A Review
Eleven-year-old Zoe Reindeer loves what her father loves, their home and nursery that's filled with shrubs and plants and trees of all kinds for sale. To Zoe, it is a wonderland, not as her sister calls it, a Weirdland. And Zoe is content with doing little other than learning more about plants, especially the endangered kinds, daydreaming about Imaginary Zoe, and (most of all) spending time with her very, VERY best (and only) friend in the world, Quincy. Quincy loves all thing wonderful just as much as she does, and he never makes her feel like "just Zoe"--ordinary, plain Zoe.
One day, a mysterious man appears in Zoe's Wonderland. He would like to buy a baobab tree, but since her Wonderland does not have one, Zoe and Quincy decide to grow one from seed. They'll even make a movie about it! But when Quincy's mom gets ill and he has to temporarily move away, Zoe is not quite sure how wonderful her world will be.
One day, a mysterious man appears in Zoe's Wonderland. He would like to buy a baobab tree, but since her Wonderland does not have one, Zoe and Quincy decide to grow one from seed. They'll even make a movie about it! But when Quincy's mom gets ill and he has to temporarily move away, Zoe is not quite sure how wonderful her world will be.
He was standing in the doorway, same round face and nerd glasses, smiling. Quincy.
I felt like someone was tickling me from the inside. Silly-happy....
I was so happy that I couldn't stop myself. I dropped everything, ran to where he was standing, and hugged him tight. Tight like I'd fallen from a boat into the middle of the ocean and someone had thrown me one of those round life-savers and to keep from drowning I had to squeeze the thing until I almost squished it--that tight."
I loved this book because I saw my younger self in Zoe. I understood her unique view of the world and felt her love for the quieter things of life. As a kid, I liked to use my imagination to experience adventure. I enjoyed the peace and security that was found when alone beneath the thick branches of trees. Zoe's struggles, though small in comparison to the epoch battles that are fought by other book heroines, are the kind many young ones today are confronted with. They feel ugly, weird, like no one gets them but maybe one person out of a thousand. And when that person is removed from the equation, it can be a very scary thing. So I am sure young middle-grade readers will find themselves relating to Zoe and rooting for her, hoping that she will remain wonderful come what may.
Another reason young readers will enjoy this book is the fact that the chapters are short with each page moving steadily along Zoe's journey. Furthermore, this book is very well-written. Zoe's narration is believable and beautiful expressed. Of course, that's no wonder for ZOE IN WONDERLAND is written by Brenda Woods, a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author, and is edited by the deft hand of Nancy Paulsen, publisher of Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
Another reason young readers will enjoy this book is the fact that the chapters are short with each page moving steadily along Zoe's journey. Furthermore, this book is very well-written. Zoe's narration is believable and beautiful expressed. Of course, that's no wonder for ZOE IN WONDERLAND is written by Brenda Woods, a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author, and is edited by the deft hand of Nancy Paulsen, publisher of Nancy Paulsen Books, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
