I love books with magical realism and was intrigued by the monsters that haunt Quinn. While I would hesitate to tag this book with magical realism, there are certainly magical qualities to the town of Winship (in particular the summer camp).
The small town / camp setting of this novel makes it great for summer reading. I love the magical nature of the camp and the close-knit relationships of the people that reside there. Quinn’s family and best friend play an active role in her story as much, if not more, than the romantic interest (both in the past and present). Of particular note, her family has a bit of a hippie vibe (as the characters note), she and her best friend can rapid fire many pop culture references in their conversations, and the romantic interests are nice boys.
The narration alternates between past, which is told in second person to Dylan, and present, which is told in first person. This didn’t work well for me because I tended to be more into a particular storyline than the other one at any given point, so I ended up skimming the other one. In addition, the narration is distant. I understand the narrative distance given that Quinn’s first love died last summer and she isn’t on speaking terms with her siblings anymore. (An especial hardship given how close they used to be.) This kind of narration tends to be a hit or a miss for me, and it didn’t work for me this time. That said, readers who can get past this (or, better, enjoy it!) will be able to better enjoy the good things this novel has to offer.
A few more elements that didn’t quite work for me:
- One particular individual isn’t given a voice, so it feels like some crucial information is missing. (For example, how does this character feel about everything that went down last summer and what does this character want? We’re given a teaser but never an answer.)
- A love square??? I’m already not a big fan of love triangles, so this was awkward, especially since this particular love square features three characters in love with a fourth character. (Plus, there’s the huge mess of their history together.)
I do like how monsters are overcome and the role that Quinn’s family and friends play as she fights these monsters.
Lastly, readers who appreciate diversity will appreciate the diversity packed into this novel. Potential spoilers, highlight to see: (Quinn is athletic and into marine biology (yay for STEM!). Her best friend is Korean and into makeup (and good at it). Her brother is homosexual. One of her romantic interests is Greek and lived in England before moving to Winship. Oh, and he’s artsy. Her other romantic interest plans to take a gap year before going to college.)
Despite the problems that I had with the narration style, I enjoyed my small-town adventure with Quinn and unraveling the mystery that took place last summer. My favorite part definitely had to be the close-knit relationships of family and friends. I appreciate how much family and close friends play a role in Quinn’s life. It was nice to see her support system come into play in the healing process.
Who would I recommend it to?
I recommend Wild Blue Wonder to readers who enjoy books with close-knit families, small town vibes, pop culture references, and a hint of magical realism. Set in the context of a story in which the MC works through death and grief.
Comparable titles: (Don’t You) Forget About Me by Kate Karyus Quinn (for the mystery + fantastical elements), The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman (for the tragedy and magical realism)
My Rating
Language
Love quadrilateral (3 persons love 1 individual)
Kissing, making out
Mention of sex (not explicit)
Alcohol
Underage drinking
Possibly drug use (at least the suggestion that it’s going on)
Death (not explicit)
Teenagers sneaking out of the house at night
Chat with Me
Do you enjoy books that alternate between two timelines?
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Christy LoveOfBooks says
I have a major soft spot for camp settings. Too bad this didn’t do more for you. Ohhh but I love the Kate Karyus Quinn book, so I’m a lot more curious.
Crystal says
If you liked the Kate Karyus Quinn book, you may enjoy this one more than I did. I wasn’t a big fan of (Don’t You) Forget Me.
CG @ Paper Fury says
Agh a shame this one didn’t work out for you! It has a lot of elements that I think I’ll like though, so I’m still kind of excited to read it…but a bit tentative. 🙊 I think the dividing it into 1st and 2nd person is a weird combo!? I like both those, but Im not sure if I’ve read them together in one book! And YAY for close-knit families!! Love those!!
Crystal says
If you like books with alternating timelines, I think this will work better for you than it did for me. I think that was the big dealbreaker that made it hard for me to get into the book (since I would skim the timeline that I wasn’t as interested in to get to the other one faster 😂). The 1st / 2nd person alternating POVs was pretty weird, but I kind of get it when I look at the 2nd person past timeline as Quinn speaking her regrets to Dylan from the present timeline. And YES!!! I love close-knit families. It always makes a book for me. My family may have its own share of problems, but I love them and I love to see books with close-knit families 😁
Sophia Rose says
I think this one might be a fit for me except maybe the love square- I’m not a triangle fan, either. But, for the other elements, I might muscle through that part. Sounds like it might get emotional, too.
Enjoyed your review, Crystal!
Crystal says
It is a pretty emotional read. I felt bad for Quinn’s family and how broken the events of last summer left the siblings. The love square actually doesn’t feature prominently in the book despite its importance to the story, so I think you’ll be okay reading this one.
Thanks, Sophia!