“Show me a family of readers, and I will show you the people who move the world.” —Napoleon Bonaparte
At two@twenty-seven, we are a family of readers. Sharee is literal family. She’s my older wiser sister who happens to be on fire as of late. You’ve probably noticed she’s reading circles around us. Sharee had a hat trick last month. A reading/reviewing hat trick!!! We’ve been reading the same book—she just finished ahead of me, I’m nearly there. Can’t wait to have a chat about it; impromptu book discussions revive me.
Let’s chat about R.J. Palacio, should we? It goes without saying R.J. deserves countless standing O’s for crafting one of my all-time favorite, wish-I’d-written-it-myself, starry, starry young-adult novels. Wonder lived up to its name in every sense of the word. Palacio “excited amazed admiration” out of me, one page at a time. It’s a reading miracle in my opinion. How on earth and all the other planets do you follow with another novel after that? I feel for ya, R.J. (Not to mention, I wish I had that same problem right about now.)
I’m here to tell you that Palacio is not a one-hit Wonder. Her latest book, Pony, is a real Winner. And why wouldn’t it be? She’s conjured up a twelve-year-old boy named Silas whose best friend happens to be a ghost named Mittenwool—an imaginary support with perfect timing and even better advice. When “they” set out across the frontier to rescue Silas’s mysteriously kidnapped father, they end up on an unforgettable, life-changing journey. If you love a good ghost story, this book’s for you. If you love a good story that underscores the need for courage in a mixed-up chaotic world, look no further. If you’re after “meditations on love and faith that feel timeless and utterly necessary,” pick up a copy of Pony today. Say it again (reading specialist) Erin O’Leary: “I feel like I just read a symphony, a melody I’d never heard before, but my heart somehow remembered. R.J. Palacio, you are a Wonder.”