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    Wonder Valley: A Novel
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    Wonder Valley: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Wonder Valley: A Novel
    Ebook380 pages8 hours

    Wonder Valley: A Novel

    By Ivy Pochoda

    3.5/5

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    About this ebook

    NPR Best Book of 2017

    Los Angeles Times Best Fiction Pick

    Refinery29 Best Book of the Year

    BOLO Books Top Read of 2017

    “Destined to be a classic L.A. novel.”—Michael Connelly

    When a teen runs away from his father’s mysterious commune, he sets in motion a domino effect that will connect six characters desperate for hope and love, set across the sun-bleached canvas of Los Angeles.

    From the acclaimed author of Visitation Street, a visionary portrait of contemporary Los Angeles in all its facets, from the Mojave Desert to the Pacific, from the 110 to Skid Row.

    During a typically crowded morning commute, a naked runner is dodging between the stalled cars.  The strange sight makes the local news and captures the imaginations of a stunning cast of misfits and lost souls.

    There's Ren, just out of juvie, who travels to LA in search of his mother. There's Owen and James, teenage twins who live in a desert commune, where their father, a self-proclaimed healer, holds a powerful sway over his disciples. There's Britt, who shows up at the commune harboring a dark secret. There's Tony, a bored and unhappy lawyer who is inspired by the runner. And there's Blake, a drifter hiding in the desert, doing his best to fight off his most violent instincts.  Their lives will all intertwine and come crashing together in a shocking way, one that could only happen in this enchanting, dangerous city.

    Wonder Valley is a swirling mix of angst, violence, heartache, and yearning—a masterpiece by a writer on the rise.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 7, 2017
    ISBN9780062656377
    Author

    Ivy Pochoda

    Ivy Pochoda is the author of The Art of Disappearing, Visitation Street, and Wonder Valley, a Los Angeles Times Book Prize finalist and winner of the Strand Critics Award. She lives in Los Angeles.

    Read more from Ivy Pochoda

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    Reviews for Wonder Valley

    3.5/5

    46 ratings4 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Interesting, disturbing, weird ... but good
    • 3/5
      Intertwining stories form the core of this novel, which opens and closes with scenes that come close to uniting the divergent strands of the story. The book was easy enough to read, but I never felt truly invested in the story and I was deeply annoyed with one character in particular (Tony, because wanting to be a naked man running through L.A. traffic is just as ridiculous as the perfect family life his wife craves). Okay enough as a read, but I was happy to move on to other books.
    • 4/5
      A compelling novel about family and friends and moral responsibility and the role of drugs and alcohol play in some people’s lives. Although a number of the characters live morally problematic lives, Pochoda portrays them with a compassion and empathy that enabled me to understand the reasons why they might make the choices they did. It is not written chronologically, but it was still (most of the time) clear where in time the characters were. Vividly written, it is a great psychological novel.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      I had never heard of this author or the book until It was recommended based on my purchasing history. The story sounded promising. Little did I know there would be so little holding this story together.The author can definitely write, that wasn’t the problem for me, what was a problem is I tend to like books with a beginning, middle and an actual ending.This book seemed more like an idea that was forced into a book length exercise. It also seemed to be a little to ambitious for the author. 5 or 6 or more main characters depending on your definition, of a significant main character, with a story told in 2006 and 2010 and even though they characters really have nothing in common they somehow end up affecting or interacting with each other so that the story could be told.For me the really isn’t much story to tell. Multiple characters with different backgrounds hiding something, running from something, and doing all that they can to stay sane isn’t enough to hold a story together, especially when none of the characters is all that likable or sympathetic.I would likely consider another book by this author, but enough of these edgy experiments where the author shows how creative they can be. Just tell a story.

      1 person found this helpful