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The Search for WondLa (WondLa #1)

by Tony DiTerlizzi (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 3,355 ratings · 737 reviews

Eva Nine is a curious and sensitive twelve-year-old who has existed only in a subterranean home called Sanctuary, cared for by a robot named Muthr. Eva's great desire is to go aboveground, and her wish comes true, though not as she had imagined. On the surface, Eva goes in search of other humans--she has never met one--and soon meets both friend and foe.

Hardcover, 484 pages

Published September 21st 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

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New Children's Classics

11th out of 170 books — 274 voters

Best YA Dystopian/Utopian/Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic

58th out of 246 books — 504 voters

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Apr 07, 2011 Shannon Messenger added it

I had high expectations after all the gushing I heard from the peeps at S&S when I picked up this ARC--not to mention I'd flipped through the book and seen some of the fabulous illustrations--and the book definitely lived up to everything I'd hoped for.

Eva Nine is a wonderful character. Stubborn and vulnerable and smart and sweet and real. I could feel her fear and her loneliness, her wonder and confusion. And the world! I don't know where Tony gets his imagination from, but I want to borrow...more

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Dec 24, 2012 Helen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, adventure, cute-tales, charming, dystopian, wasnt-expecting-that, space-the-final-frontier, oh-my-god-endings, best-character-or-charachters, i-can-t-let-go-and-my-favourites

Oh. My. God. I don't even have the words to describe this WondLa-ful book! This book is steeped in emotion of being alone in the world, adventure, and friendship. This is like a soup, its ingredients include; a teaspoon of The Wizard of Oz, a drop of Treasure Planet, and a dash of Avatar (with the whole nature thing, and of course Rovee being a blue creature). Oh, and a bit of Journey to the Center of the Earth for good measure.

The plot is completely original, well done to Tony's imagination! An...more

4 likes · like · see review

Oct 28, 2011 Vincent Desjardins rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-and-young-adult, science-fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Publicity for this book calls it a fairy tale for the 21st century and DiTerlizzi has said he was inspired by the stories of James M. Barrie and L. Frank Baum. I can see a lot of Baum’s influence in this story of a young girl named Eva Nine who has to make her way through a strange new world to find what she is searching for, in this case the secret behind ‘WondLa,’ a damaged panel she has found containing lettering that appears to spell out the word ‘WondLa.’ The panel also contains an image of...more Publicity for this book calls it a fairy tale for the 21st century and DiTerlizzi has said he was inspired by the stories of James M. Barrie and L. Frank Baum. I can see a lot of Baum’s influence in this story of a young girl named Eva Nine who has to make her way through a strange new world to find what she is searching for, in this case the secret behind ‘WondLa,’ a damaged panel she has found containing lettering that appears to spell out the word ‘WondLa.’ The panel also contains an image of a human girl and what appears to be an adult figure and a robot, all holding hands. Since Eva has grown up in solitude, the only human in an underground sanctuary, watched over by a robot named Muthr, she is intrigued to see this image showing other humans with a robot companion. She begins to wonder if there are others like herself in the world outside her sanctuary, a place she has been forbidden to explore. When Eva Nine’s sanctuary is attacked by a bounty hunter from the outside world, everything Eva thought she knew about the outside world is turned upside down. She and Muthr are forced to flee and end up on a journey in search of WondLa, hoping to find other humans. Along the way they gain friends and encounter enemies. There are some obvious parallels to Dorothy’s trip across the land of Oz. Like Dorothy, Eva Nine has three companions on her journey and also, like Dorothy, she has an enemy on her tail. Though it’s been compared to a fairy tale, the story is told with the trappings of a science fiction adventure. What it does share with many fairy tales is the premise of someone who leaves the safety of their own world and is thrust into a strange world filled with incredible encounters. Eva Nine is a very sympathetic and likable character as are all of her companions. I found the story imaginative, suspenseful and at times very moving. As an added bonus, the talented DiTerlizzi has created some wonderful illustrations for the book. He’s an amazing artist and his illustrations add another dimension to the reading experience. I found myself constantly going back to study the illustrations after reading the corresponding passages in the text. DiTerlizzi has come up with a clever solution for the secret behind the 'WondLa' panel, which I pretty much guessed before the end of the book, but that didn’t spoil it for me (If you’ve seen a cheesy Sean Connery film of the 1970s called ‘Zardoz,’ you might also guess the secret). The book is a fun read and I’m already looking forward to the next installment in this planned trilogy.(less)

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Dec 17, 2010 Michelle Witte rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, reviewed

I wish I had better things to say about this book. Of course the illustrations are gorgeous, but writing is not Mr. DiTerlizzi's strength. I imagine Spiderwick worked so well is because someone else wrote the story and he illustrated it.

I wish his editor had taken a red pen to about 3/4 of the adjectives he used. The descriptions were so incredibly detailed, with sometimes two or three adjectives, the story takes much too long to tell. Sadly, I think his fame hurt him in this case because it was...more

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Nov 01, 2012 Chelsy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-chapter-books, read-with-favorite-bookmark

Wow! Who knew Tony DeTerlizzi could pull off a sci-fi...!
It looked interesting enough sitting on a shelf at Barnes & Noble, but I don't read sci-fi; definitely not my main genre of interest. However, the illustrations are beautiful enough to make anyone want to read it.
Man, I am so glad I did. I almost stopped and left it in the middle, but the adventure the characters are experiencing keeps the fascination up, and the writing, though fairly simple, doesn't lag. The characters in general are...more

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Apr 14, 2013 Katie rated it 5 of 5 stars

It's been a long time since I have read a Children's book that I have been this excited about! Tony DiTerlizzi also wrote The Spiderwick Chronicles. I've been reading it aloud to my children every night and it works for ages 2.5-10. The illustrations are beautiful and there are so many illustrations in it that my little ones enjoy it and can follow along too. The story weaves a fairytale about a girl that has been raised by her Muthr Robot underground and when she emerges it's not like anything...more

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Aug 17, 2011 Wolf rated it 5 of 5 stars

This would have to be the absolute best book I have ever read, and that's saying something because I have been reading books since I was two years old. This is a wonderful, spellbinding, and creative novel written by the author of the Spiderwick Chronicles. The book takes place in the future, and it is about a 12 year old girl named Eva Nine, who has lived in an underground sanctuary her whole life, never having seen another human being, with only her protective robot guardian, M.U.T.H.R.(That s...more

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Mar 22, 2011 Lucy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads, favourites, science-fiction, illustrated, childrens, fantasy, adventure

Let me begin by encouraging anyone who is thinking about downloading the e-book edition of this story to go out and buy the real thing. In hardback. Trust me, it's worth it. A book this beautiful is meant to be printed and bound for art-enthusiasts and sci-fi/fantasy nerds everywhere to drool over.

Secondly, I'd like to congratulate DiTerlizzi on producing such a brilliant, original children's story. Not only is each chapter of this book beautifully illustrated by the author, the story itself suc...more

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Aug 29, 2012 Lauren rated it 5 of 5 stars

After reading the Spiderwick Chronicles, I was sad to see the the great Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi had not cola berated on another book. Upon searching the local book store however, I came across a familiar artistic style. It was none other than the T-man himself. I pegged and pleaded with my mother, and ended up getting the book. For the next couple weeks, I couldn't put it down. The strange world I had come to love in the Spiderwick books had some how leaked into the new trilogy of Eva Ni...more

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Oct 25, 2012 Angela Oliver rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, childrens, fantasy

Quite a delightful wee book with some beautiful illustrations and a relatively sweet plot, where friendship seemed to be one of the most important factors. The world was original and interesting, and the characters are charming. Ultimately, however, I think this is one better suited to a younger reader than I. The whole bounty-hunter-pursuing-heroes-through-everything gets a little tired after a while.

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Aug 07, 2012 Pamela Huxtable rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, kid-s

Predictable but enjoyable fantasy for late elementary age.

Eva Nine is forced to leave the only home she has ever known, her underground Sanctuary. She is joined by Muthr, the robot that raised her, and Rocender Kitt, a friendly alien traveler.

As always, DiTerlizzi's illustrations are lovely, detailed, and a pleasure to look at.

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Jun 30, 2012 Laurel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: middle-grade-books

I bought the book for my dd, a fan of DiTerlizzi's art and ended up reading it and am recommending it. The world building and art go hand-in-hand and make the story so rich. I love the world Eva Nine explores as she searches for her Wondla. She doesn't find what she expects, but comes away as a strong independent character.

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Apr 22, 2012 Lynette rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-editions

I've had this in my library for a while now and decided I must read it before the next book, A Hero for WondLa, comes out. I have a very nice collection of young adult books. I started buying them for my daughter, but I aslo find young adult books can provide a nice escape from reality and help me feel young again.

The Search for WondLa is an imaginative & exciting adventure with plenty of lessons learned along the way. I especially loved the way Tony used small trivialized parts of today's f...more

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Feb 26, 2013 Connor Grummer rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Search for WondLa takes place in a futuristic world that resembles Earth, but not... quite. As Eva Nine, a young child raised by a robot in a protected environment called a Sanctuary suddenly emerges onto the surface chased by a giant hawk creature, she realizes the training and preparation she had is completely irrelevant. Earth has changed since the last time humans have stood on it. Eva Nine emerges into a world filled with giant bacteria and telepathic bears. When she realizes humans ar...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Bah Humpug rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, ya, fiction-literature

I am always on the search for good kids/YA books because even though I'm well into adulthood, every time I find a good one I feel transported back to when I was a kid and books opened up fantastic new worlds for me. I stumbled across The Search for WondLa randomly and was drawn in by the premise and the illustrations I saw in the sneak peek. Imaginations are the best, but sometimes, especially with unusual creatures, well-done illustrations can add to the experience! I was pleasantly surprised b...more I am always on the search for good kids/YA books because even though I'm well into adulthood, every time I find a good one I feel transported back to when I was a kid and books opened up fantastic new worlds for me. I stumbled across The Search for WondLa randomly and was drawn in by the premise and the illustrations I saw in the sneak peek. Imaginations are the best, but sometimes, especially with unusual creatures, well-done illustrations can add to the experience! I was pleasantly surprised by WondLa and promptly bought the second book, which I am eager to start later today!

The Search for WondLa feels a bit familiar, with influences from a mishmash of old science fiction/fantasy movies and books. I liked it because it added for me a hint of nostalgia and a feeling that I was rereading an old favorite book that I'd forgotten. DiTerlizzi has created a fascinating world and populated it with a wide range of three-dimensional beings (live and robotic).

Eva Nine, the main character, is a 12-year old human girl who is thrust into a strange world that can be both exciting and dangerous as she searches for other humans. Along the way we are introduced to a variety of characters that either help or hinder her quest. I loved meeting all of them and only wish that we could see/learn more about all of them in further detail. While parts of the story could get a little slow, I actually enjoyed the slow moments where you could see a bit of the world unfold or see some character development.

And the illustrations in this are amazing! I purchased the Kindle version, and so while I don't have the paper version for comparison, the illustrations still came out nicely. All of the illustrations were wonderfully detailed and conveyed a part of the narrative so well.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves light scifi/fantasy and is either a young reader or, like me, enjoys reading these kind of books. And my suggestion is to not speed through the book for the plot (which I am often guilty of), but instead take your time reading it and discovering this new world with Eva Nine. I'm looking forward to reading the next book and future books written and illustrated by DiTerlizzi! (less)

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Jan 07, 2013 Elaine Gooding rated it 4 of 5 stars

Came across this in Salem Church Library. I needed a book for a young girl I tutor and it had to be 400 or more pages (not normally the best way to search for a book). This book is a winner! Parents and I AND the student really enjoyed it. It's fantasy, adventure, mystery - all wrapped together in a great package! Two things that grabbed me about this book: first, the characters are very strange and different; second, the author uses wonderful vocabulary. There were words to look up and long, 4-...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Shelf Talkers Anonymous rated it 3 of 5 stars

The story of post-apocalyptic Earth is not a new one. It’s been told in science fiction, in fantasy, and most recently in an abundance of young adult dystopian fiction. I was not expecting to find such a story in a middle grade book by Spiderwick Chronicles author Tony DiTerlizzi.

The Search for WondLa is the story of a twelve-year-old girl named Eva Nine. She lives in an underground Sanctuary with her robot caretaker Muthur, and longs to explore the outside world. One night the Sanctuary is atta...more The story of post-apocalyptic Earth is not a new one. It’s been told in science fiction, in fantasy, and most recently in an abundance of young adult dystopian fiction. I was not expecting to find such a story in a middle grade book by Spiderwick Chronicles author Tony DiTerlizzi.

The Search for WondLa is the story of a twelve-year-old girl named Eva Nine. She lives in an underground Sanctuary with her robot caretaker Muthur, and longs to explore the outside world. One night the Sanctuary is attacked by a strange and violent beast, and Eva is forced into the world above. There she discovers that the planet and life she had been prepared for by Muthur and her self-contained habitat are nothing like what she finds. Making friends with Rovender Kitt, a native of the planet, and Otto, a lost water bear, Eva ventures with these two and Muthur into the strange wonder of this new world, on a quest to discover what happened to her people and to find her future.

This book falls solidly between the middle grade and young adult classifications. Because Eva is only twelve, this would place the book with a younger audience, but the content and depth of Eva’s story raises it to a YA level. There is violence in this world, beyond what you would find in the average middle grade novel. The complexity of the native cultures, as well as the science of Muthur and Eva’s sanctuary also are surprising and intriguing. DiTerlizzi has built a place that is real and alive with beauty and darkness, more like what you find in The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner series.

Initially my interest in the story was limited by Eva, mostly because she is so young, but also because her character does not have a lot of range in this first book (and yes, this is going to be a trilogy, no surprise). Eva is a typical twelve-year-old girl who’s sick of being stuck inside with mother and wants to go explore. And when she does get outside and discovers that the world is not an easy place to survive in, she is frightened and often turns to Muthur or her other friends for help. What saved the story for me was that while Eva did not per see change, she did at moments show a hidden inner strength—one that you would expect to develop as she grows older. When Eva stands up and demands for her life, for her safety, for her friends, she glows like the heroine that I look for in a good book.

Overall this was a great story, and a great adventure. The online content looks amazing—interactive maps that you can explore using your book and a webcam—and I looking forward to the next installation in this series, due out sometime in 2012.(less)

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Oct 30, 2012 Chris rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: sci-fi, not-graphic, j, illustrated

Books have many different appeal factors, and different readers gravitate toward different ones. Myself, I like character-driven books with some meaty, real-life themes. I'm a sucker for a good first-person narrator with a distinct voice, reliable or not. I like things that are darkly atmospheric; but I don't so much go for gruesome and horrific. Historical settings usually don't intrigue me as much as fantastical ones. Action, adventure, and suspense are nice, but not at the cost of character d...more Books have many different appeal factors, and different readers gravitate toward different ones. Myself, I like character-driven books with some meaty, real-life themes. I'm a sucker for a good first-person narrator with a distinct voice, reliable or not. I like things that are darkly atmospheric; but I don't so much go for gruesome and horrific. Historical settings usually don't intrigue me as much as fantastical ones. Action, adventure, and suspense are nice, but not at the cost of character development or good writing. I can love books by authors who are poetic wordsmiths, but don't always mind when that's not the case.

And I'm very conceptual--focused on ideas, thoughts, feelings, and even actions--without being all that sensual--concerned with detailed descriptions of things taken in by the senses. So books that are too descriptive get boring for me pretty quickly. I don't necessarily need to paint pictures in my mind of everything in a scene, the odors in the air or sounds in the background, because what I'm concerned with is the impact those things have on the characters.

The Search for WondLa is an inventive, original book with lots of good action that I'm sure will feed the imaginations of many readers. For me, though, it was much too descriptive, particularly at the cost of character development. DiTerlizzi obviously delights in the world and characters he's created in all their strangeness, and he works very hard to help us experience them as vividly as he imagines them. I felt bogged down by his efforts, though, which was unfortunate because I didn't delight in the story as much as I felt I should have. But that's a matter of taste and personal preference, not necessarily a fault of the writing, and I know there are many others who will delight in this tale along with DiTerlizzi.

Eva Nine has spent all twelve of her years living in her underground sanctuary, cared for, raised, and taught by the robot Muthr and their computerized environment. She is preparing to explore the surface world as soon as she masters all of the lessons Muthr has prepared, anxious to meet and know other humans. But when her home is invaded before she's prepared and she must flee unexpectedly, the world she finds is not the one she's been taught about. There are no humans to be found, but plenty of other intelligent creatures of all shapes, sizes, and colors. The trees walk and eat the six-winged birds. Leaves walk and act like insects. There's not a single life-form that her computers recognize. And someone is hunting her, so she must figure out how to negotiate this strange landscape very quickly if she's to survive the encounters she has, all in the hopes of finding someone--anyone--else like her.(less)

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Oct 15, 2012 Mowalski rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone

"The Search for WondLa" is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever had the pleasure and enjoyment to read. It is a children's book, yes, but many aspects of the story are also likely to appeal to adults, as well, making it an easy page-turner. (I had managed to finish the book in under a week. That's just how interesting it was.)

It begins with a 12-year-old girl named Eva Nine, who has been sheltered all her life by the robot, Muthr, in an underground facility called a Sanctuary. Jus...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Annie McMahon rated it 5 of 5 stars

Positive Points
The author, Tony DiTerlizzi, is also the co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, which I enjoyed reading very much. From the start, I knew I was reading a talented writer, and it made it easier for me to get into the story. I love his writing style. I could just sit back and enjoy the book, knowing it was well-written.

This book has everything a good sci-fi book should have: aliens, robots, flying vessels, high tech devices, ... And it's written in a way young readers (and non-sci-...more Positive Points
The author, Tony DiTerlizzi, is also the co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles, which I enjoyed reading very much. From the start, I knew I was reading a talented writer, and it made it easier for me to get into the story. I love his writing style. I could just sit back and enjoy the book, knowing it was well-written.

This book has everything a good sci-fi book should have: aliens, robots, flying vessels, high tech devices, ... And it's written in a way young readers (and non-sci-fi readers like me) can easily understand. It also has enough similarities with our world to be able to relate with it.

The characters are unique and well-developed. My favorite is Rovender Kitt. He speaks a different language, and I can't understand a word what he's saying, but his personality really comes through in the way he talks and acts. Luckily, his dialogue gets translated by a device at some point in the story, and is written in plain English from then on. Very well done. Other characters have heavy accents. I'm always nervous with strong accents or dialects, remembering how hard it was to read Gone With the Wind, but the author's way of showing their accents and intonations made it easy to read and understand.

Negative Points
I don't normally read sci-fi, and this book was long to read. 477 pages! I prefer shorter books. It took me forever to finish it. It's not really a negative point in itself, because the story was engaging and kept me interested from beginning to end, and I understand that sci-fi and fantasy books are normally longer than average. It's more a personal preference. If I had been a sci-fi fan, I would have been delighted it was so long. I couldn't find anything else negative to say. So I'm still giving this book a five-star rating.

What makes this book unique
Everything! The characters: a human child called Eva Nine; Muthr, a robot raising her; Rovender... hard to describe Rovender in a few words; a mind-reading giant pill bug; a villain with a loud humming weapon; and many others. The settings: Eva Nine's futurist station, including a holographic chamber; the planet she's exploring, which could be earth, but maybe not. The dialogues: Rovender's foreign language; Besteel's strong accent; Otto's thoughts transmitted to Eva Nine. The whole book was like nothing I've ever read before.

Overall Impression
Great read! My thirteen-year-old son also enjoyed reading it. And now I want to read some parts again, to learn from this wonderful author's talent and apply it to my own writing.(less)

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Aug 19, 2012 Dorine White rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first book, The Search for Wondla, focuses on young Eva Nine, a girl who has been raised in an underground bunker by a robot mother. Everyday Eva practices skills so that when she final goes up on land, she will be able to survive.

One fateful day, the bunker is attacked and Eva is forced above ground early. She struggles to survive, because the world above is completely different than what she'd learned about, and she seems to be the only human alive, amongst multiple alien species.

My Though...more

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Aug 01, 2012 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: schoolage-adoptionfoster, schoolage-adventure, schoolage-animals, schoolage-family, schoolage-fantasy, schoolage-girl, schoolage-boy, schoolage-friendship, schoolage-graphic-novel, schoolage-loss, tween, tween-adventure, tween-boy, tween-fantasy, tween-girl, tween-scifi, children-scifi

I was so excited to read this book after hearing author/illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi speak about the inspiration and personal journey from which it sprang. The illustrations, leading every chapter and interspersed strategically throughout enliven the story, and will make this story, in the classic epic tradition of Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, completely irresistible to upper elementary and tween readers for whom it is intended. Eva Nine has grown up in complete safety, with all...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Erica rated it 2 of 5 stars

I would have liked more consistency throughout this story. I think the concept is wonderful, though perhaps a bit reminiscent of "Planet of the Apes", and the environment is imaginative and fun. It would be a fantastic romp for 8-13 year-olds.
Personally, however, I was disappointed by the shifting nature of both Eva Nine's and MUTHR's characters and not in a way that showed they were growing and becoming new people. Rather, I felt they had multiple personalities and I never knew which one I'd be...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Perry Watson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, post-apocalyptic

Without a doubt, this is among one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is the story of the young girl Eva Nine, her robotic guardian Muthr, and the alien traveler Rovender Kitt. Eva and Muthr live in an underground high-tech bomb shelter called the Sanctuary until it is smashed open and destroyed by a sinister alien creature wielding a sonic weapon. After meeting the friendly alien Rovender Kitt, they find that they are ostensibly no longer on planet Earth, but rather a planet called Orbona. To...more Without a doubt, this is among one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is the story of the young girl Eva Nine, her robotic guardian Muthr, and the alien traveler Rovender Kitt. Eva and Muthr live in an underground high-tech bomb shelter called the Sanctuary until it is smashed open and destroyed by a sinister alien creature wielding a sonic weapon. After meeting the friendly alien Rovender Kitt, they find that they are ostensibly no longer on planet Earth, but rather a planet called Orbona. Together they set out to discover the fate of the other humans.

Chief among the things I love about this book are its numerous illustrations. I have never seen a book similarly illuminated; it contains all the length and text of a novel, yet with as many illustrations as a children’s story book. What makes them even better is the astonishingly original aesthetic, which is sort of like a cross between Fallout, Zeno Clash (look it up!), and one of those fantasy-themed JRPGs. As for the narrative content, among the motifs I most enjoyed were the technology, the alien creatures, and the twist/not-twist revealed near the end. The technology is interesting in both its presence and its absence. When the technology is present, it gives the impression of far-future brand names like Pow-r-ate Beverage and NutriPellets. That, and the level of thought that went into portraying everything Eva Nine owns as some piece of advanced survival gear is astounding. At one point, when she breaks her fingers, her Omnipod (a combination tricorder/encyclopedia/survival manual/multi tool) instructs her to take a plastic piece from her “sneakboot” and a strip of cloth from her “jackvest,” both of which were engineered to come away, and fashion them into a splint for her broken fingers. It’s absence is also astonishing. There are bits and pieces, mostly of alien technology, that hint at an advanced civilization, but it is absent almost everywhere else when it should logically be abundant. This opens an interesting line of conjecture: are the aliens forbidden to have this technology? Were they forbidden in a power play by Queen Ojo (who is given not nearly enough attention) or in an attempt to preserve the newly resurrected planet? Did the aliens simply bring only the bare necessities in an attempt to forget their peoples’ troubling pasts?

Speaking of the aliens, I enjoyed them as well, not only for the originality of the designs, but for the enigma of them. Rarely are these creatures explained or expanded upon. Most of the time we don’t even know the name of their species. This, to me, imparts a vale of mystery and wonder over the whole assortment. The origin of the aliens also ties into the big twist/not-twist that is revealed at the end of the book. I shan't spoil it, but it’s such a simple idea that it had me fooled, for I simply hadn’t considered it. It’s brilliantly original.

Lastly, the characters. I’ve been told that good characters are what drive a work of fiction, but in my case I don’t really think that’s true. Eva Nine bores me as a typical “spunky, adventuresome little girl with a heart of gold,” and Rovender Kitt as “the mysterious, brooding, wise old man.” Muthr’s a little bit more interesting, in that she expresses her robotic inflexibility in subtler ways than usual. She has all the emotional response of a somewhat overprotective mother, but frequently and stubbornly insists that technology is omniscient and indispensable, when it is blatantly rendered near-useless against the alien environment it was never meant to account for.(less)

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Jul 18, 2012 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth-mg-ya

A solid, enjoyable read with both science fiction and fantastical elements, Wondla flips the whole aliens-invade earth with robot minions idea on its head. Then flips it again. I soaked up all the high-tech odds and bobs and the low-tech flora/fauna. The plot is a bit circuitous but the main character goal stays strong and is easy to relate to.
For me the characters were the weak point - I liked Eva and thought she was a realistic kid with the right amount of thoughtlessness, but (and this is ma...more

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Jul 16, 2012 P.M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Eva Nine is on the run from the only home she has ever known. She is being pursued by a bestial hunter who wants to hand her over to become a stuffed exhibit in Queen Ojo's museum. But Eva Nine is not alone; she is assisted by Muthr, the robot who raised her, Rovender Kitt, a Caerulean vagabond who is trying to leave his own sorrows behind, and Otto, a telepathic, giant, water bear. Besides survival, Eva Nine is looking for WondLa, her personal Shangri-La, which has inspired her since she found...more

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Jun 15, 2012 C.S. Einfeld rated it 3 of 5 stars

WondLa = Wonderful?

Meh, not so much.

I had a really hard time rating this book about Eva Nine, possibly the last human girl alive in an alien world.

There were a lot of things I really enjoyed about The Search For WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi: the main character, Eva, is very engaging, as is her "Muther" robot and many of the creatures she meets on her quest to find other humans and to escape the evil huntsman, Beesteel.

The story started as strong as any I've ever read. I recall--explicitly--sayi...more

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May 18, 2012 Cornmaven rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile, middle-school

DiTerlizzi is the co-author of the wildly popular Spiderwick Chronicles series. I could hardly put this book down. It is a story of Eva Nine, supposedly the only human left on Earth. But is it Earth? Eva is trying to find a place she has named Wondla an image of which she found in some trash one day, because it has a picture of another human in it. She has a robot for a parent, uses lots of interesting technology to survive, and boy, does she have to survive when she surfaces from her Sanctuary...more

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Mar 06, 2012 IndyPL Kids Book Blog rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: science-fiction, adventure

Eva Nine has lived inside an underground bunker her entire life with only her Muthr (Multi-Utility Task Help Robot zero-six) for company. Muthr has been programmed to take care of Eva Nine. If you have a lot of brothers and sisters at home maybe this sounds pretty good - a robot to see to your every need and provide constant entertainment. But Eva Nine is lonely. And bored. And she wants to go OUTSIDE. She wants to know most of all, “is there anybody out there somewhere, like me?”

When the bunker...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Ravenous Biblioworm rated it 4 of 5 stars

Being trapped in a bunker for all your life and not having met another human being – ever, most likely, will lead to curiosity and wonderments about your life and existence. This is what Eva experienced, having been raised in this manner. The only caretaker she had was a robot named Muthr.

The thought of reading illustrated books turns me off. A woman from my workplace recommended this book to me and I decided to read this book since she was very much in love with this book. I was glad I listened...more Being trapped in a bunker for all your life and not having met another human being – ever, most likely, will lead to curiosity and wonderments about your life and existence. This is what Eva experienced, having been raised in this manner. The only caretaker she had was a robot named Muthr.

The thought of reading illustrated books turns me off. A woman from my workplace recommended this book to me and I decided to read this book since she was very much in love with this book. I was glad I listened and took her advice, overlooking my prejudice against illustrated books.

DiTerlizzi creates a wonderful and imaginative tale. His characters are believable. Muthr, a robot, had human qualities about her and even though they were part of her programming, I believed she was capable of love. Eva being the sheltered (literally and metaphorically) girl that she was, had all the curiosity, and expectations one should expect from a young girl in her position. Eva is depicted as a strong young girl who pushes through. There were moments when I thought she should be more afraid or even questioning her circumstances, but those moments were made up for the action in the book.

The world was beautifully described. Was it slow at times? Maybe but overall I don’t think so. I liked the details and it was over flowing with complicated details. The language was vernacular and coherent. We are placed in a different world than our own, without these significant details we wouldn’t understand this new world we are reading and DiTerlizzi provided enough details without over describing in most areas. What I got as a reader, was an image of a world how DiTerlizzi saw and what Eva was experiencing. We definitely weren’t on Earth anymore or at least on a planet that resembled the earth we know.

Here’s an excerpt:

“Eva inspected the round, smooth stone cradled in her hands, half expecting it to disappear in a cloud of light motes – but it did not. She turned it over and over in her hands. For one thing, the brown and blue striped stone was heavy, much heavier than Eva had imagined it would be when she’d picked it up from the ground. This was contrary to everything she’d ever held in the holography chamber. There, everything was as light as the filtered air that filled the Sanctuary.”

This excerpt reads easily. But you get a feel of her questioning her upbringing. The simple turning the rock over and over in her hand suggests a curious awe and confusion. Most of the book is written in this way. We get real facts in real time. Eva was experiencing these thoughts right as she’s touching the odd color rock. Which leads me to say something that DiTerlizzi does well also: giving details that both reveals physical, mental and emotional traits belonging to either the world building, character, or both.

Verdict:

Four stars because I felt the characters’ emotions weren’t quite right in few moments (but not distracting just reading from a perspective of a writer) and one or two other slow moments. I would recommend this book. Maybe even buy it. Actually I would buy it. Definitely check out from your library if you have reservations. You’ll like it as much as I do.

Side Note: It’s not a complete book. There is a second book coming sometime next year, so if series is not your thing…

Visit my book review blog at ravenousbiblioworm.wordpress.com(less)

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About Tony DiTerlizzi

New York Times bestselling author and illustrator, Tony DiTerlizzi, has been creating books with Simon and Schuster for over a decade. From his fanciful picture books like, "Jimmy Zangwow’s Out-of-this-World Moon Pie Adventure", "Adventure of Meno" (with his wife, Angela) and "The Spider & The Fly" (a Caldecott Honor book), to chapter books like "Kenny and The Dragon" and "The Search for WondL...more

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The Spiderwick Chronicles Box Set (The Spiderwick Chronicles, #1-5)

Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles: The Nixies Song, A Giant Problem, The Wyrm King (Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles, #1-3)

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Quotes from The Search for WondLa

“Tiny-perhaps." Rovender kept his eyes fixed on the rings. "Insignificant-never, Eva Nine. No living thing is insignificant.” — 21 people liked it

“The real question one should ask when presented with a puzzle is, ‘Should I solve it? Do I really need to know the answer?” — 5 people liked it

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The Search for WondLa (WondLa #1)

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