Editorial Content for Wonder at the Edge of the World
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
In the note at the end of WONDER AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, author Nicole Helget shares that she was inspired to pen this middle grade novel by the question “where’s the great American adventure book for girls?”. Her tale is crafted from classic American adventure tropes like journeying, discovery and friendship, as it follows one Hallelujah Wonder and her best friend Eustace from dusty rural Kansas to the bustling sea port of New Bedford, Massachusetts and finally to the icy and dangerous continent of Antarctica.
Lu Wonder’s father was a daring scientist and naturalist who spent more time travelling the globe in search of artifacts, treasures and information than he did with his wife and young daughters. After discovering Antarctica for the US and surviving a confrontation with cannibals, he comes home with a mysterious and magical object called the Medicine Head and with a new enemy: the greedy naval ship captain Cornelius Greeney. The Wonder family flees to Tolerone, Kansas, where Mr. Wonder hides his collection of treasures and tries his hand at pig farming, dreaming of the museum he plans to open one day. But, Captain Greeney follows him and murders him, leaving Lu’s mother silent and withdrawn and Lu’s older sister, Priss. with all the responsibilities of a grown-up.
Readers will be thrilled with the adventures of Lu and Eustace as they confront the magic of the Medicine Head, the corruption of Captain Greeney and the evils of racism and slavery
Lu, like her father, has a scientific bent, which isn’t easy for a girl in the 19th century to express. Luckily, her best friend Eustace, a slave in a nearby household, also has a quick and interested mind. When Captain Greeney arrives in Tolerone and, fanning the flames of tension between the local slave holders and abolitionists, sets the town on fire, Lu knows she has to escape with the Medicine Head. Eustace knows he must escape, period.
Together, they travel to Massachusetts with Greeney hot on their heels and find a whaling ship captained by the elderly and eccentric Captain Abbott. Abbott and his first mate --- a wise, powerful and caring woman named Nova --- allow Lu and Eustace to travel with them to Antarctica. Along the way, the two children learn all about whaling and life at sea and more about Lu’s father and the Medicine Head.
Hallelujah Wonder is a headstrong and curious girl and not a character who is always likeable. She is impatient and often condescending to Eustace, who is a gentle and compelling young man. Over the course of the story, both Lu and Eustace change a lot. Eustace grows into a man who finds his freedom and Lu grows into a person whose experiences inspire in her a new compassion and resilience. The aspects of their interesting friendship were not plumbed quite as deeply as they could’ve been, nor were the particulars of their transformations. Helget also fails to take full advantage of the power of the slave ship with which they cross paths at sea, and it is a disappointment indeed.
However, readers will be thrilled with the adventures of Lu and Eustace as they confront the magic of the Medicine Head, the corruption of Captain Greeney and the evils of racism and slavery. From hidden caves on Kansas prairies to the freezing waters of the southern hemisphere, WONDER AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD delivers an American adventure with a strong female protagonist and a fantastic roster of supporting characters.
Teaser
Hallelujah Wonder wants to become one of the first female scientists of the nineteenth century. Her father was a scientist and explorer, but his life was cruelly cut short by an evil Navy captain who coveted his cache of artifacts. Hallelujah feels a great responsibility to protect the objects --- particularly a mesmerizing (and dangerous) one called the Medicine Head --- before the captain can succeed. Now she and her best friend, a slave boy about to be sold, must set out on a sweeping adventure by land and by sea to the only place where no one will ever be able to find the cursed talisman: the forbidding land of Antarctica.
Promo
Hallelujah Wonder wants to become one of the first female scientists of the nineteenth century. Her father was a scientist and explorer, but his life was cruelly cut short by an evil Navy captain who coveted his cache of artifacts. Hallelujah feels a great responsibility to protect the objects --- particularly a mesmerizing (and dangerous) one called the Medicine Head --- before the captain can succeed. Now she and her best friend, a slave boy about to be sold, must set out on a sweeping adventure by land and by sea to the only place where no one will ever be able to find the cursed talisman: the forbidding land of Antarctica.
About the Book
In this captivating quest that spans the globe, a young girl must challenge her assumptions about family, slavery, and friendship as she fights to save her father's legacy...and to begin creating her own.
Hallelujah Wonder wants to become one of the first female scientists of the nineteenth century. Her father was a scientist and explorer, but his life was cruelly cut short by an evil Navy captain who coveted his cache of artifacts. Hallelujah feels a great responsibility to protect the objects --- particularly a mesmerizing (and dangerous) one called the Medicine Head --- before the captain can succeed. Now she and her best friend, a slave boy about to be sold, must set out on a sweeping adventure by land and by sea to the only place where no one will ever be able to find the cursed talisman: the forbidding land of Antarctica.
