The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy

Why did I read The Wonder State by Sara Flannery Murphy? I don't know. Was it you? Did you recommend it to me? If so, thank you! 

Welcome to Eternal Springs, Arkansas in the heart of the Ozarks. This town has some weird quirks and a group of high school students soon finds that an architect named Theodora Trader had built houses with magical traits: one where people must tell the truth, one where you can hide in plain sight with the help of mirrors, one where time stopped when you were inside, etc. What happens next? Well, you know, the things that happen in thrilling books: kidnapping, murder, a woman no one can find. OF COURSE. 

Look, I sped through this book in a day and I could not wait to read it when I had to, you know, live the rest of my non-book life. The start was sort of confusing because there are six main high school characters and their associated parental units and some teachers to keep track of. BUT. I persevered and the book definitely paid off for me.

I just love the idea that this is OUR world and these houses are just here. It's magical in the very best of ways and I really enjoyed seeing how the magic worked and how the modern characters - with cell phones and computers - dealt with the magic and interacted with it. I loved how the Ozarks were not just the setting, but a fully formed character. 

The characters were maaaaybe a bit weak, but I'll let that slide. If you haven't read this one and it sounds interesting to you, give it a go. 4/5 stars

Things I looked up:

Brundlefly (page 90) - Dr. Seth Brundle, also known as Brundlefly, is a fictional character and the tragic hero in David Cronenberg's 1986 remake of The Fly. He becomes the titular fly.  Damn it all, I hate pop culture references I don't get.

Leonora Carrington (page 102) - Mary Leonora Carrington was a British and Mexican surrealist painter and novelist. She lived most of her adult life in Mexico City and was one of the last surviving participants in the Surrealist movement of the 1930s. Carrington was also a founding member of the women's liberation movement in Mexico during the 1970s.

Hat mention (why hats?):

flourish of an imaginary hat (page 208)

Title spotting:

"You know, I did find something out. Someone at a party told me, when I mentioned where I'm from. Arkansas's state nickname used to be 'the Wonder State.' They nixed it after a decade or two because The Wonder State was too old-fashioned, it didn't draw enough economic growth." (page 358)

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Have you ever been to the Ozarks? If you knew there was a magical house in your town, would you go there?