Book Review: "The Wonder Spot" by Melissa Bank

Genre: Fiction

★★★★★

Melissa Bank’s runaway best seller The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing, charmed readers and critics alike with its wickedly insightful, tender look into a young woman’s forays into love, work and friendship. Now, with The Wonder Spot, Bank is back with her signature combination of devilishly self-deprecating humor seriousness and wisdom.

Nothing comes easily to Sophie Applebaum, the black sheep of her family trying to blend in with the herd. Uneasily situated between two brothers, Sophie first appears as the fulcrum and observer of her clan in “Boss of the World.” Then, at college, in “The Toy Bar,” she faces a gauntlet of challenges as best friend to the dramatic and beautiful Venice Lambourne, curator of “perfect things.” In her early twenties, Sophie is dazzled by the possibilities of New York City during the Selectric typewriter era—only to land solidly back in Surrey, Pennsylvania, after her father’s death.

The Wonder Spot follows Sophie’s quest for her own identity—who she is, what she loves, whom she loves, and occasionally whom she feels other should love—over the course of twenty-five years. In an often disappointing world, Sophie learns to listen to her own hear. And when she experiences “aha!” moments—her own personal wonder spots—it’s the real thing. In this tremendous follow up to The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Bank again shares her vast talent for capturing a moment, taking it to heart, and giving it back to her readers. – The Penguin Group

Book Review: "The Wonder Spot" by Melissa Bank 1

Photo courtesy of BN.com

Here is yet another Melissa Bank novel I couldn’t put down. Simply put, I loved it. I don’t know how else to explain my feelings other than that. But I need to explain why I only gave it five stars. I kind of felt like I was reading her debut novel The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing. I could swear I already knew Sophie Applebaum (our heroine) except Sophie’d left out some details when introducing herself to me. It could just be Bank’s style of writing comes from the same place so the characters are similar in intelligence, wit, and demeanor. What I love about Sophie is she’s completely dysfunctional and doesn’t even know it. She has commitment issues which we learn when she’s about twelve-years-old. Though, I didn’t get the significance of that until further along in the book.

Sophie is in a loving family where her father is just the bee’s knees. He’s an all around good dad, listens to his kids and helps them make decisions without forcefully imposing his choice on them. I like that. Too often dad’s showcased in novels are either too passive or overly involved in the lives of their children. Jack, Sophie’s older brother, is awesome as a friend to Sophie. He’s not quite the brother she’d like to have, but she leans on him more than she should. I mention these two characters because I believe they shape Sophie’s idea of men and what type of man she should be with. It’s probably why she can’t fit herself into the ideal life she’s looking for. She can’t figure out what she wants to do for a living and can’t figure out who she wants to be with in life. Except that she does; only there’s a problem with the guy she seems to be able to see herself with. I cannot tell you what that problem is, because it’s kind of a turning point for Sophie and it’s important to read it yourself to understand her better. Just know that once she finds what she wants, she doesn’t truly want it until it’s gone.

I won’t say the entirety of the book is about Sophie’s relationships, but I guess it kind of is. She bounces from boyfriend to boyfriend, never really finding the one. It frustrates me that she can’t seem to find her match, when I think she may have. I found myself yelling at the book asking, “Now what’s wrong with this one?” or “Who’s the new guy?” Then there’s her grandmother who constantly bombards her with questions of getting married and having children. It’s obvious where this is going and it lands there with a thud. Sophie is surrounded by friends and family who are married and are either unhappy, cheating or end up divorced. So I have to ask, what in the world would make anyone want to get married when all you see are how unhappy the married people in your life are?

While the ending leaves a bit to be desired (I don’t feel we know enough to be satisfied with leaving Sophie where she is in life), I think it is Bank’s intent for us to draw our own conclusions on Sophie’s happy ending. Much like she does with the gaps in Sophie’s life, we can make up what we think may have happened—or not, and be left feeling dazed and confused. I highly recommend giving this one a read. If for no other reason than to participate in Sophie’s fantastic sense of humor. I think I laughed more while reading this book than I did while reading Bank’s first novel.

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Elle

Writer, mother, realist, cloud lover, daydreamer, dessert enthusiast, sweet tea addict, perfectionist, and lover of life and Christ, but not in that order. http://www.fanfiction.net/~vikingloverelle