Reader: Guanani
Age: 16
Title: Wonderstruck
Author: Brian Selznick
Publisher: Scholastic
Pub Date: 9/13/2011
Galley: Yes
Top 25: No
Convince us to read the book: In a similar style to his previous book, Selznick uses both illustrations and words to tell his story. The drawings’ quality and conveying of emotion are superb, and told a complex tale in a fascinating way. The story itself, the parallel journeys of a boy in modern Minnesota and a girl in the early 1900s east coast, are also very original and whimsical in a way akin to The Invention of Hugo Cabaret.
Memorable or Forgettable: One problem I found with this book is that Selznick chose to tell one character’s story only in words and the other’s only in pictures, which made sense for the needs of the story but was also distracting. I found myself skipping ahead to find out what happened in the picture story because it was more interesting, and this made for a more fragmented experience than the parallel perspective-shift the author probably had in mind.
Cover: The cover is lovely, as are the pictures inside. After The Invention of Hugo Cabaret, this is a bit disappointing, but I’m glad Selznick is continuing to explore his unique storytelling technique.
Age Range: Under 12 to 15
Quality: 4Q Better than most
Popularity: 3P Some teen appeal
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