Recommendation: Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak
This is another novel that I reviewed for School Library Journal that I wanted to share here because I love it so much, and also because one of the major themes is female empowerment. At the start of the story, Quinn Sawyer is grieving deeply for her best male friend Dylan, who died in a tragic accident at their summer camp. There is indeed a male love interest in the story, the "new boy in town" named Alexander. So yes, there are some fairly common YA literature tropes in the story: girl falls in love with her male best friend, she loses him, and she later falls in love with a new person who sees her in a different way. We can all relate to this narrative, at least to a degree, which is one reason why I think it's so common both in literature and in television. But Carlie Sorosiak tells it with skill, which is how one can pull off story, since most stories have indeed been told before, and the trick is telling your narrative well with a new twist.
The new twist to this novel, in my opinion, is the additional focus areas of Quinn's female relationships and her development of her own interests, apart from the men in her life. Quinn's grandmother Nana proves to be a strong feminist who helps her rebuild the boat that contributed to the accident. The rebuilding of the boat becomes an extended metaphor for rebuilding oneself after grief, since Nana's rebuilding of boats also helps her to overcome grief for her husband, as well as Dylan, who was like a grandson to her. Also, through working on the boat together, Quinn and Nana build their relationship. Nana is willing to stick up for Quinn when Quinn's mother tries to pressure her into things she's not ready to do yet after the accident, and it seems as though Nana and Quinn genuinely understand one another. In addition to my relationship with my Mom, my relationships with both of my grandmothers (whom are now deceased), my Aunt Pat, my sister, and both of my first cousins have proven important to me; Quinn's rapport with her grandmother reminded me of the importance of bonds with the women in our family. Throughout the novel, Quinn shows sadness that her relationship with her sister Fern has become rocky as a result of the accident, yet at the end, the two girls show evidence of wanting to rebuild their relationship. All relationships have their ups and downs, and I appreciate the novel showing that honestly. Yet, like a rickety boat, relationships can be rebuilt and repaired with time and effort.
Another strong female in Quinn's life is her best friend Hana. (Yes, there's a Nana and a Hana in the book, and that confused me at first, but I managed to get it straight after the first couple of chapters). Hana is Korean American and sometimes feels left out in the small town of Winship, Maine, where the vast majority of the other students are White. Yet Hana and Quinn have clearly bonded over their interests in summer camp and various things nerdy, such as Indie rock music, science for Quinn, Harry Potter and other forms of fandom for Hana. Hana, like me, is a late bloomer, and Quinn is more experienced with dating and men, so Quinn can give Hana advice in that area. Hana proves to be genuinely loyal to Quinn, even when rumors spread about her involvement with Dylan's accident, and she encourages her to be social while also embracing Netflix sleepovers. Hana's calm demeanor and emotional stability help Quinn with her hardships. The two are a great friend pair, and I think everyone needs a Hana at least at some point in her life.
Quinn's interest in competitive swimming wanes for a while after the boating accident, which is understandable. Yet the novel makes it clear that this is an interest of Quinn's that she may eventually comes back to, when she's had time to process the accident. Her interest in science, however, is consistent. Throughout the novel, she listens to science podcasts and spews scientific facts to her friends and her Marine Biology professor father. Like me, Quinn is from a family of educators and scholars, so she gravitates toward academic knowledge as a form of comfort after the accident. Yet she's also interested in STEM, which I love. Although I don't have a keen interest in STEM and have tended to gravitate toward the humanities, women near and dear to me are interested in Science and Math, and I've always respected them for it.
I hope that over time, more YA novels will come out with girls who are interested in Science, as I'm already seeing more with women who are interested in comics and other forms of fandom. Alexander, Quinn's new friend turned love interest, draws her as a superhero in his graphic novel, which was one of my favorite parts of the novel. Overall, I loved how Quinn and her friends had unabashedly nerdy interests. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys realistic YA fiction with romantic twists and a variety of endearing characters. I was lucky enough to have an ARC, but the novel will be released in June 2018.
The new twist to this novel, in my opinion, is the additional focus areas of Quinn's female relationships and her development of her own interests, apart from the men in her life. Quinn's grandmother Nana proves to be a strong feminist who helps her rebuild the boat that contributed to the accident. The rebuilding of the boat becomes an extended metaphor for rebuilding oneself after grief, since Nana's rebuilding of boats also helps her to overcome grief for her husband, as well as Dylan, who was like a grandson to her. Also, through working on the boat together, Quinn and Nana build their relationship. Nana is willing to stick up for Quinn when Quinn's mother tries to pressure her into things she's not ready to do yet after the accident, and it seems as though Nana and Quinn genuinely understand one another. In addition to my relationship with my Mom, my relationships with both of my grandmothers (whom are now deceased), my Aunt Pat, my sister, and both of my first cousins have proven important to me; Quinn's rapport with her grandmother reminded me of the importance of bonds with the women in our family. Throughout the novel, Quinn shows sadness that her relationship with her sister Fern has become rocky as a result of the accident, yet at the end, the two girls show evidence of wanting to rebuild their relationship. All relationships have their ups and downs, and I appreciate the novel showing that honestly. Yet, like a rickety boat, relationships can be rebuilt and repaired with time and effort.
Another strong female in Quinn's life is her best friend Hana. (Yes, there's a Nana and a Hana in the book, and that confused me at first, but I managed to get it straight after the first couple of chapters). Hana is Korean American and sometimes feels left out in the small town of Winship, Maine, where the vast majority of the other students are White. Yet Hana and Quinn have clearly bonded over their interests in summer camp and various things nerdy, such as Indie rock music, science for Quinn, Harry Potter and other forms of fandom for Hana. Hana, like me, is a late bloomer, and Quinn is more experienced with dating and men, so Quinn can give Hana advice in that area. Hana proves to be genuinely loyal to Quinn, even when rumors spread about her involvement with Dylan's accident, and she encourages her to be social while also embracing Netflix sleepovers. Hana's calm demeanor and emotional stability help Quinn with her hardships. The two are a great friend pair, and I think everyone needs a Hana at least at some point in her life.
Quinn's interest in competitive swimming wanes for a while after the boating accident, which is understandable. Yet the novel makes it clear that this is an interest of Quinn's that she may eventually comes back to, when she's had time to process the accident. Her interest in science, however, is consistent. Throughout the novel, she listens to science podcasts and spews scientific facts to her friends and her Marine Biology professor father. Like me, Quinn is from a family of educators and scholars, so she gravitates toward academic knowledge as a form of comfort after the accident. Yet she's also interested in STEM, which I love. Although I don't have a keen interest in STEM and have tended to gravitate toward the humanities, women near and dear to me are interested in Science and Math, and I've always respected them for it.
I hope that over time, more YA novels will come out with girls who are interested in Science, as I'm already seeing more with women who are interested in comics and other forms of fandom. Alexander, Quinn's new friend turned love interest, draws her as a superhero in his graphic novel, which was one of my favorite parts of the novel. Overall, I loved how Quinn and her friends had unabashedly nerdy interests. I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys realistic YA fiction with romantic twists and a variety of endearing characters. I was lucky enough to have an ARC, but the novel will be released in June 2018.
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