Wonderland by Barbara O'Connor
From Barbara O'Connor, the beloved author of Wish, comes a big-hearted story about the meaning of friendship, the challenges of growing up, and one lovable runaway dog.
Mavis Jeeter is fearless and bold, but she has never lived in one place long enough to have a real best friend. Her flighty mother has uprooted them again to another new home and taken a job as a housekeeper for the Tully family. Mavis wants this home to be permanent--which means finding herself a best friend.
Rose Tully is a worrier who feels like she doesn't quite fit in with the other girls in her neighborhood. Her closest friend is Mr. Duffy, but he hasn't been himself since his dog died. Rose may have to break a few of her mother's many rules to help Mr. Duffy--and find someone who really understands her.
Henry has run away from home, but he craves kindness and comfort--and doesn't know where to look for them.
When Mavis and Rose hatch a scheme to find Mr. Duffy a new dog, their lives and Henry's intersect--and they all come to find friendship in places they never expected.
Mavis Jeeter is fearless and bold, but she has never lived in one place long enough to have a real best friend. Her flighty mother has uprooted them again to another new home and taken a job as a housekeeper for the Tully family. Mavis wants this home to be permanent--which means finding herself a best friend.
Rose Tully is a worrier who feels like she doesn't quite fit in with the other girls in her neighborhood. Her closest friend is Mr. Duffy, but he hasn't been himself since his dog died. Rose may have to break a few of her mother's many rules to help Mr. Duffy--and find someone who really understands her.
Henry has run away from home, but he craves kindness and comfort--and doesn't know where to look for them.
When Mavis and Rose hatch a scheme to find Mr. Duffy a new dog, their lives and Henry's intersect--and they all come to find friendship in places they never expected.
This middle grade novel has been on my TBR for a while now. I loved Wish, and knew a dog was also a big part of Wonderland, so I guess I was kind of expecting Wish, Part II. Which is silly, I know.
Instead, this is a less intense novel about two girls, Mavis and Rose. Despite very different socioeconomic backgrounds, both girls become fast friends, bonding over a campaign to help Mr. Duffy get over the death of his beloved dog.
We get both girls' POVs, which I felt diluted the power of the story a bit. Mavis and Rose are interesting, but we never stay with one long enough to feel emotionally invested, instead ping ponging back and forth in a series of very short chapters. We also see the world through Henry, a sad, emaciated dog who wants desperately to stay away from Wonderland. There's an interesting subplot about this Wonderland, which turns out to be a dog racing track. Overall, though, I felt that everything was a bit lukewarm.
I do wonder if I'd have liked this better if I hadn't read Wish so recently. Sometimes reading experiences are all about timing, at least for me.
Have you read Wonderland? What did you think?
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