Wonder at the Edge of the World

February 1, 2015
History, science, adventure and fantasy combine in this tale that carries readers from the plains of Kansas to Antarctica.In mid-19th-century Tolerone, Kansas, the sparklingly named Hallelujah Wonder is moping: pining for her murdered scientist-explorer father, lonely for her Massachusetts roots and awakening to the moral dilemma of slavery. This last has been brought about by the growing abolitionist movement and her friendship with Eustace, an enslaved boy. Hallelujah narrates in the present tense, interspersing her accounts with asides to readers, making for a tone that is both cozy and bluntly practical (Hallelujah is determined to be scientific): "Looks like you croaked," she remarks at one point to a dead rattlesnake. The core propulsion of the plot is a mysterious, shrunken Medicine Head that Hallelujah's father brought back from an expedition and that the evil sea captain Cornelius Greeney now seeks. Charged with its protection, Hallelujah and Eustace set out on an adventure that simultaneously challenges and defends Hallelujah's scientific worldview. Pulse-quickening exploits and taut descriptions will keep readers riveted. Some moments are too obviously teaching moments, such as when Hallelujah admonishes readers to think about not being wasteful, but they are not particularly distracting. Set against the growing-pains backdrop of pre-Civil War America, both reflecting and supporting Hallelujah's coming-of-age story, Helget's tale celebrates the curiosity and mystery of life. (Adventure. 8-13)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 5-8-Amid the open warfare of slavery-divided Kansas in the 1850s lives Hallelujah (Lu) Wonder and her broken family. Lu's father was a naval explorer who acquired natural specimens from many voyages. When he refused to surrender his finds to Captain Greeney and the US Navy, his family fled from New Bedford, MA, to Tolerone, KS. Before Greeney hanged him, Lu's father bequeathed her a sacred duty-to keep one specimen, a mystical, medicine head, safe and hidden. Lu travels on Captain Abbot's whaling ship to remote Antarctica to deposit the head. Her friend Eustace, a Kansas slave, accompanies her on her quest. Helget's novel teems with historical information, most of which centers on abolition and the whaling industry. Wonder would work well as an extension to world history and natural sciences' units. As in Jacqueline Kelly's The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate (Holt, 2009), Lu's main focus is scientific exploration, and her informative musings will have readers wanting to do scientific research of their own. Even with so much background to incorporate, Helget's novel includes enough exciting escapes from Greeney and agitated whales to keep the pages turning. However, Lu is a difficult character to unravel. She spends the first third of the book telling Eustace to shut up, and her change of heart comes abruptly. Through Lu's character, Helget treads a fine line by portraying accurate historical depictions of attitudes toward slavery and cultural insensitivity. Though the self-centered protagonist may initially turn some readers away, those who persist will find an informative and richly detailed historical adventure.-Caitlin Augusta, Stratford Library Association, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 15, 2015
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* If ever a girl could make her mark on the world, it is Hallelujah Wonder. Though just a nineteenth-century girl stuck in Tolerone, Kansas, Lu has inherited her late father's passion for science and exploration. As the youngest daughter of Charles Wonderworld-traveling scientist and discoverer of Antarctica!Lu has appointed herself guardian of his collected artifacts, including a shrunken medicine head, which whispers to her and holds a powerful magic. When her father's murderer returns for the head, Lu knows the only place to keep it safe is frigid, remote Antarctica. Accompanied by her friendand now runaway slaveEustace, the two escape and board a whaling ship bound for the icy continent. Framing the adventure story is the escalating conflict between abolitionists and slave owners. Eustace provides a slave's perspective on this contentious issue, adding depth to Lu's own observations. Brimming with spirit and gumption, Lu's first-person narration is marked by her scientific mind and youthful naivete, much like Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce; and Helget's creative use of flashbacks and prognostication adds suspense to the tale. Though historical in setting, the questions of faith, science, and humanity raised remain relevant to modern times. With Hallelujah at the helm, this is a full-blown adventure tinged with mysticism, intelligence, and the spirit of discovery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)