The second collaboration between authors Jeff Zentner and Brittany Cavallaro promises a road trip with two teens, both looking for an escape. The Wayfarers follows Sylvie and Knox as they trek from Michigan to North Carolina, wanting desperately to connect to each other, but afraid to reveal the whole truth of what they left behind.
The Situation: At one point, Sylvie was excited about this trip. The plan was to graduate high school, drive around and see all the sights in the van she worked so hard on, and then attend college in the fall. And while the basic plan is the same, the situation at home has changed, and Sylvie does not believe she has the right to enjoy herself. For Knox, there has never really been a plan, other than survive. Used to a nomadic life on the road, he decides it is time to maybe find a place to call home. When he breaks his arm while chasing down Sylvie's dog, Winslow, she decides to make sure he is okay, and offers him a ride to his next destination.
The Problem: There are certain questions Knox is not excited to answer about his past, and same is true for Sylvie. She is fine talking about her issues with her mother, her not-so-great stepfather, and her plans for college, but the topic of her ex-boyfriend is off limits. Knox is fine talking about his own chaotic mother, the grandmother he misses, and the unconventional way he grew up, but he leaves out certain details that he is pretty sure would cause Sylvie to kick him out of her van. The thing is, they each want to know more about the other, but are terrified of sharing too much of themselves. They will each have to decide if it is worth sharing the worst of themselves, and risk losing whatever it is they have just found.
Genre, Themes, History: Written in both prose and verse, this is a young adult fiction novel that begins in Traverse City, Michigan, and follows Sylvie and Knox as they make their way down to Indiana, back up to Wisconsin, crossing Illinois a second time to enter Kentucky, and through Tennessee to get to North Carolina. The trip is one Sylvie had been planning for, and she even made extensive changes to the luxury van she bought in preparation. Knox grew up with his mom and a roaming group of people, criss-crossing the U.S. as they move from campsite to campsite, spending as little as possible and stealing what they can. The two teens could not have grown up more differently, and yet they each have reasons to want to leave the only life they have known. Guilt and regret move them forward, while also threatening to keep them apart.
My Verdict: I always look forward to diving into pretty much anything Zentner writes, and my excitement grew once I learned that this collaboration was written in both prose and verse. Having Sylvie and Knox's thoughts be written as poems is incredibly effective and powerful. While one grew up in privilege, and the other grew up in a constant state of impermanence, they each have stories of tragedy and sadness, and their intention of keeping the worst of themselves hidden away makes for these tense moments that are frustrating for the reader, yet I was compelled to keep reading and see how (or if) these kids were going to work it out. It is a story about trust and taking chances, particularly when experience may have lead us to believe that both can be a bad idea.
Favorite Moment: There is a stretch of highway where Knox and Sylvie encounter not one, but two different billboards for two different psychics, and the adventures that follow each are pretty funny.
Favorite Character: Sylvie gets in a fender bender with a woman named Lara, who is both kind and helpful. I kinda wish she had stuck around in the story for a little longer.
Favorite Quotes: "I spent a lot of time blaming everything and everyone else. But there's no freedom in that." - Lara
"This world will grind you up if you're not brave." - Knox
"I choose uncertainty over the certainty of
the small existence that's for those
who lack the backbone
to make their life their own." - Knox
Recommended Reading: I recommend Zentner and Cavallaro's previous book, Sunrise Nights.
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