The Search for WondLa

DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Search for WondLa, 466 pgs. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010.

RATINGS : G for language and sexual content ; PG for violence.

Eva Nine longs to leave her Sanctuary and visit someone in another Sanctuary, or explore the surface, but Muthr, her robot caretaker, says she's not ready. She failed her survival skills test, and now Muthr says she has to start her training all over again. Eva seeks comfort after this newest setback in a secret hallway among her old toys and a scrap of a picture that shows a girl, a robot, and part of an adult who all look so happy. She's named the picture WondLa, from the few legible letters she can decifer, and it represents everything she longs for -- the whole truth from Muthr, and human friends. When the Sanctuary is attacked by the unrelenting huntsman Besteel and his powerful boomgun, she is forced to the surface where she encounters a reality completely different from the one she's been training for. Armed with her Omnipod, a compassionate heart, and a clever mind, and aided by a telepathic water horse, a sympathetic blue being named Rovender, and the ever maternal Muthr, Eva Nine struggles to remain free while seeking others like herself. With wonderful "augmented reality" pages -- illustrations -- scattered throughout and a well-crafted web component, this story has dangers, narrow escapes, fanciful creatures, friendships, and villains. It is a wonderful adventure for the modern reader.
EL, MS : ESSENTIAL. Reviewed by PKFoster, teacher-librarian.