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The Museum of Intangible Things
Loyalty. Envy. Obligation. Dreams. Disappointment. Fear. Negligence. Coping. Elation. Lust. Nature. Freedom. Heartbreak. Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. Belief. God. Karma. Knowing what you want (there is probably a French word for it). Saying Yes. Destiny. Truth. Devotion. Forgiveness. Life. Happiness (ever after).
Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.
As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.
An unforgettable read from the acclaimed author of The Probability of Miracles, The Museum of Intangible Things sparkles with the humor and heartbreak of true friendship and first love.
Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.
As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.
An unforgettable read from the acclaimed author of The Probability of Miracles, The Museum of Intangible Things sparkles with the humor and heartbreak of true friendship and first love.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published February 18, 2014
About the author
Wendy Wunder
10 books280 followersWhen not spending time with her family, Wendy teaches yoga around Boston and writing at Grub Street. Her first story was published in The Gettysburg Review. The Probability of Miracles is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 586 reviews
August 15, 2014
This was just so bizarre.
The hipster in me is incredibly drawn to this cover. I want it.
The hipster in me is incredibly drawn to this cover. I want it.
June 28, 2022
important announcement: Being A Book With An Extremely Cute Cover And Extremely Boring Contents is now against the law.
and this book is going to prison first.
part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago
and this book is going to prison first.
part of a series i'm doing in which i review books i read a long time ago
April 11, 2014
Well...that was weird.
I know nothing about this book when I first started it out, just that it is some kind of a road trip between two best friends. I guess it would be pretty mean of me not to warn you that this book dwells with the idea of mental illness. It's not a spoiler, I assure you. You'll get the gist of it on the second chapter (I think) so there's no need for you to go all ballistic on me. I thought it would be nice to tell you that so you won't be expecting a light read judging from the cover. Seriously. They should change it. Not that I don't like it or anything. It's just so misleading.
I had a hard time coping up with this book, most especially with the characters. We are introduced to Hannah and Zoe, two inseparable best friends. The two come off very different from each other. Zoe is egregious while Hannah is less conspicuous. But to put it in terms, they go well with each other. The thing is, Zoe has a bi-polar disorder. I don't know much about this disease so I don't really have any idea with the basics here. She keeps seeing things, saying there are "aliens" coming in the form of a lightning to get her and send her off to an exoplanet around an m-dwarf star between the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra.
Zoe wants Hannah to come with her on a road trip and see the world beyond New Jersey. Hannah, having problems with her own family, reluctantly agrees. The book doesn't really focus on Zoe's perspective but Hannah's so we see glimpses of what Hannah is going through. I could see that she's having a hard time dealing with her sick, weatherman father while handling Zoe's craziness at the same time. But still, she agrees to go on this insane road trip with Zoe and be insouciant ("not giving a shit to other things").
But as they progressed on, I realize that Hannah is just as plain as fuck. She gets into me a lot and it's so frustrating to be insider her head. How can she not see that her best friend is suffering? Oh, scratch that. She did see how her best friend is doing and yet she still lets her do these crazy things. When Hannah does offer to give Zoe some help, she gives up when Zoe says no. DUH. What do you expect for Zoe to say? But thank god. She realizes somewhere at the end that everything wasn't right. She did correct her mistakes but it was already too late.
The romance was also a bit weird and put off. And also, unrealistic. The way how Danni could run into them in their worst case scenario is really...off. America is such a big place with fifty states. How can you just run in into a person you didn't even know where they are at? *sigh* I guess I'm just over reacting here. :/ It's just...this got my nerves boiling.
It's not that I hate this book. I enjoyed this fairly well and I don't wish to mean harm to anyone reading this. I respect the author, I respect other people's opinions so I hope you do respect mine also. I do believe that some people will enjoy The Museum of Intangible Things. I also believe that they will learn a great deal about this but it hasn't been the cream of the crop for me. I do like the idea and the complexity of the character's...and err, their personalities respectively but somehow, I just don't feel them. I couldn't relate to them really well. Some people may agree with me though but you should see and find out for yourself.
I know nothing about this book when I first started it out, just that it is some kind of a road trip between two best friends. I guess it would be pretty mean of me not to warn you that this book dwells with the idea of mental illness. It's not a spoiler, I assure you. You'll get the gist of it on the second chapter (I think) so there's no need for you to go all ballistic on me. I thought it would be nice to tell you that so you won't be expecting a light read judging from the cover. Seriously. They should change it. Not that I don't like it or anything. It's just so misleading.
I had a hard time coping up with this book, most especially with the characters. We are introduced to Hannah and Zoe, two inseparable best friends. The two come off very different from each other. Zoe is egregious while Hannah is less conspicuous. But to put it in terms, they go well with each other. The thing is, Zoe has a bi-polar disorder. I don't know much about this disease so I don't really have any idea with the basics here. She keeps seeing things, saying there are "aliens" coming in the form of a lightning to get her and send her off to an exoplanet around an m-dwarf star between the constellations of Cygnus and Lyra.
Zoe wants Hannah to come with her on a road trip and see the world beyond New Jersey. Hannah, having problems with her own family, reluctantly agrees. The book doesn't really focus on Zoe's perspective but Hannah's so we see glimpses of what Hannah is going through. I could see that she's having a hard time dealing with her sick, weatherman father while handling Zoe's craziness at the same time. But still, she agrees to go on this insane road trip with Zoe and be insouciant ("not giving a shit to other things").
But as they progressed on, I realize that Hannah is just as plain as fuck. She gets into me a lot and it's so frustrating to be insider her head. How can she not see that her best friend is suffering? Oh, scratch that. She did see how her best friend is doing and yet she still lets her do these crazy things. When Hannah does offer to give Zoe some help, she gives up when Zoe says no. DUH. What do you expect for Zoe to say? But thank god. She realizes somewhere at the end that everything wasn't right. She did correct her mistakes but it was already too late.
The romance was also a bit weird and put off. And also, unrealistic. The way how Danni could run into them in their worst case scenario is really...off. America is such a big place with fifty states. How can you just run in into a person you didn't even know where they are at? *sigh* I guess I'm just over reacting here. :/ It's just...this got my nerves boiling.
It's not that I hate this book. I enjoyed this fairly well and I don't wish to mean harm to anyone reading this. I respect the author, I respect other people's opinions so I hope you do respect mine also. I do believe that some people will enjoy The Museum of Intangible Things. I also believe that they will learn a great deal about this but it hasn't been the cream of the crop for me. I do like the idea and the complexity of the character's...and err, their personalities respectively but somehow, I just don't feel them. I couldn't relate to them really well. Some people may agree with me though but you should see and find out for yourself.
Want to read
August 12, 2013Oooh this one looks good. I'm quite excited.
June 22, 2014
Oh, book. Our relationship should have been amazing, but instead I closed you and felt as if maybe I had wasted too much of my life's time trying to understand where you went wrong. But slowly it hit me. I won't lie and say it was me and not you. It really was you.
Dear readers, there be spoilers within, but mild.
After my magical three hours spent reading "The Probability of Miracles" while in a hospital in early January, a time spent as an assistant caretaker for my grandfather dying of terminal colon cancer while woefully unemployed, I went into "The Museum of Intangible Things" expecting nothing less than close to perfect. The synopsis wooed me in with the promise of a road trip between two best friends trying to escape from the lives that fate has made for them. The cover promised me cute, twee, hipster-y, hippie-ish, and fun.
Instead, I got a story about a girl with severe bipolar depression (Zoe) recovering from what might possibly have been rape and her best friend (our narrator), a girl weighted down by her lackluster parents, illegally run school system, and inability to dream big.
"The Museum of Intangible Things" was one of the most illogical, improbable, ridiculous, and unfathomably silly books I have read, all with having a big dose of the inexplicable thrown in, such as how a town 45 minutes from Manhattan in New Jersey has an extremely broke high school that offers nothing other than remedial classes, leaving smart kids to sneak into the expensive day school on the hill to watch classes from the attic after their one class a day. Or how Manhattan-area news channels still have drunken weather readers who make fools of themselves and steal their daughter's money. Or how reenacting a scene from Twister with people could ever come out well.
But what especially irked me was the fact that this book, while having a better depiction of mental illness than better (Zoe was never depicted as the stereotypical villain as many YA books do - see "Wicked Games"), the fact that Hannah KNEW her friend was going off the deep end did not do anything to stop her. Not after she tasered an Ikea security guard, or stole from a number of stores, or lied and connived to her friend, or ran off in Vegas to get drunk and put herself in danger. Not after she admitted her psychiatrist was going to have her committed to a psych ward for a stay because she was a danger to herself with her irrational thinking. Not after her best friend admitted to a severe delusion that could kill her.
In Hannah's world of being a horrible friend, she indulges Zoe's delusions and allows her to grow more and more sick by the moment, listening to Zoe's poor attempts at teaching Hannah "how to live" in the same way Zoe taught her severely autistic brother to live - the Museum of Intangible Things, a revolving show of concepts on life created through dioramas, exhibits, and lectures in their basement. Except for Hannah, her Museum of Intangible Things was delivered in one cross country road trip full of crime and deceit.
On top of this, we are treated to a romance that makes no sense based off of a few moments of conversation and some event in the past that is not really mentioned. I even forgot Hannah's love interest's name. Daniel perhaps? He was boring, perfect, and completely rude to the girlfriend he ditched and dissed to prove to Hannah that she was the girl for him, after somehow tracking her and Zoe across the country based on the trail of crimes they committed.
And the ending. Sigh.
This book was written well enough, and that was what kept it from becoming a DNF for me. This was a book I wanted to love, that I wanted to scream about from the rooftops, to remind me that not all packaged books are bad (this one comes from Alloy Entertainment). This book I had such high hopes for, such promise, such desire and unyielding excitement, only to finish the last page, set the book down, and wonder where such a concept could go wrong, where such a great promise from an author that impressed me so much with her debut novel could go so wrong.
Part of me actually likes this book, part of it. Maybe it was just the promise I liked, the idea. Maybe maybe maybe, a book of maybes. I just can't wrap my head around this one, nor do I truly want to. It's time for me to move on past the what ifs and what could have beens and just leave this book to be forgotten. In time.
June 4, 2014
I picked up this book for purely aesthetic reasons. The title design was unique and the cover made me think it would be a cute summer read about friendship. Hahaha. No. It was depressing and weird and the subplot of romance was equally ridiculous. To call trying to get in someone's pants within like three interactions love made me spend the entirety of this book rolling my eyes. Recommended to no one.
February 1, 2015
What a beautiful cover! The story must be great... Oh. Never mind. *Tosses book into the Never Read Again Pile*
I'm sorry. I don't want to sound mean but this book was so boring and uninspiring that I skipped pages just to be done with it.
Why in blazes did I even read it to begin with? Because I like pretty looking things and I was blinded by the appearance of the book. I'm only human. Anyway, Zoe's BPD was supposed to appeal to me but she just annoyed the heck out of me. Then Zoe's flat personality made me want to eat dirt. Sure, at first I thought it was going to be an LGBT thing with lovey dovey stuff and I should have been happy that it was about friendship instead but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps it's just my shattered expectation talking.
I'm sorry. I don't want to sound mean but this book was so boring and uninspiring that I skipped pages just to be done with it.
Why in blazes did I even read it to begin with? Because I like pretty looking things and I was blinded by the appearance of the book. I'm only human. Anyway, Zoe's BPD was supposed to appeal to me but she just annoyed the heck out of me. Then Zoe's flat personality made me want to eat dirt. Sure, at first I thought it was going to be an LGBT thing with lovey dovey stuff and I should have been happy that it was about friendship instead but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps it's just my shattered expectation talking.
February 27, 2017
I beg of you, please read Wendy Wunder's books. They are beautiful, poignant, and grossly underrated.
This was phenomenal. It touched on so many important topics in the perfect way. The execution of the entire book just blows me away. I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.
This was phenomenal. It touched on so many important topics in the perfect way. The execution of the entire book just blows me away. I HAVE SO MUCH LOVE FOR THIS BOOK.
April 12, 2017
A beautiful, evocative story that made me smile on every page. Wendy Wunder is an outstanding writer whose words resonate deeply.
April 13, 2015
Oh, man. I'm so torn. I would give the first ~120 pages of this book 5 stars for sure. The writing was phenomenal and I loved the characters so, so much. Unfortunately it went downhill for me after that, as soon as the road trip started and I would give the rest of it 2 stars at best.
I just... the road trip, honestly was sloppy writing.
EPIC PLOT SPOILERS:
LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE... I can't. To me, this was a really awesome premise, ruined by terrible terrible plot choices. I really want to love this book but I can't look past how ridiculous it was. I can't look past what the message was supposed to be. This is YA - you've gotta realize who your audience is. What are you trying to say here? That it's okay to do these things? That it's *normally* not okay, but it's okay because Zoe was bipolar? That doing this was better for Zoe than being "locked up"? It glorified everything they did in a kind of disturbing way, tbh. And I guarantee you not a single thing that happens in this book would play out this way in real life.
So 5 stars for the characters and the first 120 pages, 1 star for the shitty plot choices = a very very begrudging 3 stars.
I just... the road trip, honestly was sloppy writing.
EPIC PLOT SPOILERS:
LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE... I can't. To me, this was a really awesome premise, ruined by terrible terrible plot choices. I really want to love this book but I can't look past how ridiculous it was. I can't look past what the message was supposed to be. This is YA - you've gotta realize who your audience is. What are you trying to say here? That it's okay to do these things? That it's *normally* not okay, but it's okay because Zoe was bipolar? That doing this was better for Zoe than being "locked up"? It glorified everything they did in a kind of disturbing way, tbh. And I guarantee you not a single thing that happens in this book would play out this way in real life.
So 5 stars for the characters and the first 120 pages, 1 star for the shitty plot choices = a very very begrudging 3 stars.
June 12, 2018
Very bland, and that romance was the most boring thing ever... I can't even remember Hannah's boyfriend's name, tbh.
January 1, 2022
This is a story about a truly devoted friendship. In a way, I suppose that makes it a love story; one which shows the rocky nature of such relationships, but also the unflinchingly loyalty that comes with finding a friend you know will be in your life forever.
This book is Zoe's journey, but told from Hannah's point of view. We watch with Hannah as her friend's mental state slowly deteriorates, and worry alongside her as Zoe gets more and more erratic. Yet, we also smile and laugh while these two friends embark on a journey like no other, pushing each other to feel things and experience things in a completely new way.
The writing was as whimsical as the title and really embraced the erratic nature of the journey. Wunder went from airy and vivid prose to sharp and witty speech, conveying so many emotions in so few words.
As is the case in most YA books, the girls are opposites in many ways. Hannah is a steady and logical problem-solver, while Zoe is a wild and care-free spirit both haunted and inspired by her delusions.
What I appreciated about this book, was that Zoe wasn't that shallow friend pressuring Hannah to do things under the guise of helping her. You could see how much both these girls meant to each other and how everything they did – from Zoe using the road trip as a way to open Hannah up to the world, to Hannah indulging Zoe's crime-filled journey – was truly in the best interest of the other.
The ending was actually a surprise for me, because I was sure there were two ways it could go, and instead it went the third, which I had really been praying it wouldn't. But it was fitting and, in a way, an inevitable end to Hannah and Zoe's journey. So I'm able to ignore the weight on my chest and give Wendy Wunder a high-five for ending the story the way it needed to end.
Wunder's book chameleons itself into a thousand different things, leaving us a book that's both poignant and funny. With notes of Thelma and Louise running through the pages, this road trip story is unlike any other. It's more of a quest than a trip; a quest to make intangible things tangible and for two girls to find their own truths.
Favourite quote: "I think there can be different versions of the truth. You choose your truth, then you build your life around it."
This book is Zoe's journey, but told from Hannah's point of view. We watch with Hannah as her friend's mental state slowly deteriorates, and worry alongside her as Zoe gets more and more erratic. Yet, we also smile and laugh while these two friends embark on a journey like no other, pushing each other to feel things and experience things in a completely new way.
The writing was as whimsical as the title and really embraced the erratic nature of the journey. Wunder went from airy and vivid prose to sharp and witty speech, conveying so many emotions in so few words.
As is the case in most YA books, the girls are opposites in many ways. Hannah is a steady and logical problem-solver, while Zoe is a wild and care-free spirit both haunted and inspired by her delusions.
What I appreciated about this book, was that Zoe wasn't that shallow friend pressuring Hannah to do things under the guise of helping her. You could see how much both these girls meant to each other and how everything they did – from Zoe using the road trip as a way to open Hannah up to the world, to Hannah indulging Zoe's crime-filled journey – was truly in the best interest of the other.
The ending was actually a surprise for me, because I was sure there were two ways it could go, and instead it went the third, which I had really been praying it wouldn't. But it was fitting and, in a way, an inevitable end to Hannah and Zoe's journey. So I'm able to ignore the weight on my chest and give Wendy Wunder a high-five for ending the story the way it needed to end.
Wunder's book chameleons itself into a thousand different things, leaving us a book that's both poignant and funny. With notes of Thelma and Louise running through the pages, this road trip story is unlike any other. It's more of a quest than a trip; a quest to make intangible things tangible and for two girls to find their own truths.
Favourite quote: "I think there can be different versions of the truth. You choose your truth, then you build your life around it."
May 21, 2014
This isn’t just a road-trip book. Or a novel about mental illness. Or an exploration of first love or damaged families or the lust for a bigger, more important existence. But Wunder (The Probability of Miracles, 2011) expertly weaves all these timeless elements into a crisp, beautifully crafted story of adventure, love, and the limits of friendship. Dependable Hannah and unpredictable Zoe have spent their entire childhood taking care of one another. The Museum of Intangible Things follows them as they try to reroute their futures by running away from their run-down New Jersey roots and heading west, even though the odds are stacked way against them. As they travel together, Zoe and Hannah both have to find meaning in the fresh experiences and new self-discoveries as they escape the outer boroughs, a guarded IKEA, one despondent truck stop, several tornadoes, a cowboy encounter, and, ultimately, the law. And us readers? We’re lucky to ride along with them in Zoe’s clunky LeMans and listen to their perfectly clever, never clichéd conversations. Wunder masterfully depicts an intimate bond between two memorably contrary young women: one with a viselike grip on reality and another slowly descending from all reason. — Lexi Walters Wright, First published April 1, 2014 (Booklist)
March 29, 2015
C'est subtil et intelligent. Les personnages sont attachants et c'est parfois complexe à suivre mais c'est logique.
May 23, 2017
1.5 Stars
WARNING: THIS ENTIRE REVIEW IS A GINORMOUS RANT AND I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE LENGTH.
Bleh. This book was bleh. I'm so happy that it's finally over after struggling through it for a few days.
The Museum of Intangible Things centers on two girls that are best friends, Zoe and Hannah. Now as teenagers, Zoe is itching to leave their small town and explore. What follows is a long road trip where Zoe hopes to bring Hannah out of her shell and learn to be more outgoing and big. Things like insouciance and audacity.
Hannah was spineless. Zoe walked all over her and when Hannah finally gets the guts to actually tell her friend to go back to town, Zoe decides to play the vanishing act (reason number 358 why I hate her). Hannah was manipulated so many times by Zoe that it wasn't even funny. Zoe tells her to flash some random passerbys. She complies. Zoe tells her to sneak into an Ikea and sleep there for the night. She complies. Zoe tells her to do anything and she will do it. She has no mind of her own and she doesn't seem to care enough about her own future to maybe stand up to her supposed best friend. On top of this, the romance in The Museum of Intangible Things is over the top and absolutely ridiculous. She and Danny have talked a total of three or four times and somehow she has deluded herself into believing that she loves him. She is clearly incapable of recognizing the signs of a good boyfriend because even when he is cheating on his girlfriend, Rebecca, Hannah doesn't seem to mind whatsoever. She's more concerned with the fact that Danny seems to be dating Rebecca at the same time. Gurl, if your guy isn't devoting all of his attention to you, but dividing between you and another girl, you need to kick him to the curb.
And later in the relationship, it's even worse. They've been together less than a month and Danny is already pushing his sexual advances on her. They have a less than savory first time in his ice-cream truck where Hannah supposedly "finds God" at the same time she loses her virginity.
Since when was ice-cream truck sex romantic? It sounds unhygienic and utterly unromantic. I don't know what Hannah was thinking when she decided that she wanted to have sex after dating Danny for less than a month. Even saying that they've been dating is a stretch because it's still unclear if he's broken up with Rebecca. Obviously, even if she's supposed to be smart, she's not smart enough to make good choices in her sex life. Most guys wouldn't even dream of trying to have sex with a girl that they've only dated twice. Although they kissed in 6th grade, Danny must have a lot of balls to try to make a move on her that soon. Oh wait. He doesn't get turned down because Hannah is overly horny after that first experience. What happened to the innocent hand-holding? The sweet dates? Oh yeah. They're nonexistent because there's no substantial romantic development in this book at all.
Let us talk about Danny now shall we? Danny is one of the douchiest love interests I have ever met. All he ever has on mind is sex and girls. Apparently, in his world, it's okay to cheat on his girlfriend of four years because he was dating her for "practice" anyways. He doesn't care about her feelings at all. And he thinks that he "knows" Hannah even though he hasn't even talked to her since the sixth grade.
If I were Hannah, I'd probably have some facial expression like this.
Like please explain how the heck you know that just from watching me!
Moving on to plot. The plot of the book was so so boring. It was hard to stay interested in it because the plot is pretty much Zoe doing something bold and encouraging Hannah to do it. And then they nearly get caught by law enforcement. Then they escape. Rinse and repeat. It's repetitive, dull, and not worth struggling through. The only good part was the ending. I was satisfied with the way the book ended even if it meant that I had to struggle through the beginning.
Wunder's writing was pretty good. It was understandable and I thought that although I didn't enjoy this book, it fit well.
I also liked the concept of the museum of intangible things that Zoe made for her brother.
WARNING: THIS ENTIRE REVIEW IS A GINORMOUS RANT AND I APOLOGIZE IN ADVANCE FOR THE LENGTH.
Bleh. This book was bleh. I'm so happy that it's finally over after struggling through it for a few days.
The Museum of Intangible Things centers on two girls that are best friends, Zoe and Hannah. Now as teenagers, Zoe is itching to leave their small town and explore. What follows is a long road trip where Zoe hopes to bring Hannah out of her shell and learn to be more outgoing and big. Things like insouciance and audacity.
Hannah was spineless. Zoe walked all over her and when Hannah finally gets the guts to actually tell her friend to go back to town, Zoe decides to play the vanishing act (reason number 358 why I hate her). Hannah was manipulated so many times by Zoe that it wasn't even funny. Zoe tells her to flash some random passerbys. She complies. Zoe tells her to sneak into an Ikea and sleep there for the night. She complies. Zoe tells her to do anything and she will do it. She has no mind of her own and she doesn't seem to care enough about her own future to maybe stand up to her supposed best friend. On top of this, the romance in The Museum of Intangible Things is over the top and absolutely ridiculous. She and Danny have talked a total of three or four times and somehow she has deluded herself into believing that she loves him. She is clearly incapable of recognizing the signs of a good boyfriend because even when he is cheating on his girlfriend, Rebecca, Hannah doesn't seem to mind whatsoever. She's more concerned with the fact that Danny seems to be dating Rebecca at the same time. Gurl, if your guy isn't devoting all of his attention to you, but dividing between you and another girl, you need to kick him to the curb.
And later in the relationship, it's even worse. They've been together less than a month and Danny is already pushing his sexual advances on her. They have a less than savory first time in his ice-cream truck where Hannah supposedly "finds God" at the same time she loses her virginity.
"We lie down together on our sides. He stares at me, moving his finger from my forehead, down my nose, over my chin, along my neck until it lands between my breasts.
'Oh look,' I joke, 'I'm wearing buttons.'
'I see that,' he tells me, and he uses his nimble fingers to deftly, expertly savor each one before he pops it open slowly.
There, in a parked ice cream truck just outside of Buffalo, Wyoming, I say yes. I resign myself to finding God. And it's true what they say. You can find God anywhere.
Page 227
Since when was ice-cream truck sex romantic? It sounds unhygienic and utterly unromantic. I don't know what Hannah was thinking when she decided that she wanted to have sex after dating Danny for less than a month. Even saying that they've been dating is a stretch because it's still unclear if he's broken up with Rebecca. Obviously, even if she's supposed to be smart, she's not smart enough to make good choices in her sex life. Most guys wouldn't even dream of trying to have sex with a girl that they've only dated twice. Although they kissed in 6th grade, Danny must have a lot of balls to try to make a move on her that soon. Oh wait. He doesn't get turned down because Hannah is overly horny after that first experience. What happened to the innocent hand-holding? The sweet dates? Oh yeah. They're nonexistent because there's no substantial romantic development in this book at all.
Let us talk about Danny now shall we? Danny is one of the douchiest love interests I have ever met. All he ever has on mind is sex and girls. Apparently, in his world, it's okay to cheat on his girlfriend of four years because he was dating her for "practice" anyways. He doesn't care about her feelings at all. And he thinks that he "knows" Hannah even though he hasn't even talked to her since the sixth grade.
"'I know you.'
'You do?'
'I know that when you eat lunch, you're the only one in the cafeteria who actually places her paper napkin on her lap.'
'So?'
'I know that you have a freckly underneath your left eye. I know that when you smile, your eyes close into adorable half-circles and all that's visible are a little gleam of light and your thick black eyelashes. I know that you are really nice to that kid with Tourette's and you sit patiently and help him with his math homework even though he's uncontrollably barking 'cocksucker' at the top of his lungs ever five minutes. I know that you are trying to improve your life even though the odds are stacked up against you, and that you hide in the attic of the Cunty Day School to try to learn as much as you can. I know that you would give your left arm to help Zoe if she needed it, and that's why we're here. I think I know enough.'"
Page 234
If I were Hannah, I'd probably have some facial expression like this.
Like please explain how the heck you know that just from watching me!
Moving on to plot. The plot of the book was so so boring. It was hard to stay interested in it because the plot is pretty much Zoe doing something bold and encouraging Hannah to do it. And then they nearly get caught by law enforcement. Then they escape. Rinse and repeat. It's repetitive, dull, and not worth struggling through. The only good part was the ending. I was satisfied with the way the book ended even if it meant that I had to struggle through the beginning.
Wunder's writing was pretty good. It was understandable and I thought that although I didn't enjoy this book, it fit well.
I also liked the concept of the museum of intangible things that Zoe made for her brother.
March 19, 2016
What started off so well took a turn for the worst.
Something about this book attracted me to it - I don’t know what it was because I’m not usually for the busy, ribbony, all full covers, but maybe it was the promise for something entrancing that did the trick. I thought this book was going to be a light, fun contemporary but I soon realised that according to the summary I was mistaken. Starting, I expected an emotional heart-wrenching reads. I guess it just shows: you can't always trust summaries.
This book, like I said, started off great. The main character seemed strong and I do love me a bit of wit. I was liking her character and the awkward way she kind of did her things were more or less relatable. She had this cute little crush and a friend who was supportive and great. We get to meet great other characters too (Noah) and some not so great characters (the parents). All-in-all, I was interested and I laughed out loud a couple times.
And then the wheel started rolling down. First it was the romance - what started off as a little cute crush turned a little weird. I don’t really like who the love interest was as we got to know him all that much. He rubbed off e the wrong way and I got the feeling he was slyly egotistical in a way that made me cringe inwardly. His ‘sweet’ actions just rubbed off creepy the way that he suddenly appears in her life after what? Not talking to her for years?
It was about halfway, when the road trip started however, that I got really pissed. Hannah (the MC) got really irritating. She’s got the constant whiny character show on and the hesitant ‘but I’m a good girl’ but when it comes to it, her actions contrast with her personality. What I hate most however, is that she knows what’s happening to her friend, and visibly we can see that Zoe is in need of help or at least some kind of break but Hannah doesn’t help with any of this and instead spurs her on.
The romance also comes back again. Worse. The pining and the wanting and the needing. Two teens who put themselves in front of every other person and never do they care. During the end of the book, they have a huge crisis on their hands and all they want to do is make-out and hook-up. Plus, the whole jealousy thing. We could all see where everything was going way before it did.
So here I am, bitter and testy in the aftermath of this book of what could have been and of what it is not. Its not hatred writing this review, but rather sour disappointment. NEXT!
See more reviews on my blog!
Something about this book attracted me to it - I don’t know what it was because I’m not usually for the busy, ribbony, all full covers, but maybe it was the promise for something entrancing that did the trick. I thought this book was going to be a light, fun contemporary but I soon realised that according to the summary I was mistaken. Starting, I expected an emotional heart-wrenching reads. I guess it just shows: you can't always trust summaries.
This book, like I said, started off great. The main character seemed strong and I do love me a bit of wit. I was liking her character and the awkward way she kind of did her things were more or less relatable. She had this cute little crush and a friend who was supportive and great. We get to meet great other characters too (Noah) and some not so great characters (the parents). All-in-all, I was interested and I laughed out loud a couple times.
And then the wheel started rolling down. First it was the romance - what started off as a little cute crush turned a little weird. I don’t really like who the love interest was as we got to know him all that much. He rubbed off e the wrong way and I got the feeling he was slyly egotistical in a way that made me cringe inwardly. His ‘sweet’ actions just rubbed off creepy the way that he suddenly appears in her life after what? Not talking to her for years?
It was about halfway, when the road trip started however, that I got really pissed. Hannah (the MC) got really irritating. She’s got the constant whiny character show on and the hesitant ‘but I’m a good girl’ but when it comes to it, her actions contrast with her personality. What I hate most however, is that she knows what’s happening to her friend, and visibly we can see that Zoe is in need of help or at least some kind of break but Hannah doesn’t help with any of this and instead spurs her on.
The romance also comes back again. Worse. The pining and the wanting and the needing. Two teens who put themselves in front of every other person and never do they care. During the end of the book, they have a huge crisis on their hands and all they want to do is make-out and hook-up. Plus, the whole jealousy thing. We could all see where everything was going way before it did.
So here I am, bitter and testy in the aftermath of this book of what could have been and of what it is not. Its not hatred writing this review, but rather sour disappointment. NEXT!
See more reviews on my blog!
July 4, 2014
Oh. This was good. This knew right where to burrow its pincers and plant that seedling. If that even works that way.
Ten letter word for incorporeal, evanescent, imponderable, unsure.
This weed that is growing is deep in my nethers. It hurts. It reminds me that something is missing, something/one that is far away, evasive. That what I consider is true love. True: “You choose your truth and then you build your life around it.” Love: “Greater love has no man than this: to lay down his life for his friends---JOHN 15:13”
This is the true love of friendship. The one that is supposed to be there for you always and forever. Not the gooey lust thing we sometimes mistake for love, but that feeling that no matter what you do, how you do it, if you are banished for doing it, if you become a pariah for doing it, you still have that one person you know has your back. And, they will hold your hair while you puke into a dumpster.. True Love.
Here we have Hannah (“Grace”) and Zoe (“Life”).
Hannah: “You’re a half glass empty kind of girl, aren’t you? No, not really, I just like surprises, so I keep my expectations low.”
Zoe: “We hate labels, but the doctors like to call it a thing that rhymes with hi-molar schmisdorder or zanic oppression. I just think she’s more alive than the rest of us.”
How far would you go for your best friend?
This is a road trip story, much like An Abundance of Katherines and Going Bovine. It’s about discovery, about running away, about learning about the ethereal.
Dreams, Disappointment, Fear, Negligence, Coping, Elation, Lust, Nature, Freedom, Heartbreak, Insouciance, Audacity, Gluttony, Belief, God, Karma, Knowing what you want, Saying Yes, Destiny, Betrayal, Love, Romance, Luck, Truth, Devotion, Forgiveness, Life, Happiness (ever after).
Intangible Things. These are the gifts that Zoe gives Hannah and the belief in the intangible is what she gets in return. Ultimate Trust, even when you have to trust the impossible.
That is the great theme in this book, the intangible.
Zoe’s brother, Noah (“Comfort”): “Zoe’s eight-year old little brother, Noah, has some kind of Aspergery thing. He could read when he was two. He understands Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. He’s read all of Stephen Hawking’s books. He is obsessed with the cosmos and talks about it constantly without ever noticing if you’re listening to him. And yet he cannot process anything at all irrational or intangible. Emotions are elusive to him. Dreaming and imagination, foreign.
To help him, and since he loves museums, Zoe created the Museum of Intangible things, for which she creates a new installation in her basement every month.
September’s project was “Pride.” In the corner, Zoe created a puffed-out human chest with papier-mache and peach tempers paint. A marionette peacock walked back and forth over a gay pride rainbow, while a video montage streamed footage of a mother watching her son graduate from college, a swimmer winning a gold medal, and an actress receiving an Academy Award. She covered the walls with white paper and asked me to write about when I feel proud."
"Zoe explains that ‘Sloth-Laziness-Depression” will consist of Barbie and Ken in gray felt outfits installed in a shoebox also covered in gray felt. She found an old flowered couch with the foam bulging from the rips of the cushions and on top of it, she flopped her mannequin dressed in a Snuggie. An old TV/VCR will stream infomercials and Zoe will scatter potato chips and empty soda cans around the couch, which will also be sprinkled with cat hair.. For the interactive part of the exhibit, she filled the pockets of an old fishing vest with rocks and will ask Noah to try it on. Behind a screen in the corner of the basement, to distinguish between sloth and sadness-slash-despair, Zoe created a beating heart impaled by a kitchen knife."
"Won’t that scare him? I ask."
“Um. Duh. He doesn’t understand fear.”.
This weed… it needs to be yanked. I need to fill this space with that sort of devotion, give and take. This book reminds me of that. Acceptance...that is intangible as well.
March 31, 2022
2.5!!! More of a rant than a review.
"There is no stronger bond than the one that gets you through childhood. This is our story."
Well, it's nice to read something that focuses on the friendship aspect more than the romance. But unfortunately, this didn't meet my expectations.
Yes, it's about two inseparable friends. Yes, it's about a road trip. But no, this is not a light read. It deals with mental issues (Zoe is bipolar and this is not a spoiler!) I guess, what I'm trying to say is that.. the cutie cover is a little misleading.
Hannah is a little boring. OKAY. A lot boring. Also Zoe. The romance department is so MEH for me. Nothing and No one stands out.
The way the author wrote this was unique for me. Instead of using numbers as chapters, she used words. I think that's the only thing I liked.
Anyway, this one isn't for me. I was seduced by the beautiful cover. This is a lesson learned by me. I still encourage you guys to read it.
"There is no stronger bond than the one that gets you through childhood. This is our story."
Well, it's nice to read something that focuses on the friendship aspect more than the romance. But unfortunately, this didn't meet my expectations.
Yes, it's about two inseparable friends. Yes, it's about a road trip. But no, this is not a light read. It deals with mental issues (Zoe is bipolar and this is not a spoiler!) I guess, what I'm trying to say is that.. the cutie cover is a little misleading.
Hannah is a little boring. OKAY. A lot boring. Also Zoe. The romance department is so MEH for me. Nothing and No one stands out.
The way the author wrote this was unique for me. Instead of using numbers as chapters, she used words. I think that's the only thing I liked.
Anyway, this one isn't for me. I was seduced by the beautiful cover. This is a lesson learned by me. I still encourage you guys to read it.
June 22, 2015
4.5*
Wow. I went into this expecting a light and fluffy road trip novel, but I got so much more - it was a real emotional roller coaster with loads of ups and downs, great characters and just the right amount of happy times and tragedy.
Wow. I went into this expecting a light and fluffy road trip novel, but I got so much more - it was a real emotional roller coaster with loads of ups and downs, great characters and just the right amount of happy times and tragedy.
October 8, 2014
If I could give more stars to this book i would give it 10! Its been time since I dont read a book so amazing like this. Its beautiful, and sad and everything!
April 11, 2014
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“I am a freshwater girl. I live on the lake, and in New Jersey, that’s rare. The girls on the other side of town have swimming pools, and the girls in the south have the seashore. Other girls are dry, breezy, salty, and bleached. I, on the other hand, am dark, grounded, heavy, and wet. Fed by springs, tangled in soft fernlike seaweed, I am closer to the earth. Saturated to the bone. I know it, and so do the freshwater boys, who prefer the taste of salt.”
For Hannah and Zoe, who reside in a small, impoverished New Jersey town where the middle class is a rapidly-fading memory and the upper class an impossible dream, it’s difficult to imagine a future that doesn’t involve becoming ensnared in a life of mediocrity and stagnancy as those before them have done. The two are stuck, trapped on a path that seems as hopeless as it does inescapable. What they do have, however, is one another. Inseparable since a childhood vow never to let the other down, Hannah and Zoe have seen one another through the best and worst that life has to offer. So, together, they do whatever they can to make their situation seem a little less hopeless. For Hannah, this means sneaking into the attic above the Sussex Country Day School and eavesdropping on the classes below, absorbing any lessons she overhears like a sponge and attempting to save enough money from her fledging hot dog cart to attend the local community college. For Zoe, this means working on monthly installations for The Museum of Intangible Things, a project she created in order to help her brother, who suffers from asperger’s syndrome, process emotions and other intangible concepts he struggles with. But when Zoe’s own struggles with mental illness come to the forefront and it seems as though their lives are falling apart before their very eyes, Zoe and Hannah decide to embark on a cross-country road-trip that will take them from the streets of New York to the Las Vegas strip and everywhere in between. What begins as an innocent attempt to ‘get away’ quickly escalates into a kaleidoscope of random and increasingly surreal experiences that culminates in a manner Hannah never could have forseen. From Ikea sleepovers to balloon liberation, truck-stop taxidermy to mouse emancipation, Zoe attempts to teach Hannah about the beauty of the indefinable elements in life. Audacity and insouciance. Gluttony and betrayal. These are just a few of the concepts that will be found in Zoe and Hannah’s Museum of Intangible Things.
“When we were ten, we took a break from searching for crawfish underneath some rocks at the edge of the lake. We retreated to our fort beneath the branches of the weeping willow, and we made a pact. We wrote it on some bark. And then mashed it into a stew with forsythia flowers, petroleum-streaked sand, seaweed, and a dead fish. And we vowed: never to let each other down.
There is no stronger bond than the one that gets you through childhood.
This is our story.”
After twenty-five years of life (most of which were spent reading) it’s exceeding rare that I don’t know how I feel about a book after I turn the final page. But this was precisely the problem I faced upon finishing Wendy Wunder’s sophomore novel, The Museum of Intangible Things. For those of you who aren’t aware, The Museum of Intangible Things was one of my most highly-anticipated 2014 releases. In fact, there are few times when I have wanted to love a novel more. Which makes it all the more painful for me to admit that, after a little discussion and a lot of reflection, while I loved the concept and was charmed by Wunder’s narrative style, the execution of said concept left a little something to be desired. In an ironic twist of fate, it was (in part) the intangible, the unexplainable, that prevented me from ever truly enjoying this novel as much as I had hoped. While I would like to believe that I am a rational, analytical reader first and foremost, like any reader I too often rely on my gut instinct to separate the ‘good’ novels from the ‘great’ ones. There is absolutely no doubt that Wendy Wunder is a technically proficient writer with a great deal of talent. That said, I was never able to emotionally invest in and connect with these characters and their journey as much as I would have wished. Was I interested enough to keep reading? Yes. Did I truly care about the characters’ fates? Sadly, no. For whatever reason, be it frenetic pacing, superficial character development, unrealistic or incorrect expectations on my part or simply the unexplainable – Wendy Wunder’s The Museum of Intangible Things fell more than a little short of the mark.
“I sometimes need to have things pointed out to me.
It’s not that I’m slow or ‘on the spectrum’ or anything like that. It’s just that I’m an only child. I don’t have older siblings to observe. I’m out here like a lone wolf, just trying to slake my thirst. It bothers me that there are rules about the slaking. One should just slake it. The thirst. I bet in Europe, teenagers don’t judge each other by how they drink from their water bottles. I have exalted ideas about Europe, especially Scandinavia, which I imagine as a perfect egalitarian utopia.”
Although told exclusively from Hannah’s perspective, The Museum of Intangible Things tells the story of best friends Hannah and Zoe, although neither character is examined with as much depth and care as I would have liked. The two characters are a study in contrasts and Hannah is the the more grounded of the two. Calm, rationale and meticulous, Hannah has been forced to grow up too quickly after being obligated to compensate for her parent’s shortcomings. As a result, Hannah has constructed a series of coping mechanisms in order to deal with this additional responsibility and pressure, most notable of which is her fascination with Scandinavian culture, which she perceives as an idealistic paradise of egalitarianism and prosperity. When Zoe suggests they embark on a road trip, a chance to ‘get away’ and escape the lives that seem to have been left in a shambles around them, Hannah agrees, convinced she can coax Zoe back to good health and temper Zoe’s uninhibited and wild impulses. Unfortunately, despite the supposed length and depth of their friendship, Hannah never seems able to grasp the severity of Zoe’s illness. She minimizes Zoe’s symptoms and makes excuses throughout the novel, even as Zoe’s behaviour continues to worsen. Despite this, which is at best optimistic naïveté and at worst criminally stupid, Hannah was the more realistic and interesting of the two characters and was the one I was most able to relate to. I could identify with Type-A personality and rigid worldview and, like Hannah, I too would likely benefit from a little more insouciance in my life.
“But Zoe is still not well. You can see it in her eyes, and I need to get her back to normal. She really is all I have in the world to depend on. I need her healthy, and I think perhaps she is right. Maybe we need to put some more distance between us and the place where she seemingly lost her mind.”
Zoe, unfortunately, is less well-rendered. Truthfully, her portrayal borders on that of a ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click Here.) In short, she is the girl to whom every man is attracted and for whom everything comes easily. Most troubling of all, her characterization begins and ends with her mental illness. While there is no doubt that this constitutes a fundamental part of who she is, I would be hard-pressed to name a single trait about this character that did not involve her bipolar disorder and manic depression. Zoe is strictly defined by her illness and her single-minded desire to help Hannah blossom into a more complete person. As much as it pains me to admit it, I also felt as though Zoe’s mental illness was romanticized and trivialized in that it is often portrayed as ‘quirky’ or ‘strange’ as opposed to being treated with the respect and seriousness it deserved. Given the stigma that already surrounds mental illness and those who suffer from it, I had hoped that Wunder would combat, rather than contribute, to the problem. Unfortunately, my hopes went unrealized. While the author does demonstrate the dire consequences of mental illness when left untreated, Zoe’s story lacked the raw grit and candor I have come to expect from the contemporary genre and left me unmoved and largely uninterested.
“Since the divorce, and the midlife, and the realization that this is going to be as good as it gets – a crumbling house on the lake, an average-in-every-way daughter, and a dead-end job at the DMV – she has wrapped herself in a cocoon. She’s been cocooning, and I’ve been trying to coax her out and spread her wings. Because although that’s as good as it gets, there is magic in each one of these things. The lake. The daughter. The job. The moments. There can still be magic in the moments.”
Wendy Wunder’s use of prose is nothing short of divine. Having been unfamiliar with the author’s previous novel, The Probability of Miracles, I was continually in awe of the subtle lyricism and beauty of Wunder’s work that could make even the most mundane of activities charming and whimsical. (“Everything in Ethan Drysdale’s house closes properly with a soft and heavy click. Like a quick French kiss.”) There were several passages I could have lingered over for hours and while I wasn’t necessarily as happy with the content itself, I can’t emphasize strongly enough how enchanted I was with the author’s narrative style. It was simply exquisite. That said, there were other elements of the story that left me more than a little unsatisfied, none more so than in the case of the examination (or lack thereof) of Zoe’s mental illness. In truth, The Museum of Intangible Things often felt less like a poignant and thoughtful reflection on the nature of mental illness and more like an anesthetized young adult re-telling of Thelma and Louise complete with outlandish (and often illegal) shenanigans. As interesting as Hannah and Zoe’s excursions often were, I kept waiting for that quiet, understated moment when the pacing would slow and the two girls would be afforded the opportunity to discuss Zoe’s illness openly and honest. Unfortunately, this never came to pass. Frankly, the pacing never slowed down long enough to allow for it. This regrettably extended to other aspects of the story as well, most notable of which was the ending. What might otherwise have been a shocking or devastating conclusion to Hannah and Zoe’s story was never afforded the opportunity to make as great an impact as it might otherwise have been able to. The reader careens through the events of the novel, conclusion included, and is never given the time to reflect on all that has happened. Regrettably, this lack of depth was not limited to these two aspects of the story, either. Additional secondary storylines are introduced throughout the text only to be summarily dismissed later on. From Noah’s Asperger syndrome to Hannah’s mother’s depression and her father’s alcoholism, The Museum of Intangible Things is teeming with stories that begged to be given a greater deal of attention but never were. I wanted more. I needed more.
“I have left behind what tethered me to the lake. The sadness. The self-pity. The dark tentacles of the murky sea monster only I could see. And I have come to appreciate the ocean. How the sun and salt together can leave things weightless, easy, and smooth around the edges. Like sea glass and driftwood.”
I wanted to love this novel. Desperately. Unfortunately, I consistently struggled to reconcile what his novel purported to be with what it actually is. Marketed as a positive, empowering story about female friendship and self improvement, ultimately The Museum of Intangible Things is a far darker tale that lacked the emotional resonance and depth to leave any meaningful impression. There is no doubt that The Museum of Intangible Things is an ambitious undertaking with an interesting concept and a magnificent narrative style that makes even the simplest sentence sing. Sadly, poor pacing, superficial character development and a problematic portrayal of mental illness all coalesced to make this reading experience one of the most disappointing in recent memory. While I will not hesitate to read Wunder’s The Probability of Miracles given how much I adored her prose, The Museum of Intangible Things was simply not the right book for me.
Please Note: All quotations included in this review have been taken from an advanced reader copy and therefore might be subject to change.
“I am a freshwater girl. I live on the lake, and in New Jersey, that’s rare. The girls on the other side of town have swimming pools, and the girls in the south have the seashore. Other girls are dry, breezy, salty, and bleached. I, on the other hand, am dark, grounded, heavy, and wet. Fed by springs, tangled in soft fernlike seaweed, I am closer to the earth. Saturated to the bone. I know it, and so do the freshwater boys, who prefer the taste of salt.”
For Hannah and Zoe, who reside in a small, impoverished New Jersey town where the middle class is a rapidly-fading memory and the upper class an impossible dream, it’s difficult to imagine a future that doesn’t involve becoming ensnared in a life of mediocrity and stagnancy as those before them have done. The two are stuck, trapped on a path that seems as hopeless as it does inescapable. What they do have, however, is one another. Inseparable since a childhood vow never to let the other down, Hannah and Zoe have seen one another through the best and worst that life has to offer. So, together, they do whatever they can to make their situation seem a little less hopeless. For Hannah, this means sneaking into the attic above the Sussex Country Day School and eavesdropping on the classes below, absorbing any lessons she overhears like a sponge and attempting to save enough money from her fledging hot dog cart to attend the local community college. For Zoe, this means working on monthly installations for The Museum of Intangible Things, a project she created in order to help her brother, who suffers from asperger’s syndrome, process emotions and other intangible concepts he struggles with. But when Zoe’s own struggles with mental illness come to the forefront and it seems as though their lives are falling apart before their very eyes, Zoe and Hannah decide to embark on a cross-country road-trip that will take them from the streets of New York to the Las Vegas strip and everywhere in between. What begins as an innocent attempt to ‘get away’ quickly escalates into a kaleidoscope of random and increasingly surreal experiences that culminates in a manner Hannah never could have forseen. From Ikea sleepovers to balloon liberation, truck-stop taxidermy to mouse emancipation, Zoe attempts to teach Hannah about the beauty of the indefinable elements in life. Audacity and insouciance. Gluttony and betrayal. These are just a few of the concepts that will be found in Zoe and Hannah’s Museum of Intangible Things.
“When we were ten, we took a break from searching for crawfish underneath some rocks at the edge of the lake. We retreated to our fort beneath the branches of the weeping willow, and we made a pact. We wrote it on some bark. And then mashed it into a stew with forsythia flowers, petroleum-streaked sand, seaweed, and a dead fish. And we vowed: never to let each other down.
There is no stronger bond than the one that gets you through childhood.
This is our story.”
After twenty-five years of life (most of which were spent reading) it’s exceeding rare that I don’t know how I feel about a book after I turn the final page. But this was precisely the problem I faced upon finishing Wendy Wunder’s sophomore novel, The Museum of Intangible Things. For those of you who aren’t aware, The Museum of Intangible Things was one of my most highly-anticipated 2014 releases. In fact, there are few times when I have wanted to love a novel more. Which makes it all the more painful for me to admit that, after a little discussion and a lot of reflection, while I loved the concept and was charmed by Wunder’s narrative style, the execution of said concept left a little something to be desired. In an ironic twist of fate, it was (in part) the intangible, the unexplainable, that prevented me from ever truly enjoying this novel as much as I had hoped. While I would like to believe that I am a rational, analytical reader first and foremost, like any reader I too often rely on my gut instinct to separate the ‘good’ novels from the ‘great’ ones. There is absolutely no doubt that Wendy Wunder is a technically proficient writer with a great deal of talent. That said, I was never able to emotionally invest in and connect with these characters and their journey as much as I would have wished. Was I interested enough to keep reading? Yes. Did I truly care about the characters’ fates? Sadly, no. For whatever reason, be it frenetic pacing, superficial character development, unrealistic or incorrect expectations on my part or simply the unexplainable – Wendy Wunder’s The Museum of Intangible Things fell more than a little short of the mark.
“I sometimes need to have things pointed out to me.
It’s not that I’m slow or ‘on the spectrum’ or anything like that. It’s just that I’m an only child. I don’t have older siblings to observe. I’m out here like a lone wolf, just trying to slake my thirst. It bothers me that there are rules about the slaking. One should just slake it. The thirst. I bet in Europe, teenagers don’t judge each other by how they drink from their water bottles. I have exalted ideas about Europe, especially Scandinavia, which I imagine as a perfect egalitarian utopia.”
Although told exclusively from Hannah’s perspective, The Museum of Intangible Things tells the story of best friends Hannah and Zoe, although neither character is examined with as much depth and care as I would have liked. The two characters are a study in contrasts and Hannah is the the more grounded of the two. Calm, rationale and meticulous, Hannah has been forced to grow up too quickly after being obligated to compensate for her parent’s shortcomings. As a result, Hannah has constructed a series of coping mechanisms in order to deal with this additional responsibility and pressure, most notable of which is her fascination with Scandinavian culture, which she perceives as an idealistic paradise of egalitarianism and prosperity. When Zoe suggests they embark on a road trip, a chance to ‘get away’ and escape the lives that seem to have been left in a shambles around them, Hannah agrees, convinced she can coax Zoe back to good health and temper Zoe’s uninhibited and wild impulses. Unfortunately, despite the supposed length and depth of their friendship, Hannah never seems able to grasp the severity of Zoe’s illness. She minimizes Zoe’s symptoms and makes excuses throughout the novel, even as Zoe’s behaviour continues to worsen. Despite this, which is at best optimistic naïveté and at worst criminally stupid, Hannah was the more realistic and interesting of the two characters and was the one I was most able to relate to. I could identify with Type-A personality and rigid worldview and, like Hannah, I too would likely benefit from a little more insouciance in my life.
“But Zoe is still not well. You can see it in her eyes, and I need to get her back to normal. She really is all I have in the world to depend on. I need her healthy, and I think perhaps she is right. Maybe we need to put some more distance between us and the place where she seemingly lost her mind.”
Zoe, unfortunately, is less well-rendered. Truthfully, her portrayal borders on that of a ‘Manic Pixie Dream Girl’. (Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click Here.) In short, she is the girl to whom every man is attracted and for whom everything comes easily. Most troubling of all, her characterization begins and ends with her mental illness. While there is no doubt that this constitutes a fundamental part of who she is, I would be hard-pressed to name a single trait about this character that did not involve her bipolar disorder and manic depression. Zoe is strictly defined by her illness and her single-minded desire to help Hannah blossom into a more complete person. As much as it pains me to admit it, I also felt as though Zoe’s mental illness was romanticized and trivialized in that it is often portrayed as ‘quirky’ or ‘strange’ as opposed to being treated with the respect and seriousness it deserved. Given the stigma that already surrounds mental illness and those who suffer from it, I had hoped that Wunder would combat, rather than contribute, to the problem. Unfortunately, my hopes went unrealized. While the author does demonstrate the dire consequences of mental illness when left untreated, Zoe’s story lacked the raw grit and candor I have come to expect from the contemporary genre and left me unmoved and largely uninterested.
“Since the divorce, and the midlife, and the realization that this is going to be as good as it gets – a crumbling house on the lake, an average-in-every-way daughter, and a dead-end job at the DMV – she has wrapped herself in a cocoon. She’s been cocooning, and I’ve been trying to coax her out and spread her wings. Because although that’s as good as it gets, there is magic in each one of these things. The lake. The daughter. The job. The moments. There can still be magic in the moments.”
Wendy Wunder’s use of prose is nothing short of divine. Having been unfamiliar with the author’s previous novel, The Probability of Miracles, I was continually in awe of the subtle lyricism and beauty of Wunder’s work that could make even the most mundane of activities charming and whimsical. (“Everything in Ethan Drysdale’s house closes properly with a soft and heavy click. Like a quick French kiss.”) There were several passages I could have lingered over for hours and while I wasn’t necessarily as happy with the content itself, I can’t emphasize strongly enough how enchanted I was with the author’s narrative style. It was simply exquisite. That said, there were other elements of the story that left me more than a little unsatisfied, none more so than in the case of the examination (or lack thereof) of Zoe’s mental illness. In truth, The Museum of Intangible Things often felt less like a poignant and thoughtful reflection on the nature of mental illness and more like an anesthetized young adult re-telling of Thelma and Louise complete with outlandish (and often illegal) shenanigans. As interesting as Hannah and Zoe’s excursions often were, I kept waiting for that quiet, understated moment when the pacing would slow and the two girls would be afforded the opportunity to discuss Zoe’s illness openly and honest. Unfortunately, this never came to pass. Frankly, the pacing never slowed down long enough to allow for it. This regrettably extended to other aspects of the story as well, most notable of which was the ending. What might otherwise have been a shocking or devastating conclusion to Hannah and Zoe’s story was never afforded the opportunity to make as great an impact as it might otherwise have been able to. The reader careens through the events of the novel, conclusion included, and is never given the time to reflect on all that has happened. Regrettably, this lack of depth was not limited to these two aspects of the story, either. Additional secondary storylines are introduced throughout the text only to be summarily dismissed later on. From Noah’s Asperger syndrome to Hannah’s mother’s depression and her father’s alcoholism, The Museum of Intangible Things is teeming with stories that begged to be given a greater deal of attention but never were. I wanted more. I needed more.
“I have left behind what tethered me to the lake. The sadness. The self-pity. The dark tentacles of the murky sea monster only I could see. And I have come to appreciate the ocean. How the sun and salt together can leave things weightless, easy, and smooth around the edges. Like sea glass and driftwood.”
I wanted to love this novel. Desperately. Unfortunately, I consistently struggled to reconcile what his novel purported to be with what it actually is. Marketed as a positive, empowering story about female friendship and self improvement, ultimately The Museum of Intangible Things is a far darker tale that lacked the emotional resonance and depth to leave any meaningful impression. There is no doubt that The Museum of Intangible Things is an ambitious undertaking with an interesting concept and a magnificent narrative style that makes even the simplest sentence sing. Sadly, poor pacing, superficial character development and a problematic portrayal of mental illness all coalesced to make this reading experience one of the most disappointing in recent memory. While I will not hesitate to read Wunder’s The Probability of Miracles given how much I adored her prose, The Museum of Intangible Things was simply not the right book for me.
Please Note: All quotations included in this review have been taken from an advanced reader copy and therefore might be subject to change.
March 8, 2015
http://wandering-world.skyrock.com/32...
TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un fabuleux roman. C’est un très joli coup de cœur que je n’avais absolument pas vu venir. Ce n’est pas compliqué : dès la première page – littéralement – j’ai été enivré par les mots de Wendy Wunder et les protagonistes qu’elle m’a permis de rencontrer. Hannah et Zoe m’ont profondément touché. Elles m’ont coupé le souffle, pour être précis. Sincèrement, je ne trouve rien à redire. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est une histoire à la fois brute et extrêmement délicate, à la fois drôle et débordante de nostalgie. Ce roman m’a ému au plus haut point et est parvenu à me tirer quelques larmes. L’auteure nous délivre ici un vrai bijou, une lecture sublime et inoubliable qui m’a vraiment, vraiment époustouflé.
Comme dit précédemment, j’ai été ancré dans le récit dès le départ. Wendy Wunder possède une plume entêtante et enivrante qui m’a totalement conquis. Elle manie les mots, les phrases et les tournures stylistiques avec brio et puissance. De son écriture émane une forte mélancolie et quelque chose de très passionné. L’auteure se livre corps et âme lorsqu’elle décrit une émotion. Elle va au cœur des cœurs, et c’est précisément ÇA qui m’a renversé. Wendy Wunder sait parfaitement comment tout mettre en place pour que nous nous identifiions aux personnages et que nous nous attachions irrésistiblement à eux. C’est fort, passionnant, palpitant.
Zoe et Hannah sont deux héroïnes qui m’ont irrémédiablement marqué. A leurs côtés, j’ai ri et eu les larmes aux yeux. J’ai eu envie de les rejoindre dans leurs folles aventures. Elles ont beau avoir des personnalités diamétralement opposées, elles se complètent indéniablement. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un récit qui aborde l’amitié sous toutes ses formes. J’ai adoré tous les messages que l’auteure tente de nous faire passer à travers son roman. L’amour n’a pas de limite, pas de raison, pas d’explication. L’amour est l’amour, c’est tout. Le lien qui unit Hannah et Zoe m’a pris aux tripes et m’a très fortement touché. Elles forment un duo ultra rafraîchissant qui déborde de vie et de joie. Elles sont drôles, charmantes, intelligentes et hyper humaines. D’un autre côté, elles possèdent toutes les deux de vraies cicatrices et de vraies raisons de fuir. Impossible, dès lors, de ne pas tomber amoureux d’elles. Vraiment. Je les ai tout simplement adorées. Vivre cette expérience avec elles a été un vrai délice.
TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT s’avère également être un formidable road-trip. En suivant Hannah et Zoe dans leur parcours à travers les États-Unis, je me suis surpris à vouloir prendre le premier taxi qui passe et partir découvrir le monde. Ce roman nous met plein d’étoiles dans les yeux. On devient presque jaloux en assistant à toutes les étapes auxquelles les héroïnes s’arrêtent. Zoe est un personnage qui m’a déboussolé et dévasté tant elle tient à faire un maximum d’expériences en un minimum de temps. Hannah, elle, est beaucoup plus terre à terre. Elle est aussi prête à tout pour sa meilleure amie. Plus le récit évolue, plus les caractères se dévoilent et se révèlent. Au bout d’un moment, je ne voyais plus les pages se tourner tant j’étais ancré dans l’histoire.
En effet, en plus de nous faire vivre de véritables montagnes russes émotionnelles grâce à l’amitié de Zoe et Hannah et grâce à ce qu’elles découvrent, TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT touche à de très nombreux thèmes différents : le premier amour, la maladie, l’abandon, le désespoir, la culpabilité, la mort ou le bonheur. Wendy Wunder explore véritablement toute une palette de sensations. Il y a énormément de messages à retenir de cette histoire et c’est ce qui la rend encore plus précieuse à mes yeux.
La conclusion du roman est juste parfaite. Vraiment. Elle a réduit mon cœur en miettes et m’a fait pleurer et, justement, c’est ce qui la rend aussi extraordinaire. Je n’attendais pas cette fin du tout. DU TOUT. Wendy Wunder prend un chemin qui m’a semblé hyper crédible et vraiment saisissant. Le meilleur choix qu’elle aurait pu faire, je pense. L’histoire d’Hannah et Zoe se termine sur une note dévastatrice et douloureuse, qui m’a entièrement satisfait. Les ultimes pages m’en ont fait voir de toutes les couleurs. J’ai pleuré, eu des frissons, souri, été abasourdi puis ai réussi à reprendre mon souffle petit à petit. C’était grisant, bouleversant et fracassant. Certains penseront peut-être qu’il manque quelques réponses à nos questions (ce qui n’est pas faux), que tout va trop vite ou encore que cette conclusion ne correspond pas au reste de l’histoire. Sincèrement, je comprendrai mais, étrangement, même s’il manque de minuscules choses pour que cette histoire soit complète, j’ai trouvé cette fin extraordinairement touchante.
En résumé, TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un coup de cœur. C’est un roman émouvant et obsédant, un petit trésor à découvrir sans hésiter. Les héroïnes sont touchantes, drôles et renversantes. Nous découvrons une plume recherchée, nostalgique et mélancolique qui est vraiment magnifique. Le récit est vif, rafraîchissant et marquant. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT aborde différents sujets avec finesse et douceur, sans jamais trop en faire. La conclusion est un crève-cœur et ne fait que rendre cette histoire encore plus éprouvante, dans le meilleur sens du terme. Une lecture poignante et prodigieuse, que je vous recommande chaudement.
TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un fabuleux roman. C’est un très joli coup de cœur que je n’avais absolument pas vu venir. Ce n’est pas compliqué : dès la première page – littéralement – j’ai été enivré par les mots de Wendy Wunder et les protagonistes qu’elle m’a permis de rencontrer. Hannah et Zoe m’ont profondément touché. Elles m’ont coupé le souffle, pour être précis. Sincèrement, je ne trouve rien à redire. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est une histoire à la fois brute et extrêmement délicate, à la fois drôle et débordante de nostalgie. Ce roman m’a ému au plus haut point et est parvenu à me tirer quelques larmes. L’auteure nous délivre ici un vrai bijou, une lecture sublime et inoubliable qui m’a vraiment, vraiment époustouflé.
Comme dit précédemment, j’ai été ancré dans le récit dès le départ. Wendy Wunder possède une plume entêtante et enivrante qui m’a totalement conquis. Elle manie les mots, les phrases et les tournures stylistiques avec brio et puissance. De son écriture émane une forte mélancolie et quelque chose de très passionné. L’auteure se livre corps et âme lorsqu’elle décrit une émotion. Elle va au cœur des cœurs, et c’est précisément ÇA qui m’a renversé. Wendy Wunder sait parfaitement comment tout mettre en place pour que nous nous identifiions aux personnages et que nous nous attachions irrésistiblement à eux. C’est fort, passionnant, palpitant.
Zoe et Hannah sont deux héroïnes qui m’ont irrémédiablement marqué. A leurs côtés, j’ai ri et eu les larmes aux yeux. J’ai eu envie de les rejoindre dans leurs folles aventures. Elles ont beau avoir des personnalités diamétralement opposées, elles se complètent indéniablement. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un récit qui aborde l’amitié sous toutes ses formes. J’ai adoré tous les messages que l’auteure tente de nous faire passer à travers son roman. L’amour n’a pas de limite, pas de raison, pas d’explication. L’amour est l’amour, c’est tout. Le lien qui unit Hannah et Zoe m’a pris aux tripes et m’a très fortement touché. Elles forment un duo ultra rafraîchissant qui déborde de vie et de joie. Elles sont drôles, charmantes, intelligentes et hyper humaines. D’un autre côté, elles possèdent toutes les deux de vraies cicatrices et de vraies raisons de fuir. Impossible, dès lors, de ne pas tomber amoureux d’elles. Vraiment. Je les ai tout simplement adorées. Vivre cette expérience avec elles a été un vrai délice.
TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT s’avère également être un formidable road-trip. En suivant Hannah et Zoe dans leur parcours à travers les États-Unis, je me suis surpris à vouloir prendre le premier taxi qui passe et partir découvrir le monde. Ce roman nous met plein d’étoiles dans les yeux. On devient presque jaloux en assistant à toutes les étapes auxquelles les héroïnes s’arrêtent. Zoe est un personnage qui m’a déboussolé et dévasté tant elle tient à faire un maximum d’expériences en un minimum de temps. Hannah, elle, est beaucoup plus terre à terre. Elle est aussi prête à tout pour sa meilleure amie. Plus le récit évolue, plus les caractères se dévoilent et se révèlent. Au bout d’un moment, je ne voyais plus les pages se tourner tant j’étais ancré dans l’histoire.
En effet, en plus de nous faire vivre de véritables montagnes russes émotionnelles grâce à l’amitié de Zoe et Hannah et grâce à ce qu’elles découvrent, TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT touche à de très nombreux thèmes différents : le premier amour, la maladie, l’abandon, le désespoir, la culpabilité, la mort ou le bonheur. Wendy Wunder explore véritablement toute une palette de sensations. Il y a énormément de messages à retenir de cette histoire et c’est ce qui la rend encore plus précieuse à mes yeux.
La conclusion du roman est juste parfaite. Vraiment. Elle a réduit mon cœur en miettes et m’a fait pleurer et, justement, c’est ce qui la rend aussi extraordinaire. Je n’attendais pas cette fin du tout. DU TOUT. Wendy Wunder prend un chemin qui m’a semblé hyper crédible et vraiment saisissant. Le meilleur choix qu’elle aurait pu faire, je pense. L’histoire d’Hannah et Zoe se termine sur une note dévastatrice et douloureuse, qui m’a entièrement satisfait. Les ultimes pages m’en ont fait voir de toutes les couleurs. J’ai pleuré, eu des frissons, souri, été abasourdi puis ai réussi à reprendre mon souffle petit à petit. C’était grisant, bouleversant et fracassant. Certains penseront peut-être qu’il manque quelques réponses à nos questions (ce qui n’est pas faux), que tout va trop vite ou encore que cette conclusion ne correspond pas au reste de l’histoire. Sincèrement, je comprendrai mais, étrangement, même s’il manque de minuscules choses pour que cette histoire soit complète, j’ai trouvé cette fin extraordinairement touchante.
En résumé, TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT est un coup de cœur. C’est un roman émouvant et obsédant, un petit trésor à découvrir sans hésiter. Les héroïnes sont touchantes, drôles et renversantes. Nous découvrons une plume recherchée, nostalgique et mélancolique qui est vraiment magnifique. Le récit est vif, rafraîchissant et marquant. TOUTES CES CHOSES QUI NOUS ÉCHAPPENT aborde différents sujets avec finesse et douceur, sans jamais trop en faire. La conclusion est un crève-cœur et ne fait que rendre cette histoire encore plus éprouvante, dans le meilleur sens du terme. Une lecture poignante et prodigieuse, que je vous recommande chaudement.
March 9, 2015
“Das Glück wächst nicht auf Bäumen” – alleine dieser Titel hat mich sofort auf den neuesten Jugendroman von Wendy Wunder neugierig gemacht.
Hannah und Zoe sind beste Freundinnen. Dabei sind sie eigentlich so verschieden. Hannah ist schüchtern, vorsichtig, hält sich gerne an Regeln, lernt gern. Zoe dagegen ist voller Energie, impulsiv, kann nicht stillsitzen, möchte alles Mögliche entdecken und ausprobieren. Doch für die Menschen, die sie liebt, würde sie alles tun. So kümmert sie sich hingebungsvoll um ihren jüngeren Bruder, Noah, der Asperger hat.
Was Hannah und Zoe aber immer verdrängen: Zoe ist krank. Und als eines Tages die Krankheit, über die man nicht spricht, wieder einmal ihre Anzeichen zeigt, flüchten die beiden Freundinnen – raus aus New Jersey, die Welt entdecken. Mit nur einem Koffer voller Münzen und dem LeMans machen sie sich auf den Weg gen Westen.
»Woher sollen die Erinnerungen kommen, wenn man nicht den Mut und die Frechheit besitzt, sie sich selbst zu erschaffen?« – Seite 144
Ich muss zugeben, die ersten hundert Seiten konnten mich noch nicht so recht überzeugen. Die Handlung war wenig interessant und zog sich stellenweise sogar in die Länge. Doch mit dem Beginn von Hannas und Zoes Roadtrip nahm die Handlung rasant an Fahrt auf – wortwörtlich. Hier entdeckt man erst die vielen Unterschiede zwischen den Freundinnen. Zoes Krankheit – eine bipolare Störung – führt dazu, dass die Handlung eine Spur Verrücktheit (im positiven Sinne!) abbekommt.
Mit jedem weiteren Haltepunkt auf ihrem Roadtrip wuchsen mir die beiden Charaktere mehr und mehr ans Herz, bis ich sie am Ende gar nicht mehr gehen lassen wollte. Während das Verhalten von Zoe hauptsächlich von ihrer Krankheit geprägt ist, entwickelt sich Hannah im Laufe der Handlung weiter. Ist sie anfangs ein introvertiertes Mädchen, so lernt sie von ihrer besten Freundin mutiger zu werden, mehr zu wagen, aus sich herauszugehen. Die krassen Unterschiede zwischen den beiden sind es, die diese Geschichte so interessant machen. Sie zeigen zwei völlig unterschiedliche Jugendliche und dass durchaus beide Seiten ihre positiven als auch negative Eigenschaften besitzen.
Eine weitere große Rolle spielen allerdings auch die Eltern der beiden. Und auch hier stehen deren Verhaltensweisen im völligen Gegensatz zu den Eigenschaften ihrer Kinder. So merkt man, dass Hannah das Gegenteil ihrer Eltern zu sein scheint und vielleicht deswegen so ist, wie sie ist, weil sie aus den Fehlern ihrer Mutter, die sich kaum um sie kümmert, und ihrem Vater, welcher seine Finger nicht vom Alkohol lassen kann, gelernt hat. Zoes Mutter hingegen sorgt sich umso mehr um ihre Tochter. Am Ende ist im Verhalten beider Elternpaare eine Weiterentwicklung zu beobachten.
Dieser Roman lebt von den Verschiedenheiten seiner Charaktere und erzählt eine berührende Geschichte über wahre Freundschaft, das Erwachsenwerden, den Mut zum Loslassen und die Freude am Leben. Für mich ist diese Geschichte genauso, wie eine Geschichte für Jugendliche sein sollte. Unheimlich lesenswert und bis auf den etwas langatmigeren Anfang wirklich perfekt. Absolute Leseempfehlung!
Hannah und Zoe sind beste Freundinnen. Dabei sind sie eigentlich so verschieden. Hannah ist schüchtern, vorsichtig, hält sich gerne an Regeln, lernt gern. Zoe dagegen ist voller Energie, impulsiv, kann nicht stillsitzen, möchte alles Mögliche entdecken und ausprobieren. Doch für die Menschen, die sie liebt, würde sie alles tun. So kümmert sie sich hingebungsvoll um ihren jüngeren Bruder, Noah, der Asperger hat.
Was Hannah und Zoe aber immer verdrängen: Zoe ist krank. Und als eines Tages die Krankheit, über die man nicht spricht, wieder einmal ihre Anzeichen zeigt, flüchten die beiden Freundinnen – raus aus New Jersey, die Welt entdecken. Mit nur einem Koffer voller Münzen und dem LeMans machen sie sich auf den Weg gen Westen.
»Woher sollen die Erinnerungen kommen, wenn man nicht den Mut und die Frechheit besitzt, sie sich selbst zu erschaffen?« – Seite 144
Ich muss zugeben, die ersten hundert Seiten konnten mich noch nicht so recht überzeugen. Die Handlung war wenig interessant und zog sich stellenweise sogar in die Länge. Doch mit dem Beginn von Hannas und Zoes Roadtrip nahm die Handlung rasant an Fahrt auf – wortwörtlich. Hier entdeckt man erst die vielen Unterschiede zwischen den Freundinnen. Zoes Krankheit – eine bipolare Störung – führt dazu, dass die Handlung eine Spur Verrücktheit (im positiven Sinne!) abbekommt.
Mit jedem weiteren Haltepunkt auf ihrem Roadtrip wuchsen mir die beiden Charaktere mehr und mehr ans Herz, bis ich sie am Ende gar nicht mehr gehen lassen wollte. Während das Verhalten von Zoe hauptsächlich von ihrer Krankheit geprägt ist, entwickelt sich Hannah im Laufe der Handlung weiter. Ist sie anfangs ein introvertiertes Mädchen, so lernt sie von ihrer besten Freundin mutiger zu werden, mehr zu wagen, aus sich herauszugehen. Die krassen Unterschiede zwischen den beiden sind es, die diese Geschichte so interessant machen. Sie zeigen zwei völlig unterschiedliche Jugendliche und dass durchaus beide Seiten ihre positiven als auch negative Eigenschaften besitzen.
Eine weitere große Rolle spielen allerdings auch die Eltern der beiden. Und auch hier stehen deren Verhaltensweisen im völligen Gegensatz zu den Eigenschaften ihrer Kinder. So merkt man, dass Hannah das Gegenteil ihrer Eltern zu sein scheint und vielleicht deswegen so ist, wie sie ist, weil sie aus den Fehlern ihrer Mutter, die sich kaum um sie kümmert, und ihrem Vater, welcher seine Finger nicht vom Alkohol lassen kann, gelernt hat. Zoes Mutter hingegen sorgt sich umso mehr um ihre Tochter. Am Ende ist im Verhalten beider Elternpaare eine Weiterentwicklung zu beobachten.
Dieser Roman lebt von den Verschiedenheiten seiner Charaktere und erzählt eine berührende Geschichte über wahre Freundschaft, das Erwachsenwerden, den Mut zum Loslassen und die Freude am Leben. Für mich ist diese Geschichte genauso, wie eine Geschichte für Jugendliche sein sollte. Unheimlich lesenswert und bis auf den etwas langatmigeren Anfang wirklich perfekt. Absolute Leseempfehlung!
April 12, 2014
This book was very weird. Not a typical happy road trip. It tackles issues such as mental illnesses. I was often uncomfortable with the writing style but I have to say this book was emotional. The ended made my heart pound like crazy and I almost teared up. Don't pick it up expecting a light hearted fun road trip read
_________
Actual review:
I had really high hopes for The Museum of Intangible Things because I loved Wendy Wunder's previous novel, The Probability of Miracles. First of all, she is blessed with beautiful book covers as well as very memorable book titles! The Museum of Intangible Things first got my attention because of the road trip aspect. You guys know how much I love road trips in my books! also, it is a best friend novel and I sometimes love my friendship books, void of romance. Overall, I did enjoy this book but I did have a couple of issues with it that didn't allow me to enjoy this novel as much as her previous one.
This book fails to mention something very important, that it deals with a psychological disorder. One of the friends, Zoe, has bipolar syndrome. The road trip.. wasn't a fun road trip, it was about doing whatever Zoe wanted, and Hannah following her and hoping she doesn't drive off the edge this time. I do like her loyalty to her best friend, it is something I admire very much, but I hoped the way everything was handled had been handled differently. Also, the road trip? took over 100 pages for it to happen. You guys know how much I dislike when the synopsis mentions something that doesn't happen immediately in the book. I would have preferred not knowing they'll be going on a road trip because I was waiting for it as soon as I started reading. Also, the writing made me a bit uncomfortable, maybe it was how true it was to what teenagers think and go through nowadays but I just disliked the way these characters talked and thought.. it made me like them a bit less (am I making sense) but maybe this is just a case of "it's not you, it's me" where the author purposely did this to not romanticize teens' lives because I know we all want our YA characters to live happily ever after.
However there are things I highly enjoyed in this novel and the first is the labeling of every chapter. Through the road trip, Zoe is teaching Hannah to ease up on life and to, for once, think about herself instead of her sorry excuse of a dad and barely present mother. I really liked the connection between the two girls and how even in the middle of all the crap they're going through, they still stuck by each other and wanted the best for each other (yes, even Zoe who tends to get her way with things). It was basically two girls against the world and it was refreshing to read YA contemporary novel with minimal romance (yes, there is a very diluted romance in there). I would definitely recommend it to contemporary fans who want to try something different.
_________
Actual review:
I had really high hopes for The Museum of Intangible Things because I loved Wendy Wunder's previous novel, The Probability of Miracles. First of all, she is blessed with beautiful book covers as well as very memorable book titles! The Museum of Intangible Things first got my attention because of the road trip aspect. You guys know how much I love road trips in my books! also, it is a best friend novel and I sometimes love my friendship books, void of romance. Overall, I did enjoy this book but I did have a couple of issues with it that didn't allow me to enjoy this novel as much as her previous one.
This book fails to mention something very important, that it deals with a psychological disorder. One of the friends, Zoe, has bipolar syndrome. The road trip.. wasn't a fun road trip, it was about doing whatever Zoe wanted, and Hannah following her and hoping she doesn't drive off the edge this time. I do like her loyalty to her best friend, it is something I admire very much, but I hoped the way everything was handled had been handled differently. Also, the road trip? took over 100 pages for it to happen. You guys know how much I dislike when the synopsis mentions something that doesn't happen immediately in the book. I would have preferred not knowing they'll be going on a road trip because I was waiting for it as soon as I started reading. Also, the writing made me a bit uncomfortable, maybe it was how true it was to what teenagers think and go through nowadays but I just disliked the way these characters talked and thought.. it made me like them a bit less (am I making sense) but maybe this is just a case of "it's not you, it's me" where the author purposely did this to not romanticize teens' lives because I know we all want our YA characters to live happily ever after.
However there are things I highly enjoyed in this novel and the first is the labeling of every chapter. Through the road trip, Zoe is teaching Hannah to ease up on life and to, for once, think about herself instead of her sorry excuse of a dad and barely present mother. I really liked the connection between the two girls and how even in the middle of all the crap they're going through, they still stuck by each other and wanted the best for each other (yes, even Zoe who tends to get her way with things). It was basically two girls against the world and it was refreshing to read YA contemporary novel with minimal romance (yes, there is a very diluted romance in there). I would definitely recommend it to contemporary fans who want to try something different.
November 1, 2013
Hannah and Zoe haven't been given much in life, except each other, and they don't have anything particularly wonderful waiting in their future. Unless you count enrolling at the local community college, which they don't. The only worthwhile tie the girls have to the New Jersey town they grew is Zoe's autistic brother, who relies on Zoe and Hannah to help him navigate the world and all the intangible things within it he struggles to understand. After climbing out of a dark depression, Zoe bounds into mania, declaring that Hannah might not have the best grip on the intangibles either. Hoping to recover the real Zoe in the midst of her cycles of depression and mania, Hannah agrees to ditch New Jersey and embark on a cross country road trip in search of those difficult to understand but absolutely essential intangibles: Loyalty. Envy. Obligation. Dreams. Disappointment. Fear. Negligence. Coping. Elation. Lust. Nature. Freedom. Heartbreak. Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. Belief. God. Karma. Knowing what you want (there is probably a French word for it). Saying Yes. Destiny. Truth. Devotion. Forgiveness. Life. Happiness (ever after).
The Museum of Intangible Things is, at its core, a love story. Not the typical romantic love story (though there is one of those within its pages as well), but the story of the strong and enduring love between two girls who have always been and always will be there for one another. True best friends with a wild streak... Bonnie & Clyde Bonnie. Wendy Wunder gives readers an unforgettable story of two girls who take to the road and commit the occasional crime in an epic quest to ensure the others' happiness.
The Museum of Intangible Things is, at its core, a love story. Not the typical romantic love story (though there is one of those within its pages as well), but the story of the strong and enduring love between two girls who have always been and always will be there for one another. True best friends with a wild streak... Bonnie & Clyde Bonnie. Wendy Wunder gives readers an unforgettable story of two girls who take to the road and commit the occasional crime in an epic quest to ensure the others' happiness.
Read
June 4, 2015DNF
J'aurais pu aller au bout, mais je sais que c'est pas le livre que je vais aimer. Je trouve ça vraiment bizarre comme livre, les personnages, leurs réactions et leurs actions. Ce n'est pas pour moi !
J'aurais pu aller au bout, mais je sais que c'est pas le livre que je vais aimer. Je trouve ça vraiment bizarre comme livre, les personnages, leurs réactions et leurs actions. Ce n'est pas pour moi !
Shelved as 'top-wishlist'
June 22, 2013THAT COVER!
And also, the synopsis really draws you in. Road trip! <3
And also, the synopsis really draws you in. Road trip! <3
January 29, 2019
5/5 ⭐️
Wow. This book was actually really really good and I learned a few lessons myself while reading it. It was a bit young for me, but still it was a highly enjoyed book.
Wow. This book was actually really really good and I learned a few lessons myself while reading it. It was a bit young for me, but still it was a highly enjoyed book.
December 13, 2017
Leídas 30 páginas. Abandonado.
Tenía muchas expectativas puestas en este libro y por eso me da pena abandonarlo a tan pocas páginas.
Sinceramente, no entiendo que ha querido contarme la autora con esta novela (quizás sea que al no haber avanzado más no lo haya entendido o que yo soy cortita y ya).
Hanna (protagonista que sabes su nombre en el capitulo 3...) no me gustó, es una chica sin personalidad que solo sabe seguir a su amiga y lamerle el culo porque esta amiguita es muy "buena" por apiadarse de ella y estar a su lado y asistir a eventos que solo le interesan a Hanna. Sigue siendo buena amiga cuando esta le habla fatal y se comporte como una malcriada enfrente de sus padres. Hanna esta con ella porque no tiene a nadie más.
Hanna también tiene problemas con sus padres y los dos son unos ogros que nunca han estado para ella.
Hanna es el típico personaje cliché. Y no me entendáis mal, los personas cliché no tienen nada de malo siempre que tengan algo que destacar pero es que Hanna no tiene nada, pasa totalmente desapercibida y acaba siendo aburrida.
Su mejor amiga se llama Zoe y se conocen desde muy pequeñitas que fue donde se prometieron no decepcionarse nunca. Zoe tiene depresión y es bipolar, por lo que sus estados de animo cambiaran continuamente, puede ser borde y después reír como una cría. No se medica (o por lo menos hasta donde he leído la autora no dice nada) y debido a eso puede resultar insoportable, continuamente con sus cambios de animo.
Zoe también tiene un hermano que sufre Asperger y al que le encantan los museos, por lo que cada mes, Zoe crea un museo "intangible" donde le enseña los sentimientos para que este los aprenda. Esto me pareció bastante ridículo, no se puede enseñar a sentir en una sola tarde y más cuando lo único que sabe es lo que le enseñas en fotos y recordemos que el Asperger es una enfermedad. Este asunto me pareció ridículo y a la vez fue lo único que me interesaba de la novela.
La narración no me gustó cambiaba de temas porque sí y los metía sin ton ni son. La pluma no es nada destacarle e incluso con lo poco que leí me llegué a aburrir.
Y mi pregunta es, ¿Que es exactamente lo que me quiere contar esta novela? ¿Los típicos problemas adolescentes que ya han sido contados en miles de libros? ¿Qué fin tiene esta novela? Sinceramente no comprenderé el sentido de este libro.
Tenía muchas expectativas puestas en este libro y por eso me da pena abandonarlo a tan pocas páginas.
Sinceramente, no entiendo que ha querido contarme la autora con esta novela (quizás sea que al no haber avanzado más no lo haya entendido o que yo soy cortita y ya).
Hanna (protagonista que sabes su nombre en el capitulo 3...) no me gustó, es una chica sin personalidad que solo sabe seguir a su amiga y lamerle el culo porque esta amiguita es muy "buena" por apiadarse de ella y estar a su lado y asistir a eventos que solo le interesan a Hanna. Sigue siendo buena amiga cuando esta le habla fatal y se comporte como una malcriada enfrente de sus padres. Hanna esta con ella porque no tiene a nadie más.
Hanna también tiene problemas con sus padres y los dos son unos ogros que nunca han estado para ella.
Hanna es el típico personaje cliché. Y no me entendáis mal, los personas cliché no tienen nada de malo siempre que tengan algo que destacar pero es que Hanna no tiene nada, pasa totalmente desapercibida y acaba siendo aburrida.
Su mejor amiga se llama Zoe y se conocen desde muy pequeñitas que fue donde se prometieron no decepcionarse nunca. Zoe tiene depresión y es bipolar, por lo que sus estados de animo cambiaran continuamente, puede ser borde y después reír como una cría. No se medica (o por lo menos hasta donde he leído la autora no dice nada) y debido a eso puede resultar insoportable, continuamente con sus cambios de animo.
Zoe también tiene un hermano que sufre Asperger y al que le encantan los museos, por lo que cada mes, Zoe crea un museo "intangible" donde le enseña los sentimientos para que este los aprenda. Esto me pareció bastante ridículo, no se puede enseñar a sentir en una sola tarde y más cuando lo único que sabe es lo que le enseñas en fotos y recordemos que el Asperger es una enfermedad. Este asunto me pareció ridículo y a la vez fue lo único que me interesaba de la novela.
La narración no me gustó cambiaba de temas porque sí y los metía sin ton ni son. La pluma no es nada destacarle e incluso con lo poco que leí me llegué a aburrir.
Y mi pregunta es, ¿Que es exactamente lo que me quiere contar esta novela? ¿Los típicos problemas adolescentes que ya han sido contados en miles de libros? ¿Qué fin tiene esta novela? Sinceramente no comprenderé el sentido de este libro.
December 5, 2021
Perfectly captured relationship between two friends and displays their loyalty towards each other. Realistic mindset and audience for the readers, and creates awareness for the importance of mental health. Unfortunate ending :( Brought genuine tears to my eyes. Overall, great book to read, very informative and captivating, good book to read to pass the time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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