Wonderland

O’Connor, Barbara. Wonderland. 2018. 282p. ISBN 978-0-374-31060-8. Available at FIC OCO on the library shelves.

Mavis would love to have one best friend. She and her mother has been moving from place to place so often that they don’t even bother to unpack. Her mother is always looking for the next opportunity, and usually it never works out. When they move to Landry, Alabama, so that her mother can become a housekeeper to the Tullys and live in an apartment above their garage, Mavis is once again expecting another move in short order.

Rose Tully is the complete opposite of Mavis. Where Mavis is bold and decisive, Rose flies below the radar and avoids confrontations. She’s never had a best friend either, and she is keenly aware that the other girls in the neighborhood either ignore her or are downright mean. Her only real friend is Mr. Duffy, who mans the checkpoint to their gated community. But Mr. Duffy hasn’t been the same since his dog died, and even Rose can tell that he’s lost the will to live.

Henry is a race dog whose better days are behind him. Not wanting to be confined, Henry escapes from the race track and lives in the woods behind Rose and Mavis’ neighborhood. He’s attracted to kids, but he is worried they mean him harm.

Thrown together, Mavis and Rose suddenly discover that it is possible to become best friends with someone, especially when they share the mission to help Mr. Duffy regain a taste for life by finding him another dog. Challenges and misunderstandings abound, but friendship is stronger and can overcome loneliness.