When I was 15 my grandmother took me on a cross-country bus trip, from Wisconsin to Washington D.C. It was the first time I had ever traveled outside the Midwest, this was a huge adventure for me! I admired my grandmother, she was quite the adventurer. She was truly an independent free spirit, often traveling alone, with tour groups, or in this case - her granddaughter - to see the world.
I thought about my adventure with my grandmother often as I read The Last Grand Adventure. Like Bea, I was more of a worrier as a kid, but had that secret desire to have a “grand adventure”.
Before I even started reading this this book, the tidbit that caught my attention, was the genre - historical fiction from the 1960’s, but also it deals with the the mysterious disappearance of Amelia Earhart. As a kid I had always been fascinated with Amelia Earhart. How could someone that famous, mysteriously disappear without a trace? Even now there are still clues surfacing as to what actually happened. Reading the book I found I had to keep reminding myself that the story, though a work of historical fiction, was just that - fiction. Still, I kept asking myself, what if?
It’s safe to say that I fell in love with Beatrice and Pidge. This is just one of those stories that I did not want to end. The messages it delivers will fill readers with hope - hope for family, believing in the impossible, and finding our true adventurous spirit. The story and characters will stay with readers long after the book is done.
