Wondrous Strange

Wondrous Strange

by Lesley Livingston

2009 (paperback)

336 pages

Summary: Kelley Winslow moved to New York City to become an actress and she has finally caught her break starring in an off-Broadway production of Midsummer’s Night Dream. Things are going well until she meets a handsome stranger in the park and then finds herself saving a drowning horse that follows her home to her apartment. If things couldn’t get any stranger, the handsome boy from the park, Sonny, starts following her, telling her she’s in danger. He’s a changeling – a mortal taken as an infant and raised among Faerie, and he’s saying that she is a princess faerie, stolen to live among humans. Kelley soon realizes those fairy tales she was told as a kid are true and that New York is a much different place than she thought. Kelley will have to decide whether or not to embrace her heritage and at what cost to her new love.

Review: Wondrous Strange is an enchanting novel that weaves magic, fairy tales, Shakespeare and modern day New York into a wonderful love story. For someone who doesn’t typically read fantasy, I thoroughly enjoyed Wondrous Strange and found the language very accessible. I usually stumble on the world building and the language, but I think Livingston did an amazing job of combining the magical world with one that I recognize, making this book appeal to a wide audience. It’s not a very long book but it packs a good punch. There is a lot of action and quite a few surprises. I enjoyed all the characters and found Sonny quite endearing. I appreciated the fact that Livingston didn’t give too much of the romance away, building it up for the sequel, it definitely left me hooked.

Also by Lesley Livingston: Darklight

If you liked Wondrous Strange you might also enjoy: Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, Lament by Maggie Stiefvater, and Magic under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Additional Info: Wondrous Strange won the Canadian Library Association Award for best YA book in 2010. I couldn’t find any information on when the third book is going to be released

Non-Fiction Connection: A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

Author Website: http://www.lesleylivingston.com/home.html

Rating: W3/4 C3/4 P3/4 O2.5/4 PP3.5/4 CR1/4 ( I think it’s really pretty, but it’s just not how I pictured Kelley, so it kinda throws me off)
Grade Level Interest: J