The Lost Girls

by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C Corbett, and Amanda Pressner

[ibeforem]

You have to admire what these girls did. In their mid-twenties and mired in the fast-paced world of magazine publication in New York, they decided it was now or never. It was time to explore the world.

Over the course of a year, their trip took them to South America, Kenya, several countries in SE Asia, Bali, New Zealand, and Australia. And the book covers it all, some in more detail than others. That’s actually one of my quibbles with the book. So much time is spent on that first month or so in South America that by the time they reach the end of their trip in New Zealand and Australia, all of the energy had disappeared from the story.

I also had a problem with the narration. The three girls sounded much too alike to be able to tell who was writing unless unless there were heavy context clues (or you checked the beginning of the chapter — easier to do in hard copy than in the e-book). I wish their voices had been a little more distinctive.

I also love to travel, but I can’t say that the book inspired any wanderlust in me. Though they certainly saw sights that I would love to see myself, they did it in a way (backpacks and hostels) that this almost-40 lady wouldn’t be able to hack. Also: stay away from yoga schools in India.

Each of the girls definitely felt a little “lost” during their journey. What would await them when they returned to real life? Would they be happy with the same jobs, the same people, or are they forever changed? These are questions that aren’t really answered in the book, though if you read the afterword you know that they’ve continued to make travel a large part of their lives.

Overall, I liked reading about their journey, but it took me a long time to get through it.