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A review by katykelly
The Book of Wonders by Julien Sandrel
Reminiscent of Me Before You.
3.5 stars.
Sweet and teary family story, with a sub-plot about sexism in the workplace. For me though, neither lived up to the promise.
Thelma adores her adolescent son, Louis, and is as distraught as any parent would be when he is hit by a lorry and sent into a coma. Luckily, Louis has written a diary with a Bucket List of things he'd wanted to do with his life (this didn't quite sound like the actions of a typical 12-year-old but never mind), and Thelma decides that, if she tries to fulfil his wishes on his behalf and let him know about her progress, he might just wake up from unconsciousness.
At the same time, Thelma struggles to hold onto her job, one in which she has experienced daily acts of chauvinism.
I wanted more from the workplace storyline, but this was actually wrapped up very neatly and quickly, with little drama, I'm not sure why it was there really. And the book itself being quite short, Thelma's international exploits didn't last particularly long either, it felt as though it could have been expanded. There were some rather funny moments (Louis wanting to do something that is quite typical of adolescents but that is entirely inappropriate as well as embarrassing for his mother) which brought up issues of consent as well as objectification.
While it was pretty agreeable, it felt too short, tidied itself up neatly (or left things far too open), and didn't make the most of the potential of either interesting storyline.
Worked well as an audiobook however, Thelma's voice as mother and professional working woman came across strongly through the narrator, and her telling us the story worked.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
3.5 stars.
Sweet and teary family story, with a sub-plot about sexism in the workplace. For me though, neither lived up to the promise.
Thelma adores her adolescent son, Louis, and is as distraught as any parent would be when he is hit by a lorry and sent into a coma. Luckily, Louis has written a diary with a Bucket List of things he'd wanted to do with his life (this didn't quite sound like the actions of a typical 12-year-old but never mind), and Thelma decides that, if she tries to fulfil his wishes on his behalf and let him know about her progress, he might just wake up from unconsciousness.
At the same time, Thelma struggles to hold onto her job, one in which she has experienced daily acts of chauvinism.
I wanted more from the workplace storyline, but this was actually wrapped up very neatly and quickly, with little drama, I'm not sure why it was there really. And the book itself being quite short, Thelma's international exploits didn't last particularly long either, it felt as though it could have been expanded. There were some rather funny moments (Louis wanting to do something that is quite typical of adolescents but that is entirely inappropriate as well as embarrassing for his mother) which brought up issues of consent as well as objectification.
While it was pretty agreeable, it felt too short, tidied itself up neatly (or left things far too open), and didn't make the most of the potential of either interesting storyline.
Worked well as an audiobook however, Thelma's voice as mother and professional working woman came across strongly through the narrator, and her telling us the story worked.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.