Outside Wonderland ***' (3.5/5 stars)

This was an enjoyable, hopeful read. I enjoyed reading as the characters tripped their way through life, with their dead parents watching.

I didn't care much for self-centered, pretty Alice, until later in the book. The son, Griffin, was a little dull, but I really liked his partner, Theo. Dinah, the youngest, was the most interesting, the most alive. I loved her character for all its naivete and hypocrisy, and faith.
Overall, a recommended read. I would give it

Pulitzer's

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulitzer_Prize_for_FictionA suggestion on The Simple Dollar helped me decide I am going to work my way through the

Pulitzer Prize winning list.



However, I also have a great interest in children and young adult fiction, so I will likely be reading them as well. Perhaps I will alternate between the different areas. Exciting!

I always loved this poem

In elementary, the next door neighbor, Lorree, and I memorized poetry to put on a play for our families (I don't think we ever did, though).
This is one I particularly remember...

Who Has Seen the Wind?

Who Has Seen the Wind?

By Christina Rossetti 1830–1894 Christina Rossetti

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

Source: The Golden Book of Poetry (1947)

I don't know why it stuck with me. Maybe because of the mysterious magick of swirling winds?

The Garden of Eve

This delicious books begins with 10-year-old Evie on her way to live in an dead apple orchard with her father. Her mother has died within the last several months, and Evie is coping with the loss.
This book has an element of fantasy based on the story of the Garden of Eden, a mystery, and a "dead" boy Evie meets in the cemetery next to her property. It's a lovely, sad, stormy grey and satisfying story.