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rideauriverreads's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Incest, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
sarah_kula's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, War, Child death, Death, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Eating disorder, Genocide, Rape, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Incest, and Suicide attempt
jinmichae's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was a slow narrative, but I felt it was quite tense: I read it all in one sitting, even knowing the end. Every 8 hour shift you hope that a change will come, and you feel as worn thin as Lib by the time it finally does. Bonus points for the scene at the end with Sister Michael: reminded me of one of my favorite scenes in Les Miserables.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Child death, Classism, Grief, Rape, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Death, and Gaslighting
Minor: War, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Infidelity
ombligo's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Incest, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
inesiragui's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Minor: Suicide attempt, Child death, and Sexual violence
e_199's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
Graphic: Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Incest, Medical content, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Grief, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Death
rosecott's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Most of the story is the nurse watching a little girl do nothing much aside from pray and sleep…
The last chapter finally started giving some answers and it was all very dark and unhappy. All in all, o was pretty relieved for it to be over. That said, the idea and mystery element did capture my interest enough not to DNF it.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Rape, and Eating disorder
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Vomit, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Child death, Incest, Self harm, Body horror, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
lisabuer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Incest, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
kelly_e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: September 20, 2016
T H R E E • W O R D S
Intriguing • Mystifying • Distinctive
📖 S Y N O P S I S
A village in 1850s Ireland is baffled by Anna O’Donnell’s fast. A little girl appears to be thriving after months without food, and the story of this 'wonder' has reached fever pitch.
Tourists flock in droves to the O'Donnell family's modest cabin, and an international journalist is sent to cover the sensational story. Enter Lib, an English nurse trained by Florence Nightingale, who is hired to keep watch for two weeks and determine whether or not Anna is a fraud.
As Anna deteriorates, Lib finds herself responsible not just for the care of a child, but for getting to the root of why the child may actually be the victim of murder in slow motion.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Emma Donoghue writes such compelling and distinctive tales unlike anything else and in such a way that I am kept guessing from start to finish. This is precisely why she became one of my auto-buy authors. The Wonder has say unread on my shelf for several years, but with the release of a a full-length film in late 2022, I decided I needed to move it up my TBR before watching.
And what a unique book! Similar Donoghue's past books I've read, it took a good 50 pages to be fully engaged, yet as the story progresses it gets stronger and stronger until the dramatic grande finale. Despite the slow start, I found myself instantly curious to see how everything would unfold. My interest and suspicious continued to rise until everything comes together in the end. It's hard to say too much without giving away big parts of the story, but I just couldn't predict where it was going to go.
Donoghue has a very distinctive writing style, and her phenomenal writing was definitely on display throughout. The characters are well developed that I wanted to know more about each of them. Anna and Lib's relationship flourishes over their time together, even though it is so short. And the setting helped created an atmosphere of lies and secrets.
Bringing together science, religion, and superstation in a variety of ways, The Wonder was such a unique and thought-provoking story. While it started out slow, the ending was highly fitting and the narrative speaks to the power of two strangers coming together to transform each others lives.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• Emma Donoghue fans
• readers looking to diversify their historical fiction repertoire
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Good nurses follow rules," Lib growled, "but the best know when to break them."
"I must be cruel, only to be kind."
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Incest, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
Minor: Kidnapping, Vomit, Body horror, Misogyny, and Fire/Fire injury