Wonder by Palacio. R.J. ( 2013 ) Paperback

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Summer is the first friend Auggie makes at school. She is an independent thinker who is kind and compassionate. Auggie Pullman, aged ten, lives in New York and is about to start fifth grade. This is the same as starting year six in the UK. He has never been to school before. He has a severe facial difference and he has been home-schooled because he has needed lots of operations.

Like small gods, children formed their miniature worlds out of clay, or even just words. To them, the truth was never simple.Lib no se fía de la eficacia de la religiosa, pero es casi imposible controlarla a ella también, además de a la niña y los padres de esta. Lib spends her two weeks in Athlone grappling with the incredible situation she has been thrust into and attempting to logically find a solution to this real-life riddle. This slow-building mystery had me riveted! All the questions I needed answered kept me captivated to the very end. Why did Anna suddenly decide to stop eating? What are the potential motives for the adults in her life to play along with a charade that would endanger a child? How has she survived four months if she has only consumed spoonfuls of water? How have they been sneaking her food and who is responsible? Is it possible that she really is a miracle? Will Anna survive the fast? Will Lib convince anyone to listen to her concerns? How will she overcome her ethical dilemmas? Great characters, well-drawn setting, and interesting moral and ethical issues.

Auggie cuts his hair shorter by the end of the book which shows that he is no longer hiding his face. This is such an atmospheric novel, and the author really captures a wonderful sense of time and place. The harshness of the landscape and the lifestyle of the people really draws the reader in. The country people are ruled and in fear of their religion. The customs and language and superstitions of the time is so accurately portrayed in this beautiful written tale and while not new to me being Irish and very aware of my heritage I appreciate historical fiction well written and based on facts. Deep in the heart of Ireland, villagers claim to be in the midst of a miracle. Eleven year old Anna O'Donnell is said to have survived for four months without any food any only a few teaspoons of water per day. Pilgrims come in droves to see the devout girl, paying their alms (which fatten the coffers of the local parish). A fascinating read with a highly unusual topic that I've never encountered before. And so well-done

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Lib arrives on the scene ready to expose the girl's deception. She searches every nook and cranny for the tiniest of crumbs and keeps meticulous records of all the girl's vital signs. She is concerned about the integrity of the investigation, because she doesn't fully trust the the second watcher, a nun, to be as scrupulous with her observations. As Lib spends time with the girl, her attitude softens and her concerns become more complicated. Emma Donoghue writes her characters so empathetically that they make my heart ache. I felt every bit of Lib's psychological journey as if it were my own. I desperately clung to the hope that one of the adults in Anna's life would take control of the situation. It was frustrating to watch the obviously capable nurse being disregarded and being forced to make "her voice as soft and womanly as she could" in hopes that the "important men" would listen to her concerns. Even though I could relate to Lib's incredulity, I liked when her preconceived notions were called into question. The skeptical journalist William Byrne makes her confront her homeland's part in intensifying the culture she has been so prejudiced against. She admonishes one character for telling Anna a "lurid" religious tale, but she discovers that she had greatly misinterpreted the situation: “I don’t think you understand our stories, ma’am.” El Prodigio" nos plantea preguntas interesantes, y Donoghue desplegó la trama a su alrededor con una muy inquietante atmósfera que aumentó la tensión, poco a poco. Muy bien planteada no sólo una historia bien pensada e interesante. Sino también los pequeños detalles de su desarrollo y el ambiente en el que te sumerge. NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available! La protagonista es Anne, una chiquilla de apenas once años que se niega a ingerir alimentos, según ella, porque Dios así lo quiere (iremos descubriendo las verdaderas motivaciones a medida que nos adentremos en el relato), y su comunidad lo acepta, en parte porque vislumbran un futuro prometedor para el pueblo si el estamento católico considera que se trata de un milagro. Anne podría ser una futura beata que incluso pueda sacarlos de la miseria.