Saving Wonder

Gr 5–7—The coal industry has taken a lot from 12-year-old Curley. Both parents and his brother were killed in coal-related accidents. Now a new coal company wants to mine his Kentucky mountain home, and the company owner's son, JD, wants to date his best friend/secret crush, Jules. But Curley's determined to fight for what he loves and has the resources to prevail. Grandfather Pawpaw raised Curley with an appreciation for the power of words, and with help from Jules and even JD, words become Curley's tools to save his home. The streamlined plot moves quickly toward two climactic scenes on the mountain: one will bring tears, the other, cheers. Descriptions of the setting's fragile beauty are so subtly interwoven with dialogue and action, they're not only powerful visual images but ever-present reminders of what's at stake in Curley's fight. With the exception of JD's father, drawn as a one-dimensional personification of Big Coal—materialistic as well as a neglectful husband and father—all the characters are fully developed and endearing, their dialogue direct and sincere. Adults are loving but don't always have all the answers; kids show their emotions with straightforward honesty. Curley and Pawpaw's word-a-week ritual crystallizes their relationship for the readers and gives Curley the confidence to take on an adversary that seems more powerful than he is.