“Ok… so here’s the scoop.  My name is Kelley,  K -E -L -L -E -Y.  Yes, I am a girl.  Well… actually as it turns out I am more than that but hang on a second to that story line.  I am 17 and have moved to New York to be on Broadway.

Seriously.  Broadway.  And for those of you giving me the eye roll and thinking yeah, that’s why everyone goes to New York, AND before you label me as an EPIC FAIL… know this….

I AM on Broadway.  And thanks to the star of the show getting herself hurt, I am also the lead… well, anyway I hope I still am, ’cause let me just say things got über weird around here lately.  Like I met this boy in Central Park, and yeah he seemed a bit different but not entirely unfortunate looking if you know what I mean.

And then – well, not sure how long I have to talk here but things really fast became really STRANGE and yeah that is with a capital ‘S’.  For instance, I saved a horse from drowning, and it followed me home.  It’s true!  And then that boy?  Turns out his name is Sonny and he keeps turning up everywhere I am, like totally stalker like, but really, I am not sure I mind…

And the last thing I can say before I go is that guess what?  Turns out, I am seeing more mystical creatures than on the stage these days…. yup, and I even just learned…

Oh gotta go.  Lay- tah!

So……  I listened to this on audio after picking it on from audible.com for their first in the series sale of audio less than $5.  I thought this was a good price and a good time to try out a few series I have been curious about but wasn’t sure.

Wondrous Strange was one of those stories that is coming at you from two different directions.  On one side you have this background mythical story of creatures and Fairy Kings (they seem to be quite the rage in YA these days!) and ancient porthole like gates that only open once a year in Central Park (of course – I knew that!) and guards of these gates to keep the baddies from entering the world.  Then on the other side you have Kelley.  She is carefree and fun, she has a high maintenance roommate and she just got the lead in the Broadway Play A Midsummer Night’s Dream and she is beyond thrilled.

Starting out – I much preferred Kelley’s story line as mythical creatures and gates and the narrator’s voice that took on an eerie bubbly tone that took some getting used to, was honestly for me – hard to follow.

Of course, as many stories tend to do, once you get in a little deeper and things start to mesh a bit…. I started to get it and the narrator didn’t seem to bother me as much, in fact towards the end when they added a few spooky sounds and laughter, I was rather impressed.

My overall thoughts are this book is a good Fantasy YA.  The storyline was fun, and as a lot of the action takes place in Central Park in New York, I could picture many of the things mentioned.  YA Fantasy lovers will gobble this book up and anxiously head into the rest of the trilogy….

Amazon Rating

The 2011 WHERE Are You Reading Map has been updated to include Wondrous Strange

I purchased this audio from audible.com