Rachel Reads & Reviews

Everything in Emily Tannenbaum’s life is going according to plan. Graduate high school as valedictorian? Check. Gain admission to Dartmouth? Check. Decide to pause everything to embark on a gap year adventure abroad? Wait, what?
Ever since her sister died, Emily has done everything in her power to be the good girl, the safe girl, the one her parents don’t have to worry about. She’s worked hard, she’s studied, she’s attended school-approved functions.
But when her grandmother, a former member of the famous Flower Sisters music duo, proposes that Emily take time off to follow the European tour the Flower Sisters took in 1966, Emily impulsively jumps at the chance as a way to embrace the messy and unexpected parts of life.
As she travels from Spain to Sweden with stops in Paris and Rome along the way, Emily begins to experience all that life has to offer. She deals with pickpockets, dances the night away, has her heart broken, and learns more about herself and where she came from than she ever could have imagined.

I love travel stories, so I was eager to read Janowitz’s novel about an introvert finding herself on her gap year in Europe.

Emily is very relatable (to me at least). She’s been kind of sheltered in that her world is narrowed down to books and studying. This gap year is allowing her to experience life as well as take a second look at the path that she’s always thought she wanted. As implied by the summary/author interview, it also has deep sentimental meaning to Emily to take the trip she always meant to do with her sister in honor of their grandmother.

It’s been five years since Emily’s older sister died, so the immediate grief has been dealt with. What readers get to experience is the lingering grief. Some of it is triggered by Emily’s fear of drugs. Others is her own insecurity that she isn’t enough because it was her sister who was like her grandmother, outgoing and musical. She was the life of the party. Emily is just her, and feels pressured to never let her parents worry or feel more grief, which unfair to put upon herself.

I love travelogues because they are almost always a coming of age. Janowitz delivers that showcasing the adult responsibilities it forces upon Emily. Prioritizing her time, keeping on schedule, and learning to let go when the schedule has changes. It also pushes her out of her comfort zone in making new friends, and romantic connections, asserting boundaries and learning to be vulnerable.

I enjoyed Janowitz’s lush descriptions of the ancient stonework of Italy, the romanticism of Paris, and the bustling vida of Spain. But she doesn’t keep it all happy times and new friends. While Emily is surprised by being enfolded into a group of nomads, there are dangers as she grapples with the potential of scammers, family secrets and of course, love.

While the title implies romance, the family and friendship aspect takes priority. I especially enjoyed Emily’s friendship with Polly, and how their backstories juxtapose what a gap year can mean to different people. For Emily, she fears it’s making her more confused, and is an escape, but for Polly, it signifies freedom. Plus it shows the joy of finding adventure with kindred spirits from different backgrounds, and realizing the human desire for connection and understanding is universal. THey help Emily feel less alone in her experiene. As another character, Alfie (who is so charming, I love him!), that is part of the gap year experience. Pushing past culture shock, homesickness and the desire to deny your problems. You have to learn to adult and figure out your problems because a gap year can’t last forever.

There is also significent time spent in flashback chapters with Flora and Rose, Emily’s great-aunt/grandmother. While this added some nice comparisons to Emily’s journey and her relationship with her own sister, but in making a mystery for Emily to realize about her grandmother, there wasn’t any. The suspense is gone because readers could predict what direction Rose and Flora’s lives took. Additionally, it felt like Janowitz wanted to show how much harder a woman’s choices were back in the 60s (regarding lesbianism and pregnancy) and for Emily to see her problems aren’t too bad. I also felt some of the dialogue around these conversations had too much therapist-speak. I know Gen Z is more aware of those issues, but do they really speak like that? It felt so correct, not so much human.

As for the romance, there is some predictability regarding the romances that made me less invested. Particularly a decision where Emily stays with the guy that is obviously not the one, making less time for the obvious love interest, and diluting the time readers could have seen them together. However, I do like how Janowitz utilized these romances to build up Emily’s characterization, and show her exploring her first taste of love and communcation.

A fun jaunt across Europe highlight one girl’s step toward adult and finding herself. Plus it made me even more excited about going across Europe with my friend next year.

3 stars