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Oct 14, 2011

Lisa rated it:

Wonderful! Fabulous! So special! Very clever!

I liked this book even better than The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and that’s saying a lot. it’s even more emotionally touching than that first book.

Ben. Rose. Jamie. Etc. All of them touched me.

For not the first time I am tempted to create a new-york or nyc shelf.

I read this book in one day. Rose’s story told via pictures and Ben’s told via text were both mesmerizing.

I have memories of the 196 More...

26 comments like (14 people liked it)

Jan 31, 2012

Lora rated it:

Despite Wonderstruck's 630 pages, I read it within the span of three hours. Granted, over 460 of those pages are illustrations, but I still believe this fact attests to Wonderstruck's ability to keep its reader engaged and entertained.

Wonderstruck is two stories in one: it is Ben's story, and it is Rose's story. With the former's being told in words, and the latter's being told in illustrations, this textile tale takes two youngsters, a book, a turtle, a bookstore, a museum, and seve More...

4 comments like (13 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Jeanette rated it:

I opened this book with an almost giddy feeling of anticipation, knowing I'd love it but not knowing quite what to expect. It's more fun if you don't know too much, so I'll try to share my excitement without revealing plot details.

Wonderstruck weaves together two stories. One is told with words, the other with masterful drawings. Ben Wilson and Rose Kincaid are separated by 50 years, but they have some things in common. Both are longing for a missing parent. Both have lost their hea More...

10 comments like (7 people liked it)

Dec 27, 2011

Wendy rated it:

I definitely missed the boat somehow on this book. Rather than feeling smarter than all my friends who rated this four or five stars (they all did)--which is what bad or mediocre reviews of well-loved books sometimes sound like--I feel dumber, because I sense that there must be something I'm missing.

I read the first third of the book in one gulp and remember being fascinated. Several weeks went by before I was able to get back to it. That might have had something to do with it, or ma More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Oct 07, 2011

Terry rated it:

Wonderstruck is a marvelous read for older children of all ages. As in his groundbreaking The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick effectively alternates his storytelling between text and wordless drawings. In this book, the words tell one story and the drawings another, but there are many parallels between the two, and by the end they are woven together.

Although the two stories are set 50 years apart, and feature radically different circumstances, both tell the stories of deaf More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 19, 2012

Sarah rated it:

Wonderstruckis Brian Selznick's second graphic novel hybrid. It uses gorgeous full spread illustrations to tell the 1927 story of Rose, a girl who wants to get to New York City, and chapters to tell the 1977 story of Ben who is also on a journey to New York. Like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonderstruck is a thick but quick read.

The book opens with Ben's recurring nightmare of wolves chasing him over the frozen lake. It has been plaguing him since his mother's recent death. While m More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Melissa rated it:

A lovely and enchanting novel in pictures and words. I recently saw Martin Scorcese's interpretation of Hugo Cabret, and am so glad I read this novel around the same time. They both leave me wanting more from Selznick.

Two parts of the book really stand out (spoiler alert). The section where we discover who Rose's mom is and that she does not want much to do with her daughter and the section where Ben's grandmother is showing him the secrets of the models she has built. As a new mot More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 03, 2011

Emma rated it:

I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret in one sitting, and was so fascinated both by the story and the gorgeous pencil illustrations, that I jumped on the newest books by the same author.

I found in it the same format and the same quality of illustrations. The story was good too, though easier to...

To read my whole review, please go to:
http://wordsandpeace.wordpress.com/2011/...

Emma @ Words And Peace

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 14, 2011

Scot rated it:

Is it possible to give more than five stars?....it's been a long time since a book had such an emotional impact on me. I am wonderstruck.

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Dec 02, 2011

Nicola rated it:

Reason for Reading: I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret and have just been waiting for Selznick to follow it up with something similar.

Following the same "genre-breaking form" he established in The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Selznick returns to the half text/half wordless picture book to tell two parallel stories set fifty years apart until they eventually merge together into the same tale. The first story set in the 1970s features Ben whose mother has just died in a car acc More...

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Nov 27, 2011

Lynne rated it:

Ben is a boy now living with his aunt, uncle and two cousins since his single mother died in an accident. His aunt and uncle talk about selling his mother's house next door on a Minnesota lakeshore. Lonely, he sneaks over to his old home one night when he sees a light. It's his cousin Janet, dressing in his mother's clothes and playing her old music. He talks his cousin into letting him stay in the house alone for a bit. Ben discovers a note in one of his mother's books that leads him to believe More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 12, 2012

Chris rated it:

Brian Selznick is a great author and illustrator. His previous book, The Invention Of Hugo Cabret, was amazing, and although this book seemed clearly inferior, it was a nice read nonetheless. His research is thorough, he puts a lot of thought and intentionality into his characters and the overall message, and he is a great illustrator.

Of course, I would be blind not to notice that the illustrations are a bit inconsistent, with the portraits of the main characters morphing a bit depend More...

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Feb 12, 2012

Cecelia rated it:

Sammy's thoughts: I really loved Brian Selsnick's first book (The Invention of Hugo Cabret) and enjoyed this one just as much! Selsnick uses words and pencil drawings to tell two distinct stories that eventually weave together. The stories of Rose and Ben start 50 years apart; both characters wish their lives were different and leave everything they know to find what they are searching for. The pencil drawings are breathtaking, and I was surprised at how the stories came together in the end. : More...

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Feb 02, 2012

Guillermo rated it:

Let's be honest: If not for the fact that I work in the Children's Department of the local library, I would have never picked up a copy of Brian Selznick's Wonderstruck. I would have not paid $16 dollars - that's $14 off cover price - for this insanely thick children's book. I may not have even beaten myself over the fact that it took me four days to read rather than the one night/one morning time span it should've taken me (my eyes do get tired). However, I can't say I didn't enjoy the book. He More...

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Jan 26, 2012

Beth rated it:

I started this book last night and finished it this morning. I immediately want to read it again; always a sign of a good book, don't you think? It's a weighty book, but not just in the wrist-straining sense (although there is that). It has true emotional and intellectual heft; really, a rather miraculous children's book. I've admired Brain Selznick's work for a while now, but the man is really hitting his stride. The subtlety and depth of his writing is beginning to match that of his illust More...

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Jan 25, 2012

Sarah rated it:

After reading Selnick's other book in this style (The Invention of Hugo Cabret), I wasn't super eager to read another one. I have my review posted elsewhere, but overall I thought the format was a little gimmicky and left character development lacking. But when I heard that Wonderstruck incorporated ASL, I decided to give it a chance. I am a volunteer ASL interpreter (not certified) and really thought that the focus on images had a lot of potential as a medium for the storyline.

I wa More...

0 comments like

Jan 22, 2012

Onna rated it:

I JUST finished this after about 90 minutes. AWESOME book! I wish I could give it a hundred stars. Really, I do. I ran to my mom and dad gushing about this book. They completely ignored me, but that's neither here nor there.

When I was at the library a week ago I saw this on the bottom shelf. I ran and snatched it up thinking I had just struck gold. I loved Hugo Cabret so I just HAD to read this one. It did not disappoint! Like the other book, the pictures grab your attention. I am not More...

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Jan 18, 2012

Nick rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jan 15, 2012

Charlyn rated it:

Two stories about two deaf children, a boy and a girl, set fifty years apart: the boy's story is told in the narrative; the girl's story is told through pictures until the two stories intersect. Then the balance of the story is told in both pictures and narrative. Both children have a mission that has taken them away from home and both stories are strongly influenced by the fact that each is deaf and by the American Museum of Natural History.

I read the book in one sitting, trying t More...

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Jan 13, 2012

Jen added it

This is the story of two lives. Ben lives in 1977, and his mother has just died. He wishes more than anything that she were still alive – he doesn’t fit in with his relatives who have taken him in, and no one understands him. Rose lives in 1927, and no one understands her either. She’s Deaf, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t long for adventure – something that her family denies her. When Ben finds a secret in his mother’s old room, and when Rose reads a headline in a newpaper, both set off More...

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Jan 10, 2012

Linda rated it:

What's not to love about a Brian Selznick novel? The drawings are worth the purchase of the book (my copy came from the library but I will want a copy for my children's book collection). I absolutely loved how two parallel stories were told simultaneously, one through text and one through drawings, and ultimately came together. It reminded me of those old math word problems: "If train A leaves New York a X o'clock going 60 mph and train B leaves San Francisco at & o'clock at 65 mph, whe More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Andrea rated it:

Another magical creation. You can't help yourself from reveling in a work that makes you want to turn the pages faster to read and "see" what will happen next. With nods to other children's "museum" themed books and the universal theme of how we "collect" things as children trying to connect, hold on to and create sense in our worlds this is a pleasure on many fronts while never concealing the heartbreak that permeates the story. It has many interesting themes, s More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Tali rated it:

Ben and Rose both wish their lives were different—Ben longs for a father figure in his life, while Rose ogles over her mom’s stardom, yet her mother never seems to make time or care for Rose. In “Wonderstruck,” no one is content with their life. This book is pretty good if you’re willing to really think about what’s going on. The ending isn’t offered on a platter like most books.

The book is told with two stories. Rose’s story is told in pictures, while Ben’s is told through text. The More...

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Jan 08, 2012

Kate rated it:

Read this in a day. Well, actually, a few hours. It was engaging, the illustrations were fantastic, and the story was inspiring. There were a few times that I wondered why Selznick gave a way so much information instead of trusting the reader(s), but had to remind myself that it was written for young adults. I would have liked a little more background up front, but really it was all explained in the end.

Several good lines:

"He wished he was with his mom in her library More...

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Jan 05, 2012

Jan rated it:

Reviewers of Wonderstruck probably make comparisons to the author's The Invention of Hugo Cabret because there is no other book remotely comparable. But Wonderstruck charts new territory again. The book contains two separate stories, set a half-century apart, that converge at the end.

Ben lives in Minnesota with his mother, and wonders who his father is. When a near-miss lightning strike leaves him totally deaf, Ben decides it is time to find out. Ben's story is told in prose.

More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Heather rated it:

Absolutely loved this book! I was completely wonderstruck ;) I haven't actually read The Invention of Hugo Cabret yet, so this was my first experience with the unique form created by Brian Selznick. It took me a while to fully READ the pictures, but pretty soon the story took on a life of its own.

(Spoiler Alert) I felt like I was inside the book and living the life of someone who was deaf. I could feel Rose's anguish when she discovered that the era of silent movies was ending (How More...

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Dec 28, 2011

Ellie rated it:

3.5

After having set aside my Kindle app Pride and Prejudice, because my (new!) iPhone (weeell--mine and my brother's) was acting funny (flicking on and off, and going to sleep on me and refusing to stay awake), I grudgingly stuck it in the charger and glanced down at my currently-reading pile. Wonderstruck was at the top of that pile, and having been fairly pleased with it's (does that "it" have an apostrophe?) beginning when I started yesterday at the library, I bent over More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2011

Michael rated it:

This book consists of two separate stories, one told only with pictures. Eventually the stories come together. The drawings are rather dull and there are entirely too many of them. It seems that each of them is presented in four zooms: regular, close-up, really close-up, and OOOH!!!! Big deal. All this does is add pages and pages to the book unnecessarily. It's as if the author were getting paid by the pound. The historical research is mediocre, although it is presented at the end of the book as More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2011

Corinne rated it:

A lonely boy.
A brave girl.
A lightening strike.
A small wooden box.
A old book.
A dream of wolves.

I'm not even going to tell you how all these things tie together because the joy in this book, as in Selznick's previous book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, is the figuring out how the story lines are going to tie together. I read Wonderstruck in a sitting and a half, in awe and suspense. It's such a pleasure to pick up a book like this, where our main character is di More...

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Dec 16, 2011

Ann rated it:

Just like The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I absolutely adore Brian Selznick’s newest offering. Wonderstruck definitely left me wonderstruck. (As an aside, I saw Hugo last week, the cinematic version of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and it was AMAZING. I can only hope they figure out some way to put Wonderstruck on the big screen too! Though I don’t know if they can make a movie that would do this book justice, because even close-captioning would be hard for younger deaf children to understand.)
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