The Wanderer
By Sharon Creech

Major Characters: Sophie; a teenaged-girl who is taking the greatest adventure of her life, a trip across the Atlantic Ocean in a sailboat, Cody; Sophie's fun-loving, joking cousin, Uncle Dock; Sophie's sweet, friendly, and easy-going uncle, Uncle Stew; Sophie's very practical and organized uncle, Uncle Mo; Sophie's lazy, unfriendly uncle, and Brian; Sophie's quiet and logical cousin.

Minor Characters: Sophie's parents; Sophie was an orphan, but was adopted by her very loving and sweet parents, Rosalie; Uncle Dock's long-lost love, and Bompie; Cody, Brian, and Sophie's wonderful grandfather.

The setting is the cool, blue, rippling waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is set in present day times.
The Wanderer is a story of adventure, mystery,and finding yourself in the most unlikely places. It begins when Sophie, Cody, Brian, Uncle Dock, and Uncle Mo embark on their epic voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, in their boat, The Wanderer, to see their grandfather, Bompie. As they sail across the mighty sea, they begin to learn new things about each other. They learn that Sophie knows many of Bompie's stories, and says that he told them to her. However, everyone else knows that Sophie has never met Bompie.
When Sophie is asked about her real parents, the ones that died, or is called an orphan, she gets this far-off look in her eye and quickly changes the subject. She seems to not realize that her parents died.
During the voyage, they also learn about Uncle Dock's long-lost love, Rosalie. He still is in love with her, and they even made a view stops along the way to try to find her. All of their attempts to find Rosalie failed.
As they begin to get closer to Ireland, trouble starts. An enormous wave washes over the boat. It left everyone scared, and Cody was minorly injured. Not long after the wave hit, The Wanderer made it to Ireland.
The climax of the story is when they all arrive at Bompie's. That's when all of the mysteries come together. Uncle Dock finds his beloved Rosalie. Sophie realizes that her birth parents died and that she is being raised by adopted parents. Sophie was in denial for years. This is also the point where we learn how Sophie knows Bompie's stories.
When Sophie was adopted, Bompie wrote letters containing his stories so that Sophie could get to know her new grandfather. Uncle Dock ends up staying with Bompie. Everyone decides that someone should stay with the sick Bompie, and Uncle Dock volunteers becuase he is the only one without a family back home, and if he stays, he will get to stay with Rosalie.
In The Wanderer, Sophie realizes who she really is, but also realizes that even if her familly is not her biological one, they still love her as much as any family, maybe more. Cody builds a relationship he has never had with his father on their long voyage. Uncle Dock finally finds his long-lost love, Rosalie. Perhaps most importantly of all, The Wanderer brings everyone closer together.