Review Detail

Everybody longs to find a place where they belong and in Wonderstruck both Ben and Rose are trying to figure out where they fit into their own lives. Even though their stories are told fifty years apart they share striking similarities. Ben longs to find the father he's never met and Rose seeks the attention of a popular actress whose life she's chronicled in a scrapbook. The book flows easily back and forth between the two stories until they merge together creating one fluid ending.

Using The American Museum of Natural History in NYC as a backdrop, Brian Selznick uses beautiful drawings, complex characters and interesting historical facts to weave a tale that both entertains and challenges. The role of museum curator is a focal point and describes how their job is to decide what objects go into a display and how those objects are arranged. The idea that we can be the curator of our own lives is considered, in essence giving us the opportunity to pick and choose what stories will go into the display box that is our life. Will we put our best face forward and see where our dreams take us or allow our fear and something that others might view as a disability to define us?

I really enjoyed reading this book even if I did end up in tears by the end! It was a quick read and left me with a new perspective on those that are hearing impaired.