Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine – a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it’s undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingos in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe – in love, in herself, and even in miracles.
Let me premise this review by saying that cancer is a very sensitive subject for myself and my younger sister (who helped with the reading and reviewing of this book) due to our mother having suffered through breast cancer, a mastectomy, a relapse, and then a stem cell transplant. As the doctors tell Cam, “there wasn’t much they could do.” In addition, my grandfather and aunt both passed away of cancer within a year of one another. That being said, it was very hard to read this book due to those circumstances.
First, let me say that I love the idea that Wunder could have been using magical realism as a backbone for the city of Promise, Maine. After reading the synopsis I was excited because 100 Years of Solitude is one of my favorite novels of all time…and yes, a fantastic example of magical realism. The idea that this town has flamingos, snow in July, and purple dandelions (how awesome is that?) is wonderful. Although, sadly, the magical realism really never took off and it seemed more ridiculous that these things would be taking place in Maine.
This next part is a spoiler, so please skip over this part unless you don’t mind….
While I think that it is admirable for an author to have the guts to kill off the main character, I still think that it is extremely hard to pacify it to the reader. As a reader it sometimes feels like a cop out ending than one giving the main character peace. It was this for me and my sister. Neither of us really understood why it was important to place the character in a miraculous area, but still kill her. Although, part of the reason it was hard to read such a sad ending could be from the family history I have with the disease.
Speaking of the main character, Cam is extremely surly and unfriendly for the majority of the novel, which makes ANY type of character development very hard. In fact, by the time she did change, it was too late for her to live her life any differently.
Overall, the novel had such wonderful potential, but it just fell flat. I do have faith that Wunder will have amble time to write more stories for the young adult market, and I will read them.
2.5 Bards.
Special shout out to my sister Ginger for all her input and opinions on this novel and review
Moving! 