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gracescanlon's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Another new favorite! I’ve added so many to that list this year, and it’s been such a delight.
The Wonder State combines my favorite story elements within its pages: the Southern Gothic, friendships, magical realism, and a quest. It’s an utterly captivating and enchanting story about a group of six unlikely friends on a quest for local magical locations during their senior year of high school. It also follows the continuation of that unfinished quest 15 years after high school graduation, after one of them goes missing.
In The Wonder State, Murphy touches on many important themes, including classism, poverty, addiction, and abuse, among others. Her characters, their prejudices, insecurities, and struggles, are all believable, especially in their teenage minds. She has a talent for capturing the moral complexity of the human person - no one is wholly good or wholly bad. Murphy shows through her characters that people make mistakes (it’s inevitable); it’s what they do after making that mistake that determines if they are more of a good person or bad person.
I found putting this book down difficult, even if moments before picking it up I was ready to turn out my lamp and sleep for the night. I always seemed to read the whole of at least two or three chapters every time I began to read it.
The ending, though I can see how some might find it disappointing, was perfection - to me. It was, after all, the falling action. I loved how quiet the ending was, how peaceful and hopeful - a perfect contrast and conclusion to a high-tension story.
I have only one more word: Brava!!!!!
The Wonder State combines my favorite story elements within its pages: the Southern Gothic, friendships, magical realism, and a quest. It’s an utterly captivating and enchanting story about a group of six unlikely friends on a quest for local magical locations during their senior year of high school. It also follows the continuation of that unfinished quest 15 years after high school graduation, after one of them goes missing.
In The Wonder State, Murphy touches on many important themes, including classism, poverty, addiction, and abuse, among others. Her characters, their prejudices, insecurities, and struggles, are all believable, especially in their teenage minds. She has a talent for capturing the moral complexity of the human person - no one is wholly good or wholly bad. Murphy shows through her characters that people make mistakes (it’s inevitable); it’s what they do after making that mistake that determines if they are more of a good person or bad person.
I found putting this book down difficult, even if moments before picking it up I was ready to turn out my lamp and sleep for the night. I always seemed to read the whole of at least two or three chapters every time I began to read it.
The ending, though I can see how some might find it disappointing, was perfection - to me. It was, after all, the falling action. I loved how quiet the ending was, how peaceful and hopeful - a perfect contrast and conclusion to a high-tension story.
I have only one more word: Brava!!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Blood, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Physical abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, and Sexual content
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