Zoe in Wonderland
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
Coretta Scott King Honor winner Brenda Woods introduces introverted, daydream-prone Zoe, who’s afraid her real life will never be as exciting as her imaginary one.
Zoe Reindeer considers herself “just Zoe”—never measuring up to her too-perfect older sister or her smarty-pants little brother. Truthfully, though, she’d rather just blend in with the plants at the family business, Doc Reindeer’s Exotic Plant Wonderland. She does have one friend, Q, and he’s the best one ever—but he’s moving away, leaving Zoe to fend for herself, and she doesn’t know what she’ll do without him. That is until a tall astronomer from Madagascar comes to the nursery looking for a Baobab tree. His visit starts a ball rolling that makes Zoe long for real adventures, not just imaginary ones—and shows her that perhaps her first real adventure is finally beginning.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Eleven-year-old Zoe Reindeer, a "shy, perfectly plain girl-person" stuck between a popular older sister and a genius younger brother, may be "just Zoe" in real life, but she's powerful and strong in her frequent daydreams. Zoe wishes she could be more like "Imaginary Zoe" at home and at school, but there are some good things in her real life, too, like her father's exotic plant store, Doc Reindeer's Exotic Plant Wonderland, and spending time with her best friend and fellow nerd Quincy. When a tall, mysterious astronomer who hails from Madagascar comes into "the Wonderland" seeking a baobab tree, then returns to give Zoe a book by Carl Sagan, he starts her on a journey toward discovering that she might be more like Imaginary Zoe than she realized. Woods (The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond) handles big challenges such as Quincy's move out of town, middle-school hierarchies, and an elderly neighbor with memory loss with sensitivity and a light touch. Readers will find it easy to sink into Zoe's warm family life, realistic in its squabbles, worries, and powerfully evident love. Ages 8 12.
