The Search for WondLa

I remember it like it was yesterday : I walked into my local bookstore and they had this in the newer release section. The cover drew me in but when I saw it was written/illustrated by Tony Diterlizzi himself, I knew I had to get it. A master at storytelling and his distinctive art style- Wondla (the trilogy as a whole) absolutely spellbound me. I could not put it down and it was such a refreshing read. It also has a wonderfully strong and admirable female lead! The engaging plot, the exquisite world-building, the charismatic characters, the fictional flora and fauna (that have some basis on actual nonfictional animals) cast me into that world and I was legitimately sad when the trilogy ended because I wanted it to continue and desired show more so much more. It's like if Star Wars met Alice in Wonderland, with maybe a hint of Wall-E. It's its own thing, unique, original and perfect for any kind of sci-fi or fantasy fan. It has a lot of heart, thought, excitement, action and immersion. The themes are survival, hope, dystopian, courage, acceptance (both of loss and differences), moving forward, morals, and despair. Everything has a purpose in this story and nothing feels dragged out or superfluous. It's in my top 5 favorite book series ever written.

(If you need an extra push, the author of the Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins- and the one for the Percy Jackson series -Rick Riordan- loves this series and reviewed them as well.) show less

Without a doubt, this is among one of the best books I’ve ever read. It is the story of the young girl Eva Nine, her robotic guardian Muthr, and the alien traveler Rovender Kitt. Eva and Muthr live in an underground high-tech bomb shelter called the Sanctuary until it is smashed open and destroyed by a sinister alien creature wielding a sonic weapon. After meeting the friendly alien Rovender Kitt, they find that they are ostensibly no longer on planet Earth, but rather a planet called Orbona. Together they set out to discover the fate of the other humans.

Chief among the things I love about this book are its numerous illustrations. I have never seen a book similarly illuminated; it contains all the length and text of a novel, yet with show more as many illustrations as a children’s story book. What makes them even better is the astonishingly original aesthetic, which is sort of like a cross between Fallout, Zeno Clash (look it up!), and one of those fantasy-themed JRPGs. As for the narrative content, among the motifs I most enjoyed were the technology, the alien creatures, and the twist/not-twist revealed near the end. The technology is interesting in both its presence and its absence. When the technology is present, it gives the impression of far-future brand names like Pow-r-ate Beverage and NutriPellets. That, and the level of thought that went into portraying everything Eva Nine owns as some piece of advanced survival gear is astounding. At one point, when she breaks her fingers, her Omnipod (a combination tricorder/encyclopedia/survival manual/multi tool) instructs her to take a plastic piece from her “sneakboot” and a strip of cloth from her “jackvest,” both of which were engineered to come away, and fashion them into a splint for her broken fingers. It’s absence is also astonishing. There are bits and pieces, mostly of alien technology, that hint at an advanced civilization, but it is absent almost everywhere else when it should logically be abundant. This opens an interesting line of conjecture: are the aliens forbidden to have this technology? Were they forbidden in a power play by Queen Ojo (who is given not nearly enough attention) or in an attempt to preserve the newly resurrected planet? Did the aliens simply bring only the bare necessities in an attempt to forget their peoples’ troubling pasts?

Speaking of the aliens, I enjoyed them as well, not only for the originality of the designs, but for the enigma of them. Rarely are these creatures explained or expanded upon. Most of the time we don’t even know the name of their species. This, to me, imparts a vale of mystery and wonder over the whole assortment. The origin of the aliens also ties into the big twist/not-twist that is revealed at the end of the book. I shan't spoil it, but it’s such a simple idea that it had me fooled, for I simply hadn’t considered it. It’s brilliantly original.

Lastly, the characters. I’ve been told that good characters are what drive a work of fiction, but in my case I don’t really think that’s true. Eva Nine bores me as a typical “spunky, adventuresome little girl with a heart of gold,” and Rovender Kitt as “the mysterious, brooding, wise old man.” Muthr’s a little bit more interesting, in that she expresses her robotic inflexibility in subtler ways than usual. She has all the emotional response of a somewhat overprotective mother, but frequently and stubbornly insists that technology is omniscient and indispensable, when it is blatantly rendered near-useless against the alien environment it was never meant to account for. show less

El universo creado por DiTerlizzi me hizo recordar otros de los grandes clásicos de la LIJ, como es el caso de La historia interminable y Alicia en el país de las maravillas. Las ilustraciones son excelentes y el guiño final hacia la obra de L. Frank Baum, El maravilloso mago de Oz, conquistan al lector y lo dejan con ganas de leer el reto de la trilogía.

BEWARE: Potential spoilers in this one! Read at your own risk!

[The Search for WondLa] by Tony DiTerlizzi
The main thought I had at the close of this children's novel was "huh, that wasn't as good as it should have been." I feel this needs a little explanation.

First, let's understand why I expected it to be totally fabulous: the novel, even just its look, is tantalizing. DiTerlizzi is, at heart, an illustrator, so the images that populate this novel are beautiful, brilliant, and done in an old-fashioned limited color style (which I have forgotten the name of) that adds to their appeal. The visual concept of the book as a whole -- including fonts and formatting -- is both deliciously antique and temptingly sci-fi. It's a deceptively thick show more novel, because of the frequent illustrations, so it seems at first glance to have lots of room for things like character development. It also, at first glance, looks like a book that can stand on its own -- it is not. The sequel is forthcoming and this first installment cuts off at a key cliffhanging moment.

In addition, the book is -- from the beginning -- an obvious homage to both [The Wizard of Oz] and [Alice in Wonderland], so one expects an old-fashioned fantasy adventure in similar vein and to a similar standard as those books. This is science fiction more than fantasy, in some ways, so "old-fashioned" is a relative term here, but the novel does achieve that tone in many ways.

Unfortunately, it does not achieve the sort of depth one wishes for. That may be because the series has far to go or perhaps because DiTerlizzi is a better illustrator than a writer and really needs a partner here (his best work, in my opinion, has been with collaborators). For whatever reason, throughout the novel, the reader is pursued by the sense that there should be something more. Not the "oh, gee, I wonder" sense, but rather the "wait, did I just miss a page?" sense. Until that sense intrudes, reading this novel is pleasant, but the shallowness makes itself known at least once a chapter, so it's hard to escape. In particular, characters in the novel, without the depth they deserve, quickly degenerate into types and icons rather than relatable people: we have, of course, the Alice/Dorothy type, but also the Caterpillar, the Tin Man, the Gentle Giant, and a villain who is merely a collection of traits with an underdeveloped backstory. Once again, the images of these figures are imaginative and fascinating -- I love the look DiTerlizzi creates for each of them -- but the writing that surrounds each does not do them proper justice.

DiTerlizzi is heading for both political and environmental commentary here, but by the time the reader gets to the (SPOILER ALERT!) patently Planet of the Apes conclusion, things have gotten too stereotypical for one to really care. Like most literature, this is an amalgam of things that have come before, so I cannot lay the "unorginal" label on this -- what is "original" anyway? -- but I do wish that DiTerlizzi had built the same luster and detail into writing the characters as he did into drawing them, so that the bones of others weren't quite so visible through their written skin.

Will I read the sequel? Probably. I do want to know how it all turns out and the book feels and looks good as one reads it, so there is enough pleasure here to motivate me to keep going. Unfortunately, as with many things, what pleasure there is could have been so much more. Wasted potential is sometimes more frustrating for the reader than true worthlessness. show less

Finished an ARC of The Search for WondLa (due to be published September 2010) last night. Basically, I enjoyed it. The main character is a plucky young girl, the pictures were amazing (only the illustrations for the first 1/3 of the book were ready for the ARC...but they were outstanding) and the story was engaging. I had a couple problems with the story. One was that I figured out most of what was going on from the get go (the book is aimed at 9-12 yos, so I won't hold that against the author). However, there were two things that bothered me quite a bit. One was that a *master* password to the computer system controlling her residence and every aspect of her life is hidden in the back of a drawer in the main character's living show more quarters. Huh? That's like hiding the keys to the liqueur cabinet in your kid's sock drawer. Made no sense to me. The other thing is that, although some bits are resolved, the book *does not end*...it just stops. As if someone ripped a book in half (or thirds) and handed you the beginning. I find that extremely annoying and it makes me feel manipulated (especially since there is no indication, anywhere on the book or even it it's Amazon listing, that it is part of a series). Again, though, I don't know if the author designed it that way or if the publisher decided the book was too long and should be split into two (or more) books. So, basically, I wanted to absolutely *rave* about how good this book was. I can't quite do that but I do recommend it (although I'd wait until the other parts are done). - Tammie show less

Eva 9 grew up in an underground bunker, basically, and knew no one except her robot caretaker, MUTHR (an acronym for something, but I can't remember at the moment). One day their home is destroyed by an huntsman and they are forced to journey out into a world that's not exactly what they expected. This was a terrific adventure story for kids, and I really enjoyed it. It also includes some interactivity for those of you who have smart phones or computers with cameras...neither of which I have, and to tell you the truth, even if I had I may not have bothered. However, the interactive part was an augmented reality, which would have been cool to see just to know what it looks like. Perhaps more energetic readers (seriously...the best part show more of reading is the LACK of necessary interactivity in my mind, but hey, I'm not really in the millennial generation so what do I know?) will get into that part of it. If you do, let me know how that works. DiTerlizzi's illustrations, however, are simply breathtaking. Reminded me of that mind blowing book, The Invention of Hugo Cabret in some ways. show less

This is the first book in the WondLa trilogy. This was a wonderful middle grade sci-fi adventure. There are fantastic characters in here, the story is very well written and engaging, and I absolutely adored the beautiful illustrations throughout.

Eva Nine has been raised in a subterranean Sanctuary, her only companion has been a robot named Muthr. Muthr has raised Eva for as long as Eva can remember. Eva’s greatest desire is to explore the surface of her planet. When Eva finally gets the opportunity to go up to the planet’s surface it is under dire circumstances. The planet has changed drastically from the one Muthr knew; it harbors great secrets and is home to some terrifying creatures.

The illustration in this book is absolutely show more stunning. I loved the pictures of Eva and her adventures throughout. It’s just so beautiful and really helps the reader imagine some of the more fantastical settings.

The characters are amazing too. Muthr is amazingly caring for a robot. The other characters Eva meets on the surface are just as fantastic. Rovee is a blue fish/humanoid type creature that has suffered great loss of his own and seems to find a kindred spirit and a purpose as he journeys with Eva. Otto is an absolutely adorable elephant sized alien that forms a strange connection with Eva and provides excellent assistance on her journey. I loved how caring the friends were towards each other and how they faced many challenges by supporting each other.

The adventure is amazing too. There are so many fantastic landscapes, locations, and creatures throughout this book. It was just an amazing and highly entertaining adventure. There is humor in here too, which I always enjoy.

Overall I absolutely adored this book. I immediately went out and got the second book in the series. This book is full of amazing characters, exciting adventure, and incredibly creative creatures and lands. The illustration throughout just makes the book all that more spectacular. Highly recommended to everyone, but especially to fans of middle grade sci-fi and adventure. show less