Thursday 13 December 2012

Review: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

Plot:
 Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.
Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories--Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures--weave back and forth with mesmerising symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful--with over 460 pages of original artwork--Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

My Review:
Brian Selznick, you are awesome. This book was really good and I read it in about two days.

The characters of this book were really well done. They were unique and realistic. Ben , who was deaf, was a lovely character to read about. I felt very close to him and felt he was almost like a little brother to me by the end of the novel. He didn't let his loss of hearing stop him in his mission to find family and friends, and I felt that showed the will and strength of the character. He was such a strong character that struggled on through the novel even though he met so many obstacles along the way. Rose was another character I really liked. Rose, who was also deaf, had to over come many obstacles along the way and was a very affectionate loving character. Her story is told through pictures and drawings only and I loved that unique way of telling , showing the reader her story. I also liked Jamie. I thought he was a lovely friend for Ben to have and looked after Ben well.
The plot was brilliant. I was interested in both Ben's story and Roses' story. I was so eager to see how they would intersect, and was pleasantly surprised with the way they did. The plot had perfect pacing and was not too fast paced or slow paced. The plot was gripping as I was constantly curious as to what would happen to Ben and Rose next .
Brian Selznick has a beautiful flow to his writing style. I also liked the way he used alternating pages with lots of text and pages with very few text. He creates characters so real, that the reader becomes emotionally attached to them . I loved his focus on museums in this novel as it has really piqued my interest in museums and antiques. His linking of the book "Wonderstruck" to the title of this book was clever. Selznick uses beautiful illustration and drawings to really bring the story to life for the reader.

 Rating: Five Star Book
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