. She faces danger, learns about love and loss, and experiences things she could never have imagined, but sadly, she can never return to any place she has visited before. Her lifetime journey is both adventurous and heartbreaking at the same time.

Westerbeke’s writing is rich in detail and vivid in its imagery, painting beautiful pictures of the landscapes Aubry traverses on her quest for a place to call home. I often felt as if I was right there with Aubry, experiencing the wonder and challenges of her journey alongside her.
Aubry’s character is beautifully crafted, a mix of fierce independence and hopeful longing. As she navigates through a world that is both breathtaking and perilous, Aubry’s determination to survive and find meaning in her life is both inspiring and heart-wrenching. Throughout the story, Westerbeke weaves a tale of resilience and hope, reminding us that – as is laid out in the synopsis – it is not the destination but the journey itself that shapes who we are.

Aubry was much stronger than I would have been. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be forced to stay on the move the way she was. I would never have made it. I don’t mind being alone, but I do need a “home base” and need to feel grounded, which would never happen if I had to move every few days. As I read, I often found myself wondering what it means to truly be at home. Is home a place? A feeling? A person/people? Whenever I think of the word home, I immediately think of the place where I grew up, and while I love my family and the landscape there, it also doesn’t feel safe for me as a gay man in that it’s a small, rural town in a deep red state. I, personally, think that home is a place where you feel safe and grounded and surrounded by people you love. I’ve lived in three states, and for several reasons, the PNW has always felt like home. I feel that even if I were to move, I would always feel called to return to this area.

The only downside to the novel was that I never felt a real sense of loss when Aubry left someone she fancied behind because I hadn’t spent enough time with any of the side characters. I almost wished she’d been a little more tethered to someone so that I felt more of that sense of loss that she had to have felt. I also was left wondering where this disease came from and why it attached itself to Aubry. I always enjoy an open ending or when the author leaves some plot points open to interpretation, but in this case, I would have liked a few more answers.

Overall, I did enjoy this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a beautifully written and compelling story that will take them on an unforgettable journey. While it doesn’t provide a lot of answers as to why Aubry was afflicted with this disease, and the story meandered in some areas, it does ask some interesting questions and really made me reflect on my own life, how I view the world, and what it means to truly feel at home.