The Book of Wonders by Julien Sandrel has finally been translated into English, and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read it. Thank you Quercus, for a copy of this book!

I want to give this book ALL the stars! I loved it. It is pretty much a bucket list book, and reminded me a bit of 100 days of Happiness by Fausto Brizzi.

The story itself is pretty heartbreaking; Thelma is a single mother to 12 year old Louis. She’s a workaholic and their relationship is strained. One morning, he’s hit by a car and ends up in a coma. While he’s in the hospital, Thelma finds one of his notebooks. In it is basically his bucket list - his wonders. She decides to fulfill every item, with the hope that if she does them all, he will wake up.

This story is firmly focused on the characters. The world building in the beginning is minimal, instead focusing on what is going on in Thelma’s head. But, as she starts traveling and fulfilling Louis’ wonders, the setting becomes more of a focus. It’s like a picture in black and white that slowly turns to colour, and it seemed to coincide with Thelma’s personal awakening. It was a beautiful way to write the book.

And then there’s the ending. It’s a little ambiguous, with some hope thrown in for good measure. It left me thinking about the story for quite a while afterwards. Perfect. Is this going to eventually be a movie? Because I really hope so!