Eighty Days to Elsewhere

Ramona “Romy” Keene is a New Yorker who knows her city well but has limited firsthand experience with life beyond the five boroughs. Her steady life is turned upside down when her job, family, and home are threatened by a pitiless millionaire real estate developer and his attractive nephew. In need of a new job, Romy stumbles upon ExLibris Exhibitions, a company that allows wealthy bibliophiles the chance to travel the same routes as their literary heroes. She earns the chance to try out for a permanent position by plotting a trip around the world, though she has much less than the 80 days allotted to her inspiration. At first, Romy is dismayed to learn that the evil nephew is her competition, but comes to see that he might not be the villain she thought him to be. In fact, Romy finds that international travel awakens her awareness of a lot of things, including the limitations of her American perspective. Narrator Lauren Ezzo gamely tackles the large assortment of international characters and accents in the novel.