Wondrous Strange

Author: Lesley Livingston

Genre: Young Adult - Fantasy

Publication Date: September 22, 2009

Publisher: HarperCollins
Age Range: Young Adult
Pages: 336
Date Scoot Read: February 2011
Source: Audiobook

Scoot's Rating: 10 – Amazing! Loved it. Read it now!

Synopsis (via Goodreads): 17 year-old Kelley Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelley's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.

Scoot’s Review:
Kelley is living her dream in New York. Understudying in a Shakespeare play for the local theater and living on her own, she is determined to make her dreams come true. When a chance to step into the lead role occurs she is thrilled, but her innocent practices in Central Park end up turning her life upside down. Suddenly her world is filled with a handsome – and stalker like – stranger, and a horse. Yes, a horse... with hair braids? Kelley learns some shocking truths about her own past as she tries to juggle her old generally-normal life and her new not-so-normal life. Danger, heartbreak and sacrifice abound as she delves deeper into a world she doesn’t fully understand. I was surprised by how much I loved this book! I didn’t really know what to expect when I picked it up, but I am such a fantasy novel lover. I really enjoyed the quirkiness of Kelley and the sharp confidence of Sonny. I loved the plot and liked that it was filled with humor and sarcasm, as well as danger and romance. The writing style worked well for me, and I liked the rotating points of view between Kelley and Sonny. I also liked that it did not replay each scene from their alternate points of view, but would pick up in a different time or place (sometimes immediately within the same scene) so you never felt like the story was repeating itself. I loved Kelley and Sonny's bickering relationship, there was physical attraction – but that wasn’t what was most important; they fell in love with each others’ personalities. The conclusion was bittersweet, and I can’t wait to continue the story in the second novel.