A fantastical, sci-fi adventure, set in a wonderfully thought out world that keeps the story full of life.
When a marauder destroys the underground sanctuary that Eva Nine was raised in by the robot Muthr, the twelve-year-year-old girl is forced to flee aboveground. Eva Nine is searching for anyone else like her: She knows that other humans exist because of an item she treasures—a scrap of cardboard on which is depicted a young girl, an adult, and a robot, with the strange word, “WondLa.”
I give 'The Search For WondLa' an 8.8 out of 10 rating, and a 8+ age rating.
'The Search For WondLa' has one of the most lively story world's I have ever seen. The creatures are creative, with their own developed cultures, and the settings are fun. Even though it was a fantasy world, it was set in the future, with technology that didn't feel forced, and it too was creative. Overall, it wasn't a cardboard cutout of a world, and what kept me turning the pages was just to discover more of the imaginative world.
The plot was phenomenal. There was a clear goal that fueled the story, and there were very few points where the book lost my attention.
There were a few moments when I expected the book to turn into an 'educational' book, but the moments quickly passed, and I was glad. It was funny how much a few situations were set up so they could easily turn into educational moments, but nothing happened beyond that.
Eva Nine was a fun main character even though she fit the 'spunky teen girl' trope. She didn't have any special quirks, but I cared what happened to her and that's what matters. Although, my favorite character, was Rovender, and I was a little disappointed he got less pagetime than he should have. All the side characters were compelling, and I don't have any complaints.
In contrast to the well-written characters, I felt there were characters that weren't as entertaining. Eva's guardian, who was supposed to be the mother figure, was... a robot. Their mother-daughter dynamic was adequate, but I just couldn't get past the fact that she was a robot. It felt weird, and I didn't care what happened to the robot. If the mother figure was something else besides metal and wires, I would have enjoyed it more. One other character that wasn't as good, was the villain. He was supposed to be a cruel, unstoppable huntsman, but to me, the author could have instilled more fear in the readers, and made him less of a caricature.
Spotting the pages, are beautiful illustrations, done by the author, that compliment the amazing world created in the book. The drawings are amazing and are the icing on the cake, leaving me wanting more.
'The Search For WondLa' was a book I could not put down. It was a perfect blend of fantasy and sci-fi, it was imaginative, and it housed lovable characters. I would highly recommend it.