Reviews

The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy

atgerstner's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this. I loved the writing. I want it to be a tv show. 

jansbookcorner's review

3.0

I picked this book up from Square Books when I was visiting a friend in Oxford this Fall. It caught my eye since I grew up in The Wonder State of Arkansas. This is not my normal genre and I went into this book not knowing the ride I was in for. Overall, I enjoyed the story. I can suspend belief and go along with magic if it’s not too far out there. What kept this book from 4 or 5 stars was a few plot holes and a predictive story outside of the magic.

narzibenoucdel's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Underwhelming in its character writing, stakes, and reveals, but the premise, themes, and structure of the novel were strong enough to give the story a good momentum. I wish I liked it more!

hroszczyk's review

4.0

I picked this book up on a whim and ended up loving it. Just the right touch of magic and mystery for spooky season!

siljacharlotte's review

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sassybooks's review

slow-paced

1.0

roseleaf24's review

4.0

The Wonder State is gripping and unexpected. I didn't know where this was going, in either the 1999/2000 timeline or the 2015 timeline, but I enjoyed being along for the ride. I loved the redemption that was possible here, but also the darkness of the mistakes and choices we make as teenagers.

nayadmonroe's review

medium-paced

4.25

gammy22's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

By far, the most underrated book of 2023. I'm a Sarah Flannery Murphy fan forever! My first Magical Realism book with be hard to beat. 

pilardo's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Writing was inoffensive, didn’t stick out to me in a negative way ever but was not anything special. The plainness of the writing complemented the book’s characters and let me focus on their motivations etc. I found the main cast of characters kind of annoying, hated the “big bad” from the beginning, and wasn’t rooting for anyone other than Jay and Brandie. The reveal wasn’t worth it and I feel like it wrapped up too quickly. Unhappy with Iggy and Charlie’s endings- honestly really only satisfied by Jay and Brandies.

I really did like the tone of the ending, and the way the magic wove into the lives of the town. The magic was my favourite part of the book by far.