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A review by erinlcrane
The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy
4.0
The frame for this story is one I really like. A group of childhood friends with a messy past reconvening years later as adults. You slowly learn what happened in the past as you follow them in the present as well.
I also really liked the concept of the magical houses. I love the idea of the Luck House and Oath House in particular. It must’ve been fun to play with as an author.
I wouldn’t say this is an especially twisty or shocking story, but it’s suspenseful and often creepy.
The six friends all felt distinct, which is a feat, and I wish I got more POVs than Jay’s. That could easily get unwieldy, but maybe Brandi or Hilma would have been nice to add in. I thought the way that the change in Brandi and Jay’s relationship was shown was great, and having Brandi’s thoughts would have been a nice addition. Maybe it would give away too much? But since it’s not a twisty story, I don’t think I’d mind.
My main complaint with the present day storyline is that it took too long for them to visit all the houses. With Brandi missing, I feel like the first thing to do would have been to check at all of the magical houses, especially the Forever House. That visit felt artificially delayed, though I understand the story reasons for doing that. I wish she had come up with a reason for them to not be able to go there at first. Maybe have a certain character lie and say it was burnt down.
It all came together pretty well in the end! Great October read.
I also really liked the concept of the magical houses. I love the idea of the Luck House and Oath House in particular. It must’ve been fun to play with as an author.
I wouldn’t say this is an especially twisty or shocking story, but it’s suspenseful and often creepy.
The six friends all felt distinct, which is a feat, and I wish I got more POVs than Jay’s. That could easily get unwieldy, but maybe Brandi or Hilma would have been nice to add in. I thought the way that the change in Brandi and Jay’s relationship was shown was great, and having Brandi’s thoughts would have been a nice addition. Maybe it would give away too much? But since it’s not a twisty story, I don’t think I’d mind.
My main complaint with the present day storyline is that it took too long for them to visit all the houses. With Brandi missing, I feel like the first thing to do would have been to check at all of the magical houses, especially the Forever House. That visit felt artificially delayed, though I understand the story reasons for doing that. I wish she had come up with a reason for them to not be able to go there at first. Maybe have a certain character lie and say it was burnt down.
It all came together pretty well in the end! Great October read.