38. Wonderland

 

38. Wonderland. Barbara O'Connor. 2018. 288 pages. [Source: Library] [3 stars, mg fiction, mg realistic fiction]

First sentence: Mavis Jeeter sat on the bus stop bench beside her mother and whispered goodbye to Hadley, Georgia. She took a deep breath and let out a big, heaving sigh to send a signal to her mother that she was tired of saying goodbye.

Premise/plot: Mavis Jeeter hates the fact that her mother keeps them on the move all the time. Mavis has never been settled in one place long enough to have an actual best friend. Her mom has a new job--as a housekeeper--and they have a new house--in an apartment above the Tully's garage. But will she find a best friend? Maybe. Maybe not. Rose Tully is left speechless by the arrival of Mavis and her mother (their new housekeeper). Mavis has forcefully announced that they will be the absolute best of friends. Rose-- who is in need of a best friend agrees--but what choice does she have? Mavis--as she soon learns--doesn't take no for an answer. Rose is soon spilling it all: Mr. Duffy--the gatekeeper of their gated community--has recently lost his dog, Queenie, and he is now sad, moody, unwilling to entertain her on the side. Mavis announces that she will help Rose cheer him up and they will do so by finding him a new dog. But is it just that easy?

My thoughts: I do have THOUGHTS. Conflicting thoughts. On the positive side, all the characters have flaws which means that they are fleshed out enough to be human. Another positive is that the characterization is not just centered on Mavis and Rose alone. While not all side characters are deeply, deeply fleshed out, ALL of them feel fleshed out enough that it is easy enough to put yourself in their shoes and see the world through their eyes. This goes for the adult characters as well which is rare in middle grade fiction. However, I didn't love this one absolutely. I found Mavis to be problematic. Of course this is subjective. I've read reviews on GoodReads that love, love, love Mavis and dislike Rose.

Mavis to me comes across as TROUBLE. She's bossy. She's inconsiderate. She doesn't read the room. She doesn't listen...at all. She doesn't accept people as they are. Of course, there are plenty of adults who haven't learned these skills, so perhaps it's a little much to expect a fifth grader to have them. Still. Friendship would go smoother if she would actually listen, be less bossy, take the time to understand. I also think she's trouble because she encourages Rose to break the rules. All the rules. The more significant keep-people-safe rules and the smaller rules. She tells Rose that breaking rules will make her brave and more grown up. Rose is easily coaxed into pushing past all her own boundaries of what feels safe and right and good AND push past the rules her parents have put in place to keep her safe. 

The big rule in question is leaving the estates/gated community AND crossing a busy highway on bicycles. As an adult, all I can say is that Mavis is a bad influence! And Rose at least has no business crossing highways on a bicycle. 

Mr. Duffy. What I have to say about him is that I think what neither girl seems to recognize is that a) it's more than the grief of a dog. Mr. Duffy is a widower. He's old. He lives alone. He's aware--even if the girls aren't--that he's getting older and less capable. And b) yes, the adults in the community could be more polite in voicing their concerns....it seems that Mr. Duffy IS at the point where he is mentally and physically incapable of doing the job he was hired for. He does seem to be showing signs of dementia.

Rose. Out of all the characters I love Rose most. It is not that she is perfectly-perfect. She's not. But she seems to be the kindest and sweetest and the most concerned with how others are feeling. I'm not sure that Rose and Mavis are actually well suited for one another....since Mavis seems to be temperamental, dramatic, bossy, and incapable of listening.

 

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