Wonderstruck: If Only the World was Organized

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Why did I read it?

Because The Invention of Hugo Cabret (same author and style) was awesome, and because we just talked about it at TeenBookWorms =D

What happened?

Even though they are separated by 50 years (Rose's tale starts in 1927, and Ben's starts in 1977), Ben and Rose have a lot in common. Both of their fathers aren't in their lives, they have a hard time connecting to those around them, and they are both deaf. They also have a passion for New York City, and collecting things around them.

But, their stories are also different. Rose's parents don't think it is safe for a deaf child to be unattended in a large city and Ben has just lost his Mom and is stuck living with his Aunt and Uncle. So, when Rose sees an article about her famous mother, and Ben finds a note relating to his long-lost father, they both start off on adventures to find a place to belong, and answer the questions beating inside their heads.

What did I like or not like?

Similarly to Hugo, this book does a really good job of showing the wonder and awe that a child's world has. It also shows how important it is for kids to have caring adults in their lives, and to know where they fit.

This book was also really cool because also similarily to Hugo, part of it is told in text like a novel, and the other parts are told in pictures, kind of like a flip chart.

Another unique part of the story was the many references to Deaf culture, libraries and museums. These are typical plot elements, and that made the story all the more fascinating.

Finally, even though the novel starts as two distinct stories, we find by the end that Rose's and Ben's stories are much more connected than we originally thought, and they both find a part of what they are looking for in each other.

Concerning TeenBookWorms

In my promotion, I mentioned that we would be doing Shrinky Dinks the last Monday in May. But, it turns out that we were very closed as it was Memorial Day. So, we ended programs that one week early, and my programs don't start until June 18th. So today, I'm going to tell you a little bit about our TeenBookWorms group.

Basically, this is a group for high school students who love to read. We choose one book a month, read it, and then I come up with some discussion questions (or borrow them from another reading club) and we chat about it. Some of the time, we might get a little side tracked with upcoming movies (especially with The Hunger Games and The Avengers), or crazy Youtube videos. But, we always have a great time, and we always chat about literary stuff.

Another cool part about the group is that you as the teens pick the book. We pick our titles a few months out so we aren't surprised, and I might have some suggestions if you get stuck. But ultimately, you get to decide what you would like to read.

So far we've read: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt, Divergent by Veronica Roth, Germ by Robert Liparulo, and Stravaganza: City of Masks by Mary Hoffman.

At our last meeting, we lined up the books we're going to be reading through the summer as well.
June 26, 4-5pm Wonderstuck by Brian Selznick
July 24, 4-5pm The Maze Runner by James Dashner
August 28, 4-5pm Illusion by Frank Peretti

If any of our upcoming books sound awesome to you, read it, and come chat with us :) If they don't sound interesting at all, then pop by anyways and tell us what we should read next hehe.