The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
Before I begin, I acknowledge how hard it is to write a 300 page book and I could personally never do such an amazing feat.
I hate having to say this because I usually love (or at least like) all books but this is the worst one I've read in a really long time. This book took me over a month to finish and not just because it was kinda long (almost 300 pages with small font - hardcover version) but also because it was boring and slow. It's hard to describe exactly what happens in the book because each chapter is so slow until we get to the ending.
Here's some basic premise of the story:
Little girl (Anna) stops eating after her 11th birthday. Her brother died a few months prior. People think it is a miracle of God. The town hires two people to watch Anna day and night. A nurse trained by Florence Nightingale (Lib - the narrator) and a Catholic nun.
Now for some spoilers...
Lib watches Anna and is convinced the family is secretly feeding Anna but it stops after the two nurses start their watch. It turns out that the mom was "baby-birding" (regurgitating into her mouth) Anna in the morning when hugging her good morning and calling it mana from heaven.
And the reason Anna stop eating? She found out that it was a sin for her brother to be having "marital" intercourse with her in the night and that he was stuck in limbo/hell. She would have to fast and pray in order to save his soul. It ended with Lib telling Anna that Anna is joining her brother in heaven and she gets to wake up as a different girl the next day.
