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Carpe Diem
Ein aufregender Liebes- und Abenteuerroman mit jeder Menge Situationskomik und einer unvergesslichen Protagonistin!
Die 16-jährige überorganisierte Vassar weiß genau, was sie will: erst den besten Schulabschluss, dann auf eine Eliteuniversität. Warum soll sie also ausgerechnet jetzt, kurz vor den Prüfungen, ihre verrückte Großmutter in Südostasien besuchen? Widerwillig packt Vassar zehn (!) Koffer und reist in den Dschungel. Dort muss sie allerdings bald einsehen, dass aufblasbare Toilettensitze keine Familiengeheimnisse lösen - und auch nicht helfen, wenn man sich unsterblich verliebt.
Die 16-jährige überorganisierte Vassar weiß genau, was sie will: erst den besten Schulabschluss, dann auf eine Eliteuniversität. Warum soll sie also ausgerechnet jetzt, kurz vor den Prüfungen, ihre verrückte Großmutter in Südostasien besuchen? Widerwillig packt Vassar zehn (!) Koffer und reist in den Dschungel. Dort muss sie allerdings bald einsehen, dass aufblasbare Toilettensitze keine Familiengeheimnisse lösen - und auch nicht helfen, wenn man sich unsterblich verliebt.
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 21, 2007
44 people are currently reading
1604 people want to read
About the author
Autumn Cornwell
2 books50 followersSquat toilets, profuse sweating, jumbo centipedes, ear nibbling—these are just some of the delights I’ve encountered in my global adventures, which inspired my first YA comedic adventure, CARPE DIEM, published in the U.S. by Macmillan, followed by foreign editions in Germany (“Guten Tag!”), the Netherlands, and China. The novel follows the story of overachiever Vassar Spore who is forced to backpack through Malaysia, Cambodia, and Laos with her wacky bohemian grandma—and experiences enough misadventures to last a lifetime. Most of which (fortunately or unfortunately, as the case may be) really happened to me!
My work with the refugees and persecuted minority groups of Southeast Asia inspired my latest YA comedic adventure, NEVER SORRY EVER JOLLY, in which a group of teens fall in love AND into trouble while volunteering on the Thailand-Burma border.
Writing and speaking about physical, creative, spiritual—and WACKY—adventures has been my lifelong calling. When I’m not losing luggage internationally, I can be found attempting to write about those experiences at home in Southern California.
My work with the refugees and persecuted minority groups of Southeast Asia inspired my latest YA comedic adventure, NEVER SORRY EVER JOLLY, in which a group of teens fall in love AND into trouble while volunteering on the Thailand-Burma border.
Writing and speaking about physical, creative, spiritual—and WACKY—adventures has been my lifelong calling. When I’m not losing luggage internationally, I can be found attempting to write about those experiences at home in Southern California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 397 reviews
June 14, 2009
Vassar Spore is sixteen, an only child of driven and over-achieving parents, and determined to be valedictorian of the Seattle Academy for Academic Excellence, go to Vassar College (her namesake), get a PhD, win the Pulitzer, and more. In fact, at the encouragement of her parents, she's got her entire life planned out and she loves it that way.
Then, a month after her sixteenth birthday, her birthday present from eccentric Grandma Gerd arrives: a plane ticket to Malaysia. Grandma wants Vassar to come to her in Southeast Asia for the summer and help her collect found art for a big collage she's working on. It includes travelling to Cambodia and Laos. Vassar isn't thrilled. She has her entire summer planned out with extra credit courses in order to beat her ex-best friend Wendy Stupacker to valedictorian. But Grandma Gerd knows something Vassar doesn't, and has no compunction blackmailing her parents about it.
Vassar and her friends can't puzzle out The Big Secret, which has given her mother a breakdown and upset her father's carefully ordered existence. They come up with a plan to help Vassar get her AAP English credit by writing a novel of her trip, and give her 100 Latin quotes to take with her, one for each day. And so Vassar and her ten well-organised suitcases arrive in Asia, where she meets an Asian cowboy called Hanks, nearly falls into the toilets, gets food poisoning and has a run-in with the Cambodian police. It's one hell of a summer holiday, and that's just the start.
I bought this for the gorgeous cover, and I don't regret a penny of it. Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) is a wonderful, wonderful book and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone.
The start is a little slow, but once Vassar gets to Asia the story picks up and flies off. Vassar and her parents can be a bit nauseating, so removing Vassar from their vicinity really helps.
Narrated by Vassar, it's full of out-right comical humour and more subtle irony. While the characters aren't cliché-free, there's something fresh and delightful about them. The same is true of the plot - some things are entirely predictable, formulaic even, and I'm quite smug that I guess The Big Secret from the beginning and figured out Part 2 of the Secret before it was revealed; and yet, the incidents that happen aren't predictable, and the way Vassar tells it even the things that you do expect to happen, take on a new light.
Take the toilet humour, for instance. There are three or so distinct incidences where Vassar encounters difficulty, and each are hilarious without being stupid. Hanks is partly the cause - he's an absolutely delightful character, subtle underneath his cowboy persona, who teases Vassar in such a way that I couldn't stop myself laughing. I just loved him.
You get very "in the moment" with this book, and things that could otherwise have been infantile and cheesy become hilarious and endearing. Part of it comes from the fact that many of the incidents - including the ear-nibbler and getting stuck on the toilet and the hostage situation - actually happened to the author during her own trips. Vassar's friends, reading the chapters of her novel as she emails them home, think it's all coming from her imagination, but it seems the best stories are the real ones, as unreal as they seem to be.
I easily became emotionally invested in Vassar and her story, and loved the flow of the prose and the steady pacing. It's funny, charming and sweet and at the same time critiques forward-planning at the expense of what Grandma Gerd calls LIM: Living in the Moment. As Vassar realises, she's so busy planning her future and her next step, that she never stops to appreciate the here and now.
Then, a month after her sixteenth birthday, her birthday present from eccentric Grandma Gerd arrives: a plane ticket to Malaysia. Grandma wants Vassar to come to her in Southeast Asia for the summer and help her collect found art for a big collage she's working on. It includes travelling to Cambodia and Laos. Vassar isn't thrilled. She has her entire summer planned out with extra credit courses in order to beat her ex-best friend Wendy Stupacker to valedictorian. But Grandma Gerd knows something Vassar doesn't, and has no compunction blackmailing her parents about it.
Vassar and her friends can't puzzle out The Big Secret, which has given her mother a breakdown and upset her father's carefully ordered existence. They come up with a plan to help Vassar get her AAP English credit by writing a novel of her trip, and give her 100 Latin quotes to take with her, one for each day. And so Vassar and her ten well-organised suitcases arrive in Asia, where she meets an Asian cowboy called Hanks, nearly falls into the toilets, gets food poisoning and has a run-in with the Cambodian police. It's one hell of a summer holiday, and that's just the start.
I bought this for the gorgeous cover, and I don't regret a penny of it. Carpe Diem (Seize the Day) is a wonderful, wonderful book and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone.
The start is a little slow, but once Vassar gets to Asia the story picks up and flies off. Vassar and her parents can be a bit nauseating, so removing Vassar from their vicinity really helps.
Narrated by Vassar, it's full of out-right comical humour and more subtle irony. While the characters aren't cliché-free, there's something fresh and delightful about them. The same is true of the plot - some things are entirely predictable, formulaic even, and I'm quite smug that I guess The Big Secret from the beginning and figured out Part 2 of the Secret before it was revealed; and yet, the incidents that happen aren't predictable, and the way Vassar tells it even the things that you do expect to happen, take on a new light.
Take the toilet humour, for instance. There are three or so distinct incidences where Vassar encounters difficulty, and each are hilarious without being stupid. Hanks is partly the cause - he's an absolutely delightful character, subtle underneath his cowboy persona, who teases Vassar in such a way that I couldn't stop myself laughing. I just loved him.
You get very "in the moment" with this book, and things that could otherwise have been infantile and cheesy become hilarious and endearing. Part of it comes from the fact that many of the incidents - including the ear-nibbler and getting stuck on the toilet and the hostage situation - actually happened to the author during her own trips. Vassar's friends, reading the chapters of her novel as she emails them home, think it's all coming from her imagination, but it seems the best stories are the real ones, as unreal as they seem to be.
I easily became emotionally invested in Vassar and her story, and loved the flow of the prose and the steady pacing. It's funny, charming and sweet and at the same time critiques forward-planning at the expense of what Grandma Gerd calls LIM: Living in the Moment. As Vassar realises, she's so busy planning her future and her next step, that she never stops to appreciate the here and now.
November 11, 2011
I ran across CARPE DIEM around four years ago in the Feiwel & Friends catalog. They had the excellent good sense to reprint the wonderful President's Daughter series by Ellen Emerson White, and I wondered what other YA titles they had on the docket at the time. My eye was drawn to this cover right off the bat, and I still think it's just perfect for the book. I love the slightly faded parchment look of it. With the silhouette and the hair and the style it could be anything really. In this case, it's a contemporary novel about a girl who goes on the trip of a lifetime and who's priorities are rearranged a bit as a result. I never hear very much about the book around the blogosphere and I wonder if it just sort of flitted and floated its way by or if others picked it up for its pretty outsides and enjoyed the insides as much as I did. I haven't seen anything else from Autumn Cornwell after this debut, but I would certainly be interested in more from her.
Vassar Spore's parents just went ahead and named their only daughter after one of the most prestigious women's colleges in the country. Unsurprisingly, she grows up a goal-oriented perfectionist intent on winning a Pulitzer Prize and marrying an MIT grad. Yawn. In steps Vassar's bohemian grandma who demands she spend the summer with her backpacking across Southeast Asia. Blackmailed to within an inch of their lives, Vassar's parents give in and off she goes to a region of the world she never thought she'd see. And it's all bugs and dirt and complications from there on out. She encounters a myriad of people and pests from different walks of life and vastly different outlooks from her own. And the girl who thought she was so open-minded and so adaptable discovers she has just a few more things to learn about life before she heads off to college to save the world.
Okay. So I think we can all agree that this plot line could have easily slipped into the predictable too-serious-girl finds there's more to life than book learning . . . but somehow it just . . . doesn't. I kept waiting to succumb to that familiar jaded feeling and it never came. And even though I did predict one key surprise correctly, Cornwell absolutely won me over with her genuine love for her character and the region of the world she was exploring. You could tell the author had traveled herself (and loved it) as there's just that certain kind of wanderlust and experience with being immersed in something wholly other that's difficult to manufacture. It was here in spades and I was suffused with memories of living abroad growing up and studying abroad later in college. Precious memories, every one. This wonderful sense of adventure lent the story a freshness I wholly enjoyed. Vassar's voice is a strong one, one that changes and grows over time, which I always appreciate. Lastly, if none of this has induced you to read the book, all I have to say is you might want to meet the handsome young man Vassar encounters on her sojourn. Because Hanks the Malaysian Cowboy Bodyguard alone is enough reason to read the book. "Hanks plural, not singular." Man, I love that cowboy.
Vassar Spore's parents just went ahead and named their only daughter after one of the most prestigious women's colleges in the country. Unsurprisingly, she grows up a goal-oriented perfectionist intent on winning a Pulitzer Prize and marrying an MIT grad. Yawn. In steps Vassar's bohemian grandma who demands she spend the summer with her backpacking across Southeast Asia. Blackmailed to within an inch of their lives, Vassar's parents give in and off she goes to a region of the world she never thought she'd see. And it's all bugs and dirt and complications from there on out. She encounters a myriad of people and pests from different walks of life and vastly different outlooks from her own. And the girl who thought she was so open-minded and so adaptable discovers she has just a few more things to learn about life before she heads off to college to save the world.
Okay. So I think we can all agree that this plot line could have easily slipped into the predictable too-serious-girl finds there's more to life than book learning . . . but somehow it just . . . doesn't. I kept waiting to succumb to that familiar jaded feeling and it never came. And even though I did predict one key surprise correctly, Cornwell absolutely won me over with her genuine love for her character and the region of the world she was exploring. You could tell the author had traveled herself (and loved it) as there's just that certain kind of wanderlust and experience with being immersed in something wholly other that's difficult to manufacture. It was here in spades and I was suffused with memories of living abroad growing up and studying abroad later in college. Precious memories, every one. This wonderful sense of adventure lent the story a freshness I wholly enjoyed. Vassar's voice is a strong one, one that changes and grows over time, which I always appreciate. Lastly, if none of this has induced you to read the book, all I have to say is you might want to meet the handsome young man Vassar encounters on her sojourn. Because Hanks the Malaysian Cowboy Bodyguard alone is enough reason to read the book. "Hanks plural, not singular." Man, I love that cowboy.
May 29, 2008
This book is so funny. Every page seems to have at least one thing to laugh about. But unlike most ridiculous teenage humors it really has a good theme. Vassar, the girl who is named after a prestigious college is trying to acheive a 5.3 or some ridiculously high GPA. Then in steps her grandma who makes her go on a trip with her in SE Asia for the entire summer. Suddenly the 5.3 isn't as attainable and she is forced to write a novel to earn AP-AP English credit. Her trip makes her realize that her life is not that great, she has never done anything but study and she doesn't fully appreciate life because who has time to do that when taking so many classes.
October 31, 2008
This is a young adult novel, but I picked it up because I'm friends with the author. It was an adventure story that I couldn't put down-- this is definitely a book that would have been a favorite of mine if it had been around when I was growing up.
Autumn herself has traveled all over Southeast Asia, so the details of the herione's adventures are incredible vivid and captivating. In fact, though the story itself is fiction, I know much of the story is based on actual events that Autumn encountered on her trips.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking for a gift for a younger cousin, sister, etc. (But you'll probably want to read it yourself before you give it away!)
Autumn herself has traveled all over Southeast Asia, so the details of the herione's adventures are incredible vivid and captivating. In fact, though the story itself is fiction, I know much of the story is based on actual events that Autumn encountered on her trips.
I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone looking for a gift for a younger cousin, sister, etc. (But you'll probably want to read it yourself before you give it away!)
September 3, 2009
Wow. Ya, wow. What a blank brained book.
Don't get me wrong here. Carpe Diem is a great philosophical statement. But I think it has been more artfully stated in media such as the Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams. If you haven't seen that movie by the way, do. It's also more impactful in those stories.
Vassar has practically been engeniered to succeed. She's named after a prep school for Pete's sake! Any gap in her plans and she will not win the Nobel Peice Prize. That really equals death in my book. So what happens when crazy Grandma Gertrude comes around and blackmails Vassar's parents and forces her to come to Asia with her where she falls for a wanna be Montana cowboy, get's in trouble with the Cambodian police, and gets trapped in an Opium village. What!!! Yes, an Opium village. I won't even tell you has she gets her first kiss. Soooooo yew. This is among the few crazy things that happens to Vassar Spore as she roughs it in third world countries as her artsie grandmother searches for inspiration for a massive collage depicting, ya guessed it, Asia! Um... ya.
I did NOT believe in the characters. I did not believe in the plot. I didn't believe in anything really about this book. But that wasn't really the point. It was obscenely silly and crazy and blatant.
I really did like the descriptions of Asia though. They seemed real enough out of the whole thing.
I don't really have much to say about this book really. It's silly and doesn't have great writing. I did appreciate the twist at the end of the books though. I really did like the cover if that counts for anything but I guess it really doesn't since the books about non conformity and I judged it by looks. I don't really know what that says about anything. One of the things this book did do for me was act like a pace maker. It gave me a little jolt of Carpe Diem, dragged up from the memory of Dead Poet's Society. If your looking for something silly, light, and quick, this is the book for you but not for me. ha ha. nevermind.
Don't get me wrong here. Carpe Diem is a great philosophical statement. But I think it has been more artfully stated in media such as the Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams. If you haven't seen that movie by the way, do. It's also more impactful in those stories.
Vassar has practically been engeniered to succeed. She's named after a prep school for Pete's sake! Any gap in her plans and she will not win the Nobel Peice Prize. That really equals death in my book. So what happens when crazy Grandma Gertrude comes around and blackmails Vassar's parents and forces her to come to Asia with her where she falls for a wanna be Montana cowboy, get's in trouble with the Cambodian police, and gets trapped in an Opium village. What!!! Yes, an Opium village. I won't even tell you has she gets her first kiss. Soooooo yew. This is among the few crazy things that happens to Vassar Spore as she roughs it in third world countries as her artsie grandmother searches for inspiration for a massive collage depicting, ya guessed it, Asia! Um... ya.
I did NOT believe in the characters. I did not believe in the plot. I didn't believe in anything really about this book. But that wasn't really the point. It was obscenely silly and crazy and blatant.
I really did like the descriptions of Asia though. They seemed real enough out of the whole thing.
I don't really have much to say about this book really. It's silly and doesn't have great writing. I did appreciate the twist at the end of the books though. I really did like the cover if that counts for anything but I guess it really doesn't since the books about non conformity and I judged it by looks. I don't really know what that says about anything. One of the things this book did do for me was act like a pace maker. It gave me a little jolt of Carpe Diem, dragged up from the memory of Dead Poet's Society. If your looking for something silly, light, and quick, this is the book for you but not for me. ha ha. nevermind.
January 18, 2021
Dare I say that this might be one of my favorite books of all time? Yes I dare.
Vassar Spore is your run-of-the-mill overachiever until her crazy grandma whisks her away to South East Asia in whirlwind of backpacking madness. Much wit, mayhem, and romance ensues. Now, this book could have easily devolved into a cliche YA chicklit with an ultra-whiny narrator. BUT IT DOESN'T. EVER. Instead, Autumn Cornwall spins her tale so cleverly that we end up rooting for the most hilariously lovable and, at the same time, super irritating heroine ever to be conceived in the history of literature. We get a joyful, accurate, gritty portrayal of Southeast Asia complete with Mr. Tee-tee the ear-nibbler and a motorcycle chase. We get a hippi grandma with a penchant for excitement and a big secret. We get the most adorable love-interest to ever grace my imagination with his presence. And he happens to be a Malaysian cowboy. That's right. A Malaysian cowboy. And, best of all, we get an energetically paced plot that provides genuine entertainment in every chapter (except for maybe the first one, which induces more mildly-amused skepticism than genuine chuckles).
Vassar Spore is your run-of-the-mill overachiever until her crazy grandma whisks her away to South East Asia in whirlwind of backpacking madness. Much wit, mayhem, and romance ensues. Now, this book could have easily devolved into a cliche YA chicklit with an ultra-whiny narrator. BUT IT DOESN'T. EVER. Instead, Autumn Cornwall spins her tale so cleverly that we end up rooting for the most hilariously lovable and, at the same time, super irritating heroine ever to be conceived in the history of literature. We get a joyful, accurate, gritty portrayal of Southeast Asia complete with Mr. Tee-tee the ear-nibbler and a motorcycle chase. We get a hippi grandma with a penchant for excitement and a big secret. We get the most adorable love-interest to ever grace my imagination with his presence. And he happens to be a Malaysian cowboy. That's right. A Malaysian cowboy. And, best of all, we get an energetically paced plot that provides genuine entertainment in every chapter (except for maybe the first one, which induces more mildly-amused skepticism than genuine chuckles).
October 25, 2020
Leider nicht so besonders, wie ich es erhofft hatte. Eine außergewöhnliche Kulisse und ungewöhnliche Charaktere allein reichen nicht für eine gute Geschichte.
November 11, 2011
Vassar Spore. 16 years old. 5.3 GPA. Named after a very prestigious women's college by her parents. She's got everything planned for her life, and I do mean everything. She vows to spend her summer improving her academics by attending a bunch of classes. But just when she's about to embark her classes, she receives a birthday package from her grandma in Southeast Asia. What's in the package? A plane ticket to Singapore and a birthday note from her Grandma Gerd. Grandma Gerd offers an "all-expense paid summer vacation backpacking through Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos". Hows' that for a change of plans? And of course her parents had an instinctive reaction by turning down the offer. How could she miss her AP English classes, or Advanced Advanced English classes and many others? Then Grandma Gerd phoned and her parents tried to keep Vassar away from hearing their conversation. Yet, Vassar managed to grasp some odd words from the conversation and it all somehow led to The Big Secret. Then her parents gave in to the offer and Vassar was convinced that Grandma Gerd had said something to them to make them give in.
Vassar's curious about this Big Secret and her brainy friends help her try to figure it out, but they just can't. And her parents were determined not to let Vassar find out the truth. So Vassar went on the trip complete with her 10 suitcases, and she's very well equipped let me tell you that. Both Grandma Gerd and Vassar went on a very adventurous trip. And Grandma being a very eccentric, free spirit, live-in-the moment kind of person and Vassar being...well, not. It definitely adds something to the book.
I love the adventure and humor in Carpe Diem. And I have gone to some of the places she went to in Cambodia and Malaysia. I like how Autumn Cornwell described the scenery of the countries in the book, and it was almost a deja-vu for me. From the crowded atmosphere of a local restaurant in Malaysia and to the feel of the heat at the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. I love traveling and reading this book made me want to go out into the world, and find the adventurous side of me. Nothing in her life has prepared Vassar for the things she experienced in the book. She met this Malaysian cowboy personality, Hanks. He really tested her nerves, although his delightful ways got to her as the story progresses. He's basically her guardian during her trip I really love Hanks in the story, even though he also annoyed me in the beginning of the book. The humor found in the story is so outstanding, I find myself laughing out loud at them. Vassar encounters some difficulties during the trip and she deals with them in such hilarious ways. She faces some extremely embarrassing situations, such as, the squat toilets.
The book was full of interesting places, humor but I think this book was really about how Vassar changes and grows as a person throughout the story. I love seeing her gradual change and she emerges as a better person when the book ended. This book had a great pace, it was delightful, it was sweet, it was funny and I couldn't put it down. A fantastic read!
Vassar's curious about this Big Secret and her brainy friends help her try to figure it out, but they just can't. And her parents were determined not to let Vassar find out the truth. So Vassar went on the trip complete with her 10 suitcases, and she's very well equipped let me tell you that. Both Grandma Gerd and Vassar went on a very adventurous trip. And Grandma being a very eccentric, free spirit, live-in-the moment kind of person and Vassar being...well, not. It definitely adds something to the book.
I love the adventure and humor in Carpe Diem. And I have gone to some of the places she went to in Cambodia and Malaysia. I like how Autumn Cornwell described the scenery of the countries in the book, and it was almost a deja-vu for me. From the crowded atmosphere of a local restaurant in Malaysia and to the feel of the heat at the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. I love traveling and reading this book made me want to go out into the world, and find the adventurous side of me. Nothing in her life has prepared Vassar for the things she experienced in the book. She met this Malaysian cowboy personality, Hanks. He really tested her nerves, although his delightful ways got to her as the story progresses. He's basically her guardian during her trip I really love Hanks in the story, even though he also annoyed me in the beginning of the book. The humor found in the story is so outstanding, I find myself laughing out loud at them. Vassar encounters some difficulties during the trip and she deals with them in such hilarious ways. She faces some extremely embarrassing situations, such as, the squat toilets.
The book was full of interesting places, humor but I think this book was really about how Vassar changes and grows as a person throughout the story. I love seeing her gradual change and she emerges as a better person when the book ended. This book had a great pace, it was delightful, it was sweet, it was funny and I couldn't put it down. A fantastic read!
March 30, 2014
CARPE DIEM, my first known Latin.
This story has truly inspired me a lot. Life is all about to LIM, aka Live In the Moment.
I love that how Vassar's been able to learn that, and turns from an annoying girl to a brave
and adorable girl. I absolutely enjoy the character development and change of Vassar.
And Hanks, oh my gosh, how much I like Hanks. A super funny, handsome, Chinese Malaysian Cowboy, how cool is that :) I love how he teases Vassar all the time but saves her every time just like a hero!
The plot is unique, and I'm so shocked by The Big Secret revealed at the end of the story.
I like this book so much that I'm gonna buy myself a copy soon :)
This story has truly inspired me a lot. Life is all about to LIM, aka Live In the Moment.
I love that how Vassar's been able to learn that, and turns from an annoying girl to a brave
and adorable girl. I absolutely enjoy the character development and change of Vassar.
And Hanks, oh my gosh, how much I like Hanks. A super funny, handsome, Chinese Malaysian Cowboy, how cool is that :) I love how he teases Vassar all the time but saves her every time just like a hero!
The plot is unique, and I'm so shocked by The Big Secret revealed at the end of the story.
I like this book so much that I'm gonna buy myself a copy soon :)
March 16, 2013
The beginning is two stars, and the end is four stars. The average is three stars for the whole book.
I thought I would like this book a lot better. Heck, I thought I would be able to relate to Vassar Spore, the overachiever who gets an attitude change. I'm an overachiever; I am often super stressed about my 'success'. But Vassar isn't like that. That pretentious girl has it all together, because of her planning of course. So we end up with someone super annoying. That could have been on purpose, but I still didn't like it.
(One thing that really bugged me: in Vassar's schedule, she allots an hour and a half for homework. Are you freaking kidding me? I'm the same age, same grade as Vassar, and I'm only in advanced courses [our stupid school doesn't offer enriched courses] and I get a LOT more homework than that every night. And Vassar has friends, spends lots of time with her family..... you can't be human and do all that.)
Vassar gets a package and phone call from her vivacious grandma (who never plans, so she is looked down upon), and then finds herself in Southeast Asia two weeks later, with a 'big secret' to unravel. She meets Grandma Gertrude, and Hank. And they both annoy me as well.
Hank was interesting. In the beginning, I couldn't stand him. By the end, I was able to tolerate him. Probably not what the author had in mind. Towards the end, I also start appreciating Grandma Getrude, and can emphasize with her.
This book does grow on you, during the middle, where Vassar is faced with many difficult scenarios, and starts to realize she was a prig. I have to hand it to the author, she does know her stuff, and the descriptions of the locations Vassar was at were incredibly realistic. The big secret wasn't anticlimatic, it was actually something I would have never guessed, but it still made sense.
I thought I would like this book a lot better. Heck, I thought I would be able to relate to Vassar Spore, the overachiever who gets an attitude change. I'm an overachiever; I am often super stressed about my 'success'. But Vassar isn't like that. That pretentious girl has it all together, because of her planning of course. So we end up with someone super annoying. That could have been on purpose, but I still didn't like it.
(One thing that really bugged me: in Vassar's schedule, she allots an hour and a half for homework. Are you freaking kidding me? I'm the same age, same grade as Vassar, and I'm only in advanced courses [our stupid school doesn't offer enriched courses] and I get a LOT more homework than that every night. And Vassar has friends, spends lots of time with her family..... you can't be human and do all that.)
Vassar gets a package and phone call from her vivacious grandma (who never plans, so she is looked down upon), and then finds herself in Southeast Asia two weeks later, with a 'big secret' to unravel. She meets Grandma Gertrude, and Hank. And they both annoy me as well.
Hank was interesting. In the beginning, I couldn't stand him. By the end, I was able to tolerate him. Probably not what the author had in mind. Towards the end, I also start appreciating Grandma Getrude, and can emphasize with her.
This book does grow on you, during the middle, where Vassar is faced with many difficult scenarios, and starts to realize she was a prig. I have to hand it to the author, she does know her stuff, and the descriptions of the locations Vassar was at were incredibly realistic. The big secret wasn't anticlimatic, it was actually something I would have never guessed, but it still made sense.
June 14, 2024
Vassar Spore is super organized. Her life revolves around detailed lists of what she will accomplish.
Enter Grandma Gerd whose life revolves around LIM - Living In the Moment. A little parental blackmail and Vassar's summer list is trashed as she flies to Malaysia for a summer with Grandma Gerd. How do you live without lists?
Along the way Vassar meets up with an Asian wannabe cowboy, finds that her ideas and beliefs don't run the world and she isn't who she thought she was. Then again, she survives and finds life can be so much more interesting without all of those detailed lists.
The book starts with Vassar being very annoying. It's amazing how many ways she can sabotage things. The pace really picks up when the trio (Grandma Gerd, Vassar and Cowboy Hanks) arrive in Laos. It is fun reading with a good theme. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day.
Enter Grandma Gerd whose life revolves around LIM - Living In the Moment. A little parental blackmail and Vassar's summer list is trashed as she flies to Malaysia for a summer with Grandma Gerd. How do you live without lists?
Along the way Vassar meets up with an Asian wannabe cowboy, finds that her ideas and beliefs don't run the world and she isn't who she thought she was. Then again, she survives and finds life can be so much more interesting without all of those detailed lists.
The book starts with Vassar being very annoying. It's amazing how many ways she can sabotage things. The pace really picks up when the trio (Grandma Gerd, Vassar and Cowboy Hanks) arrive in Laos. It is fun reading with a good theme. Carpe Diem. Seize the Day.
August 10, 2025
5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I never had a point in this book where I was bored. It was HILARIOUS (with the exception of some parts giving me second-hand embarrassment)!
All the characters were immaculately forged - Hanks being my favorite ❤ Vasaar was such a silly-goose and I sometimes wanted to shake some sense into her. Grandma Gerd...🔥💅💯 an absolute savage.
The plot twist was somewhat predictable (to an extent anyways) and the ending was clean.
BUT WHERE ARE HANKS' BOOTS VASAAR?!?!?!?!
I never had a point in this book where I was bored. It was HILARIOUS (with the exception of some parts giving me second-hand embarrassment)!
All the characters were immaculately forged - Hanks being my favorite ❤ Vasaar was such a silly-goose and I sometimes wanted to shake some sense into her. Grandma Gerd...🔥💅💯 an absolute savage.
The plot twist was somewhat predictable (to an extent anyways) and the ending was clean.
BUT WHERE ARE HANKS' BOOTS VASAAR?!?!?!?!
January 10, 2023
This book left me laughing every time I begrudgingly put it down!
April 9, 2020
4.5 stars. Am using this time at home now to either read books I've never read before or to re-read and re"assess" whether the books on my home bookshelf should still be there. So, I reread this book after having read it as a teenager at least ten years ago and I still loved it. Thought it was clever, funny, and good-natured. Fun easy read!
January 4, 2025
Ein nur für den Erfolg lebender und dauerlernender Teenager lernt auf einer Reise mit der Grossmutter das richtige, unplanbare Leben kennen.
Die Essenz dieser am Anfang vielleicht etwas nervigen Geschichte sollte sich die heutige Gesellschaft mehr zu Herzen nehmen!
Die Essenz dieser am Anfang vielleicht etwas nervigen Geschichte sollte sich die heutige Gesellschaft mehr zu Herzen nehmen!
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October 25, 2025In this essay I will show how contemporary white missionary offspring still write problematic shit about BIPOC…
February 8, 2019
Sometimes overly stereotypical, but otherwise entertaining tale about a young woman learning to live in the moment.
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May 24, 2012
I secretly have a thing for books about travel—probably because I’ve never been outside the country and thus have to live vicariously. And this book brings it. Seriously. Vassar and her grandma are backpacking through Southeast Asia—a journey not for the faint of heart. And the author doesn’t sugarcoat anything (at least, I don’t think she does—after all, I have no experience in the matter). Through Vassar you get to see the awesome and beautiful things about the countries she visits, as well as the grimy and not-so-ideal aspects. You see the good, the bad, and the ugly, for sure.
Vassar herself is generally likeable. She’s a little too Type A for my taste, but her learning to loosen up is a big part of the story, so I can’t fault her for it. And I respected that she had a fairly good attitude about the whole situation. I have to admit my attitude would probably be much worse than hers if I was the one dragged out of my life by a grandma I didn’t know on a trip I didn’t want to go on. I think the only thing I can’t forgive Vassar for is her superior attitude. She was so holier-than-thou about everything. So let’s just say I was really happy when she got knocked down a peg.
The romance in the book was really refreshing. Hanks is definitely NOT your typical YA boy. I mean, he’s a short Malaysian cowboy-wannabe. But man, did I love him. He gets Vassar out of her bubble and is just generally an awesome person.
The only real hang up I have with the book is the big secret about Vassar’s life that finally gets revealed. It weirded me out, and I couldn’t get past that. I won’t spoil it for you, but I’ll just say that I definitely wasn’t expecting it, and I admire Vassar for handling the information WAY better than I ever would’ve.
Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable travel book. If you like 13 Little Blue Envelopes, you’ll probably like this one, as it’s along similar lines. And now, I really can’t decide if this book makes me want to go to Southeast Asia or stay as far away from it as possible…
Book Light Graveyard
Vassar herself is generally likeable. She’s a little too Type A for my taste, but her learning to loosen up is a big part of the story, so I can’t fault her for it. And I respected that she had a fairly good attitude about the whole situation. I have to admit my attitude would probably be much worse than hers if I was the one dragged out of my life by a grandma I didn’t know on a trip I didn’t want to go on. I think the only thing I can’t forgive Vassar for is her superior attitude. She was so holier-than-thou about everything. So let’s just say I was really happy when she got knocked down a peg.
The romance in the book was really refreshing. Hanks is definitely NOT your typical YA boy. I mean, he’s a short Malaysian cowboy-wannabe. But man, did I love him. He gets Vassar out of her bubble and is just generally an awesome person.
The only real hang up I have with the book is the big secret about Vassar’s life that finally gets revealed. It weirded me out, and I couldn’t get past that. I won’t spoil it for you, but I’ll just say that I definitely wasn’t expecting it, and I admire Vassar for handling the information WAY better than I ever would’ve.
Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable travel book. If you like 13 Little Blue Envelopes, you’ll probably like this one, as it’s along similar lines. And now, I really can’t decide if this book makes me want to go to Southeast Asia or stay as far away from it as possible…
Book Light Graveyard
April 7, 2009
Vassar Spore may be the most hopeless overachiever you've ever met. On her TO BE list: Valedictorian? Check. Ivy League school graduate? Check. Wife to Hot Surgeon by 25? Pulitzer Prize winner? Check, check. With a life coach for a mother and an efficiency expert for a dad, you could say she was doomed from birth, but Vassar doesn't know any different. That is until a package containing plane tickets from her little known free-spirited Grandma Gerd arrives on her doorstep. Instead of a summer full of AP/AAP (Advanced, Advanced Placement) classes, Vassar is whisked off to Southeast Asia, where she may eventually learn to LIM (Live in the Moment) as well as discover a part of herself she didn't know existed.
This read wasn't what I expected, but I liked it nonetheless. As you could see, Vassar was a little boring at first, but once she got to Malaysia, things picked up. There's some funny stuff as you can imagine. Squat toilets, huge centipedes, strange tribal customs; the potential for hilariously awkward situations is myriad, and Vassar's experience lived up to it. How and the ways in which Vassar changes are unpredictable, yet realistic. And some of the other characters (particularly Grandma Gerd) are not what they seem. What I liked most was that in the end, Vassar remained the reach-for-the-stars, super planner she was before her eventful summer, albeit someone who can handle going with the flow and rolling with the punches - something to which all of us can relate.
This read wasn't what I expected, but I liked it nonetheless. As you could see, Vassar was a little boring at first, but once she got to Malaysia, things picked up. There's some funny stuff as you can imagine. Squat toilets, huge centipedes, strange tribal customs; the potential for hilariously awkward situations is myriad, and Vassar's experience lived up to it. How and the ways in which Vassar changes are unpredictable, yet realistic. And some of the other characters (particularly Grandma Gerd) are not what they seem. What I liked most was that in the end, Vassar remained the reach-for-the-stars, super planner she was before her eventful summer, albeit someone who can handle going with the flow and rolling with the punches - something to which all of us can relate.
January 17, 2021
This is a hard one to rate. As far as the objective quality of the book? I'd say it was a 4-star piece, easy. There was high quality writing built on a solid structure, and I'd love to try another book from this author, so I managed to make myself give it a second star. But I had an overwhelmingly negative reaction to this one.
Essentially: I love Vassar with every fiber of my heart and soul (she is the idealized and perfect version of me I'd like to be), and as a result I spent most of the book physically shaking with rage at Weird Hippie Grandma Gerd forcing her perfect granddaughter to drop her sensible summer study plans and go recklessly gallivanting all over humid/bug-infested/technology-lacking Southeast Asia, ultimately making her realize that she is self-absorbed or a prig or something, and there is more to life than scheduling every last minute and planning your entire future. (couldn't be more wrong!)
HOW DARE YOU CHANGE HER. FORGET YOU, GRANDMA GERD. I am so unbelievably furious with the message it sends that I keep rotating between two stars and one. If anything, Vassar wasn't sullen and hostile enough. She also should have continued hating Hanks, who was completely full of himself. Worst of all, this book did NOTHING to make Asian cultures sound appealing, and often had quite the opposite effect.
Essentially: I love Vassar with every fiber of my heart and soul (she is the idealized and perfect version of me I'd like to be), and as a result I spent most of the book physically shaking with rage at Weird Hippie Grandma Gerd forcing her perfect granddaughter to drop her sensible summer study plans and go recklessly gallivanting all over humid/bug-infested/technology-lacking Southeast Asia, ultimately making her realize that she is self-absorbed or a prig or something, and there is more to life than scheduling every last minute and planning your entire future. (couldn't be more wrong!)
HOW DARE YOU CHANGE HER. FORGET YOU, GRANDMA GERD. I am so unbelievably furious with the message it sends that I keep rotating between two stars and one. If anything, Vassar wasn't sullen and hostile enough. She also should have continued hating Hanks, who was completely full of himself. Worst of all, this book did NOTHING to make Asian cultures sound appealing, and often had quite the opposite effect.
November 25, 2012
Vassar Spore is a very focused and determined young woman. She always has a plan, and she has her life scheduled down to the minute. When her bizarre, bohemian, artist grandmother blackmails Vassar’s parents into sending her on a trek through Southeast Asia, Vassar initially fumes (this was NOT Part of The Plan) and then calmly makes some Adjustments. Traveling with Grandma Gerd, however, upsets everything. The woman will not stick to a schedule. But Vassar’s determined not to hate her AND to discover what secret she’s using against her parents. In the process she falls in love, offends some spirits, and rescues herself from the proprietors of an opium den! Gradually, Vassar learns to unbend, allow a little adventure into her life, and live in the moment (LIM).
It takes a little while to warm up to Vassar – she’s got a huge stick up her…yes, well. Initially, she’s rigid, unbending, and kind of a bore. Her traveling experiences definitely help her expand her mind. And a heart to heart chat with grandma. And Hanks – don’t forget Hanks. I didn’t really fall for any of the characters in this story, and while Vassar’s transformation is believable, there are many nonfictional travel memoirs that are much more powerful.
It takes a little while to warm up to Vassar – she’s got a huge stick up her…yes, well. Initially, she’s rigid, unbending, and kind of a bore. Her traveling experiences definitely help her expand her mind. And a heart to heart chat with grandma. And Hanks – don’t forget Hanks. I didn’t really fall for any of the characters in this story, and while Vassar’s transformation is believable, there are many nonfictional travel memoirs that are much more powerful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2013
A fun and unexpected read that I ended up enjoying. Vassar, the main character, was book smart and had her whole life planned out at sixteen. She has a personality that is irritating because of her constant need to plan and prepare for every possibility, combined with the need to over-achieve, I just wanted to reach in and shake her.
I felt like everyone in this story are caricatures of real people. None of the people felt real, not Hanks the Malaysian cowboy or Grandma Gerd the hippie artist or Vassar's parents. Vassar herself went through a predictable character arc that was ultimately very satisfying to see her grow and change. The BIG SECRET though I guessed by the first letter, so overall it felt kind of silly.
For some reason though despite all of these things, I still enjoyed all of the ridiculous events that happened. From the toilet seat that sanitizes itself to the disinfecting food spray and eating pizza while in Southeast Asia. I thought the author had a very good sense of place despite travelling through all of these locations.
A solid 3 star read.
I felt like everyone in this story are caricatures of real people. None of the people felt real, not Hanks the Malaysian cowboy or Grandma Gerd the hippie artist or Vassar's parents. Vassar herself went through a predictable character arc that was ultimately very satisfying to see her grow and change. The BIG SECRET though I guessed by the first letter, so overall it felt kind of silly.
For some reason though despite all of these things, I still enjoyed all of the ridiculous events that happened. From the toilet seat that sanitizes itself to the disinfecting food spray and eating pizza while in Southeast Asia. I thought the author had a very good sense of place despite travelling through all of these locations.
A solid 3 star read.
December 24, 2008
We meet innocently smug 16 year old Vassar Spore firmly entrenched in her routines that will ensure her acceptance to Vassar (hence the name- who could deny her with that moniker hangin' 'round her neck?) a PhD and Pulitzer...her life is planned, planned, planned by her well meaning parents, mom, a life coach and dad the efficiency expert.
Obviously they are set up for a fall, enter Grandma Gerd an unencumbered free spirit who has been living in Asia. Seeing the rut that Vassar is in she maneuvers a place for Vassar on a trek in Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. Try as they might, the Spore family cannot plan this challenge away! Vassar's transformation to Frangipani Spore is quite a ride with many bumps twists and roadblocks. In turns hilarious, frustrating and mysterious this is a cute story that piques the latent trekker in all of us.
Obviously they are set up for a fall, enter Grandma Gerd an unencumbered free spirit who has been living in Asia. Seeing the rut that Vassar is in she maneuvers a place for Vassar on a trek in Cambodia, Laos and Malaysia. Try as they might, the Spore family cannot plan this challenge away! Vassar's transformation to Frangipani Spore is quite a ride with many bumps twists and roadblocks. In turns hilarious, frustrating and mysterious this is a cute story that piques the latent trekker in all of us.
August 26, 2013
Oh Vassar, your bra is quite the magical artifact. Literally, that's the only words I can think to start out this review. The book had be one of the funniest and wittiest things I have read in awhile from a young adult book. It literally had me laughing all the time. Vassar, the stuffy girl needing a 5.3 GPA, on a summer trip across Asia with her foil of a "grandma", who is in the form of a tan crazy artist named Gertrude. I found the entire story brilliant, full of opium dens and food poising, and don't even get me started on all those poor girls that Vassar was emailing that thought the whole adventure was the creativity of a bored mind. It was a truly brilliant novel, and I'm glad I picked it up, even though I didn't give it five stars I think it's fair to say it deserves winning awards and being noted for it's brilliance.
June 1, 2014
It was okay, but some of it was predictable. So much so that I thought the main character was an idiot for all that she was a genius, especially regarding her parents' secret. The main character and one of the secondary characters were total opposites of each other to the extent where I just didn't think it was believable. And, there were times when I was bored.
That said though, I did like this book. I liked the character development in how the main character changed from being quite arrogant to a more likable character. I enjoyed the almost Asian road trip. Also, I liked the relationship between the main character and her Asian cowboy. The writing style was okay too. I think it was the character voice that kept me reading.
I gave this book 3.5 stars,
That said though, I did like this book. I liked the character development in how the main character changed from being quite arrogant to a more likable character. I enjoyed the almost Asian road trip. Also, I liked the relationship between the main character and her Asian cowboy. The writing style was okay too. I think it was the character voice that kept me reading.
I gave this book 3.5 stars,
August 17, 2011
This is one of the best books I have EVER read. It is so easy to escape reality when picking up this book. The words create what should be created in your own mind. Let this book take you on a journey, for it will. At first glance I thought maybe it was going to be an okay book. You know the one you start then decide you will never finish it for the text was way to bland. But no, I was so very sadly mistaken. So stop debating weather or not you are going to read it just take my word for it and read it!
May 28, 2015
This was recommended to me by a former student, Rachel. I really enjoyed the novel. It is an interesting trend that the heroine does not have to be completely likable which makes them more real. I also liked the theme that you can learn from living in the moment (LIMming). So many times in life our expectations are what get us in to trouble. It is often better to let things unfold around us.
Thanks, Rachel!
Thanks, Rachel!
November 26, 2009
This book was REALLY good. It is my new favorite book. What made it really good is the author new what she was talking about because she has visited the place of the setting many times and most of the happinings in the book are her real life experiences, only made more interesting. I would recommend this book to mostly girls. It is a page turner. I read it in 2 days.
November 1, 2013
I understand that the point of the book was to teach Vassar to "Live in the Moment" but I can't stand characters like Grandma Gerd. Yeah, you want to teach your granddaughter to not plan everything out, but at least be considerate. And what's wrong with planning things out, anyway? The romance totally came out of nowhere too, especially since the boy isn't likable at first.
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