A heartfelt thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read and review this amazing book.
This is the Emma Donoghue that wrote Room - that I loved, loved, loved and told everyone within earshot about. I feel the same about The Wonder. That both are centered in small rooms is not lost on me!
The Wonder takes place in rural Ireland, about 7 years after the potato famine that devastated the area. The author's writing about the location takes you physically and emotionally there - the mist, the bogs, the trees...you really feel you are there.
The story revolves around Anna - an 11-year-old girl who apparently hasn't had a bite of food since her last birthday 4 months ago. From a deeply religious family, everyone is convinced that this is a miracle from God because Anna appears to be thriving. A committee of townspeople (including the family priest and doctor) come up with a plan to prove doubters wrong. They hire a nun and a nurse to watch over Anna at all times for two weeks - she must never be out of their site.
Lib is the nurse that is hired - she trained under Florence Nightingale and served in the Crimea War. However, since the war's end, she is working at a hospital doing paltry aide duties. She approaches the job of watching Anna in a very serious vein but with a very skeptical attitude. She is not religious and doesn't believe that Anna is a miracle child; she is convinced that she will uncover the truth about where Anna is getting nourishment.
I don't want to give anything away because you need to read this book - a true wonder!!
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