First of all, this cover is AMAZING! It is the kind of cover that made me not even care what the book was about, I knew I wanted to read it. And I lucked out because what was under the cover was good too!
This is a non-fiction account of Olive MacLeod. In 1910, she found out that her fiancé had gone missing while in Africa. So…she packed her bags and went to find him. Olive MacLeod is the kind of woman I would have liked to know. She was fiercely independent, wildly disregarding of the early 1900’s social restrictions, and extremely adventurous!
There were so many wonderful things about this story. I really enjoyed reading Olive’s letters, which were used throughout the book. I thought they provided really interesting first-hand accounts of Olive’s personality. I did not like how their placement fit into the actual book. It felt abrupt at times, pulling me from the story. They were excellent additions to the story, and I would not have wanted them removed, but I would have liked them to flow seamlessly into the pages.
I loved the adventurous encounters with wildlife that Olive has on her journey. Every type of animal that you think lives in Africa seemed to have crossed paths with Olive. The descriptions of the landscape really drew me into the story.
Overall, I thought this was a very interesting account of one woman’s journey through Africa. I liked getting to know Olive and learning about who she was. I think that the story could have been enhanced with some maps to show her route through Africa, and some better choices in the way the story unfolded. It was, however, an exciting book with so many interesting details and encounters!
To Read or Not To Read:
I would recommend