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A review by ihlonial
The Wonderling by Mira Bartók
3.0
I think we can all agree that the two most evil things a person can do is
1. Abuse children
2. Abuse animals
Well this book chose to revolve their story around both, and for a majority of this book I was a bit mortified by just how cruel this book was to an eleven-year old fox boy. I understand that the cruelty exists to juxtapose his good heart and the family he will eventually find in the end of the book, and I also understand that cruelty is a common plot point in stories to act as a catalyst that permits the main character to leave and start their grand adventure. However, for some reason this book really hit all the spots that made it feel exceptionally cruel....all while being written in lovely British prose. It's moments like these where I realize that I am my mother's daughter and I just don't like to see people being mean to each other.
Beyond that major point I struggled with, I do want to say that I still enjoyed this book. I went into this anticipating that I would have a cozy reading vibe. And it's definitely there. It's an imaginative story that shines thanks to its quirks and lovely prose. The prose is very Dickensian, but in a very approachable, accessible manner for young readers. There are such warm characters who really shine as they help Arthur along his journey. I really loved kind hearted little Arthur and his best friend Trinket. I didn't love that their story separated them for the majority of the story, but the ending really made everything better for everyone in the end. Overall, I think you could still classify this as a 'cozy read', despite the difficult beginning.
content warning: as mentioned before there is explicit abuse to orphan children that are animals, also racism & slavery - this may be an incorrect classification, but I'm calling it such due to the fact that any 'groundling' (bipedal animals) are sent to work in slave labor and are segregated from the humans.
1. Abuse children
2. Abuse animals
Well this book chose to revolve their story around both, and for a majority of this book I was a bit mortified by just how cruel this book was to an eleven-year old fox boy. I understand that the cruelty exists to juxtapose his good heart and the family he will eventually find in the end of the book, and I also understand that cruelty is a common plot point in stories to act as a catalyst that permits the main character to leave and start their grand adventure. However, for some reason this book really hit all the spots that made it feel exceptionally cruel....all while being written in lovely British prose. It's moments like these where I realize that I am my mother's daughter and I just don't like to see people being mean to each other.
Beyond that major point I struggled with, I do want to say that I still enjoyed this book. I went into this anticipating that I would have a cozy reading vibe. And it's definitely there. It's an imaginative story that shines thanks to its quirks and lovely prose. The prose is very Dickensian, but in a very approachable, accessible manner for young readers. There are such warm characters who really shine as they help Arthur along his journey. I really loved kind hearted little Arthur and his best friend Trinket. I didn't love that their story separated them for the majority of the story, but the ending really made everything better for everyone in the end. Overall, I think you could still classify this as a 'cozy read', despite the difficult beginning.
content warning: as mentioned before there is explicit abuse to orphan children that are animals, also racism & slavery - this may be an incorrect classification, but I'm calling it such due to the fact that any 'groundling' (bipedal animals) are sent to work in slave labor and are segregated from the humans.