The Wonder by Emma Donoghue

From Goodreads:
An eleven-year-old girl stops eating, but remains miraculously alive and well. A nurse, sent to investigate whether she is a fraud, meets a journalist hungry for a story.

Set in the Irish Midlands in the 1850s, The Wonder—inspired by numerous European and North American cases of “fasting girls” between the sixteenth century and the twentieth—is a psychological thriller about a child’s murder threatening to happen in slow motion before our eyes. Pitting all the seductions of fundamentalism against sense and love, it is a searing examination of what nourishes us, body and soul.

That's more like it!

While I did enjoy elements of Room, I didn't love it completely. At first, I thought this book would be the same, but as I read, I became more and more engrossed and needed to know what the end result would be. 

Emma Donoghue once again proves her good writing skill and style, this time writing the story in the third person. I especially liked her writing style in this book. She weaves her story well, basing the fiction on fact, which I always like. I'm huge on Irish history, so the fact that this takes place in Ireland in the 1850s is an added bonus. In this book, unlike Room, which moved very quickly, the plot moves slowly, which makes it understandable why this book won't be for everyone. But Donoghue's storytelling skills are so captivating and this book can pull you in for hours on end to see how it all works out in the end. 

Donoghue meshes different genres together - mystery, culturalism, religiosity, isolation, and a bit of romance - very well, and makes you ask, "What is happening to the little girl? Is it because of her strong Catholic faith or is someone doing this to her? Will Lib find out and eventually be accepted?" It's wonderfully done and is done in such a seamless, effortless way. The characters are all very well-developed and, like Lib, you end up feeling for the little girl who is doing this fast. While there are some characters that I would have liked to shake for being so pigheaded and obstinate, overall, the characters were all very well-rounded and flawed in one way or another, which makes them be more realistic. 

The Wonder asks some very important and intriguing questions as it makes its way along, dialing up the tension as the novel reaches its climax, asking questions of ethics and morals. What adds to the book as well is the atmosphere. As soon as I started, I really felt like I was in the middle of nowhere Ireland, which really added to the tone of the novel. Donoghue is Irish, but I feel I still have to say this, she did her research on 19th-century Ireland and the religious fastings of young girls and women really well, and it's an added bonus that gives the book a little extra oomph.

I was initially going to give this book 4/5, but after thinking about it once I finished it last night, I find I can't stop thinking about it. It was really well-written and well-done, with a slowly building tension and mystery surrounding the little girl. As the book makes its way along, you end up sympathizing and relating to the characters. The added tension and isolation really gives the book an extra something. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I'm going to give it 5/5 and highly recommend it to fans of historical fiction, mystery or fans of good storytelling.