A Review of The Miraculous

Wunder Ellis is a miracologist. In a weathered journal he calls The Miraculous, he's been writing down each and every miracle he can discover, since before he even could write.

Until now.

At eight days old, his sister dies. His mother retreats into despairing solitude. Relatives come knocking, offering sympathy (but providing little comfort). His friends act as if nothing's happened. And Wunder forsakes the miracles he used to love so much. After all, how could they be true, in a world where not everyone grows to understand the beauty of life before they lose it? But when he's caught up in solving the mystery of a maybe-witch who's just moved into the abandoned, possibly magical house in the woods with aloof, opinionated, cape-wearing Faye, Wunder is called upon by Faye and the witch to do something that would have been so simple for him not so long ago: to believe.

While characters like Faye sprinkle a salt of quirky humor on The Miraculous (imagine a Goth Luna Lovegood who yells a lot, and you've got a good 85% of Faye's character), the so-called "main course" is more bittersweet. Let's face it: this is kind of a sad book. The comparison to Bridge to Terabithia is apt; like that wonderful slice of heartbreak, this book is well-written and, in its own way, magical. And sure, it may be sad, but it's also hopeful. I'll draw my own comparison, to the book Wonder. (If you haven't read it, please do. NOW.) Like Wonder, The Miraculous boldly deals with a subject that very few children's novels dare even touch (in this case, it's an infant's death, while in Wonder, it's a child born with a facial anomaly). This book reminds me that everyone has loved, lost, and witnessed the miraculous. I'd recommend it for anyone who is mourning or has mourned the death of someone who's close to them, and simply middle-grade readers who appreciate a well-written story that doesn't back away from problems for fear of depressing its readers. Let me remind you: this book is sad. It is NOT depressing. It's really a quiet, comforting voice telling the world that despite the darkness, there really is such a thing as a miracle.

Parental Advisory: death (of an infant)