Wondrous Strange

by Lesley Livingston

Book Overview

Since the dawn of time, the Faerie have taken. . . .Seventeen-year-old actress Kelley Winslow always thought faeries were just something from childhood stories. Then she meets Sonny Flannery. He's a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0061575372
• ISBN13: 9780061575372
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: Harperteen
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 and higher

Customer Reviews

Rich imagination, luscious descriptions--and Sonny!

This is a curl-up-and-read sort of book that pulls you right into a magical world, complete with a beautiful run-down theatre and wonderful scenes in Central Park. Aspiring young actress Kelly discovers her heritage and falls hard for Sonny, whose mysterious connection to the Otherworld of faeries rivals Kelly's own.

A real "Faerie" Tale...

Kelley Winslow is an actress trying to make end meet and suddenly she is playing Titania in a production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sonny Flannery is changeling, that is a part of the Janus guard. The Janus Guards job is to protect the world of humanity from the Fae that slip through Samhain Gate. Their worlds couldn't be more different, yet they are connected. Sonny can tell that Kelley is different from the moment he finds her. He is instantaneously drawn to her, Kelley is his "Firecracker". Kelley does not understand why this man is following her or why he has this delirious claims that she is out of this world. Soon, they learn the truth, and realize how much trouble that they are truly in. This is one of those books, where you sit in a chair and don't move until you are completely numb or have to get up for some reason. The characters are amazing. Kelley is an amazing protagonist. She had her flaws and about a million reasons why I liked her. For example, She isn't like, "There are fairies!" after he tells her. She reacts how most people would react, by laughing. Sonny is a lovely male character, that I want to learn more about. He kicks some major butt with the Fae and still saves the girl that he likes, which is something I find a great characteristic. I also loved the plot. It was very interesting. Faeries + Theater = A Happy Sarah. The theater parts were amazing and so were the faeries. I liked the concept of two different worlds, that are only linked for a small part time. I liked how Kelley rejected that she was a faerie and slowly realized that she was. This book is amazing and I recommend it. If you like Tithe trilogy and Wicked Lovely Trilogy, I believe that you will enjoy this book.

If you love books from....

authors such as Holly Black, Cassandra Clare and Melissa Marr; you will love this book. I thought it was a great fast read and when it ended i was left wanting to read more, not wanting it to end. i highly recommend this book, and cant wait to see what else this promising new author has up her sleeve.

The Story Siren Reviews:

I think I've wrote and then rewrote this review about a hundred times now! And I know it's going to come across one way, and that's just how it's going to have to be, because I simply cannot write it any other way. So here is goes... fangirly-ness and all. I hope you last through it. I loved it, I LOVED it. I love it so much I want to marry it. If you are a fan of faerie books, you'll want to read this one. If you've tried faerie books before, but didn't like them, you'll want to read this. If you aren't a fan of faerie books, you'll still want to read it. It's that good. Incredible characters, incredible writing, incredible plot. It was really just so fricking fantastic, it's hard to find the words to describe it. I never in a million years would have guessed this was a debut novel. The key to my heart is great characters and story line, and this book had it all and then some. Even the minor characters stood out to me, and they were fascinating. Like Chloe, she is a siren, a very minor role and yet she is very memorable. (And no, it's not just because I have an affinity to sirens.) As well as a few other characters..... but I don't want to give all the goods away. Completely original/new/fun plot! I figured a few things out, but other things I was oblivious to, until they were revealed. I've read other faerie books about the faerie "royalty" if you've read Melissa Marr you know what I'm talking about here. Not that I'd even compare this book to Marr's because they are at totally two different ends of the spectrum. And I don't mean that in the quality of writing, because they are both fabulous writers. Did I just write fabulous... don't you just love the plethora of "f" adj.!? Do you think I'm subconsciously doing it because of the whole faerie thing... freaking fantastic fascinating fabulous faeries! I promise I did NOT do that on purpose! Great writers write what they know.... what movie is that from? (.....Never Been Kissed!) I think that statement definitely has some truth to it. Kelley is an actress. (a struggling actress to be more specific) The theater scenes within the novel were marvelous (notice no `f' here!) so I wasn't surprised to learn that the lovely Lesley Livingston herself is at home on the stage. I wonder if she knows any faeries personally? I think the thing I loved most about this novel was Kelley. She is an exceptional female protagonist. I was instantly drawn to her character. She's honest, she imperfect, and she doesn't pull the Bella card. (You know Bella, right? Oh what was that Edward, you're a vampire and want to suck the life out of me. Of course I'm not afraid!) When a cute guy tells her that faeries are real. She reacts like a normal person and laughs in his face. LOVED IT. And I must mention Sonny. Ah... Sonny.. Mom can I have one? Yeah that's really all I'm going to say about him, because if I tell you, they you're going to want him too, and you can't have him because he's mine. No really, I'm not going to t

Wondrous and Strange in a Good Way!

There is definitely magic between author and reader, props to you Lesley! Can I just say how much I absolutely LOVE this book?! The awesome Lesley Livingston has woven an incredible story including fairies and memorable cast of characters. Not to mention embedding humor and romance onto every page. Even though the story is told in third person, Lesley has described everything vividly. I was absolutely dazzled by how amazing this debut book is. Every once in awhile, there's a special book that is absolutely a gem. This is it. For me, this is one of the best books I have ever read! The characters come to life and you feel like you've known them all your life. You'll feel their emotions like they were your own. Kelley has become one of my favorite characters and so has Sonny and practically everyone in the book. Wondrous Strange includes the excitement of theater and the magical elements of the Celtic myths. The whole experience leaves you breathless and hungry for more even though the last page satisfies you... but only for a little while. Luckily for me and all the readers that want to read this book, there will be a sequel!! I cannot use enough words to express how much I LOVE this book! It'll appeal to teens as well as adults too, so I strongly suggest it as a Christmas present. Trust me, the person you give it to will love it!