Meet Sophie Applebaum - as enchanting a heroine as Jane in 'The Girl's Guide To Hunting And Fishing'.
Sophie is an outsider and an inventor of rules, simply because she does not fit into any neat description of who she might be: she's Jewish, but lacks religious feeling; a book-lover but a mediocre student; a loyal friend often unpleasantly surprised and a less-than-devoted employee. She falls in love precipitously but isn't sure whom she should marry - or if she wants to marry at all despite all the family pressures and social clamour on this subject.
We follow her to school, through college, to her first job with terrible typing skills, through to the realisation that work isn't fulfilment, that your parents aren't quite what you thought and that Mr. Right is sometimes only all right . . .
Readers who loved 'The Girl's Guide To Hunting And Fishing' won't be disappointed; this is a sparkling, heart-felt, deeply explorative book characterized, as always, by Melissa Bank's light touch, signature humour, and her vast talent for capturing a moment.
Mixed reactions
The Wonder Spot follows Sophie Applebaum journey from childhood into adulthood, but does so in a jumpy manner. The chapters are disjointed and they are confusing. Characters appear out of no where and they are hard to track. Bank writes about Sophie's troubles with a boy then jumps onto a entirly new part of Sophie's life leaving the reader unsure of the outcome to the previous problem. This book requires too much understanding, and is not good for a light read.
Ione, 13/12/2008
