carpe diem by autumn cornwell

Although the skirt hung in a stiff tube around my legs, maybe with my new white silk blouse it didn’t look half-bad-
“You look like a giant tube of toothpaste.”
Maybe not.
You know those people who have everything planned out? The six year olds who already know exactly who they are going to marry? And the thirteen year olds who are already taking AP classes*? Well, Vassar Spore (named after a woman’s college) is one of those. Only to the extreme. She has her entire life planned out, including writing a book, going to Vassar college, marrying for love, having three children by the age of about 35, and the entirety of her life. The Spore family is known for their planning. Everything is planned out. They have schedules of their schedules. Vassar is well on her way to her goal.
Until the box arrives.
The box is from Vassar’s grandmother, Gertrude (Gerd). And it totally messes up her plans. Grandmother Gerd blackmails Vassar’s parents into forcing Vassar to backpack across Southeast Asia. While Vassar is on her trip, she meets a, to quote the jacket cover, “Malaysian cowboy-slash-bodyguard her own age”, she learns secrets about her family, and more then that, she learns to turn her life backwards… and Carpe Diem, seize the moment.
What made people climb mountains? Those lunatics who climbed Machu Picchu, Kilimanjaro, Everest- what drove them to waste all that time and energy to simply get to the top of a land mass?
The title caught my attention. I mean, it’s a famous (latin) phrase. The cover also caught my attention. It’s interesting. I love the style… the swirly bits in the leaves and her hair, and the natural brown and green. I read the synopsis, loved the idea, read the book, and loved the book. I’d give it 5 stars… This book had a good ending! No stars needed to be removed for a crappy ending.

*I have nothing against these sorts of people. If you have something against these people, I would recommend not saying anything, as I and a lot of my friends are them.