Books {The Lady of the Rivers} and {The Search for WondLa}

I read a couple of books over the past month. The first was "The Lady of the Rivers" by Phillipa Gregory. I picked up at the airport on my way to my brother's graduation. I had just finished "The Giver" and hadn't had time to get a book I actually wanted. The pickings were slim at the airport gift shop. Phillipa Gregory seems to be really popular, so I thought I'd see what the big whoop was about her. My conclusion is simply meh. It started out interesting but quickly started to feel like a slightly jazzed up history lecture. Don't get me wrong, I like historical fiction, but this one didn't really float my boat.  Maybe it was because she tried to cover too long of a time period.  I think it spans something like 30-40 years.  All the good stuff happened at the beginning and the end.  The middle felt like filler.  I understand we needed the historical context and the events leading up to the big event at the end, but she either needed to flesh it out more, or go over it quicker. The book finally picked up a little more than halfway through. It was alright. I will probably not read another Phillipa Gregory book, though.


I finished "The Search for WondLa" today.  Originally, I came across the second book in the series, "A Hero for WondLa", at the bookstore and I knew I wanted to read them. Quite honestly, it was the illustrations on the cover and throughout the book that sold me. I didn't buy the book then, but on a trip to the library, "The Search for WondLa" was displayed, so I grabbed it. It's a youth science fiction book written by Tony DiTerlizzi, author of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" (which I have not read).  I really wanted to fall in love with this book/series from the get go, but it took awhile to get there.

The story is about a girl, Eva Nine.  She lives in an underground home called the Sanctuary.  She knows no other human beings and has been raised since infancy by a robot named Muthr.  She has never been above ground.  She discovers a scrap of torn paper with a picture of a robot, a girl, and an adult with the word "Wond" and the letters L and A on it.  She calls it her WondLa.  She wonders about other humans and if there are others outside of her sanctuary, but she is happy with Muthr.  One day, there is a breach and a creature destroys their sanctuary and Eva Nine is forced to flee above ground.  All her life she has been trained for the day that she would go above ground, but in all the scenarios, it has been Earth.  What she finds is decidedly not Earth.  From there, she and Muthr, along with a friend they gain on the way, go on their search for the WondLa and for other humans.

It's a wonderful beginning to what is going to be a trilogy.  Eva Nine is spunky, curious and courageous.  Tony DiTerlizzi creates a fantastic world with interesting creatures and his illustrations really bring it to life.  I've been waiting for something to be the "next Harry Potter", and this kind of feels like it might be.  I'm not comparing it to Harry Potter in that they are similar in story or writing (because they aren't), but that it might filling the HP void, if you know what I mean.  A new adventure to get caught up in.

So I recommend it, if you are so inclined.  I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.