Wonder at the Edge of the World by Nicole Helget

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On Sale: Apr 14, 2015
Page Count: 384 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13: 9780316245104

In this captivating quest that spans the globe, a young girl who wants to know everything challenges her assumptions about family, loyalty, and friendship as she fights to save her father’s legacy–and to begin creating her own.

Hallelujah Wonder wants to become one of the first female scientists of the nineteenth century. She knows every specimen and rare artifact that her explorer father hid deep in a cave before he died, and she feels a great responsibility to protect the objects (particularly a mesmerizing and dangerous one called Medicine Head) from a wicked Navy captain who would use it for evil. Now she and her friend Eustace, a runaway slave, must set out on a sweeping adventure by land and by sea to the only place where no one will ever find the cursed relic….

In this captivating quest that spans the globe, a young girl who wants to know everything challenges her assumptions about family, loyalty, and friendship as she fights to save her father’s legacy–and to begin creating her own.

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A Bank Street College Best Children's Book
* "If ever a girl could make her mark on the world, it is Hallelujah Wonder.... With [her] at the helm, Wonder is full-blown adventure tinged with mysticism, intelligence, and the spirit of discovery."
Booklist, starred review
"As in Jacqueline Kelly's The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, Lu's main focus is scientific exploration, and her informative musings will have readers wanting to do scientific research of their own.... An informative and richly detailed historical adventure."
School Library Journal
"Pulse-quickening exploits and taut descriptions will keep readers riveted.... Helget's tale celebrates the curiosity and mystery of life."
Kirkus Reviews
"Readers looking for a plucky heroine may find it a good fit."
VOYA