The Museum of Intangible Things

by Wendy Wunder

Overview

Loyalty. Envy. Obligation. Dreams. Disappointment. Fear. Negligence. Coping. Elation. Lust. Nature. Freedom. Heartbreak. Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. Belief. God. Karma. Knowing what you want (there is probably a French word for it). Saying Yes. Destiny. Truth. Devotion. Forgiveness. Life. Happiness (ever after).

Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them.

As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness.

An unforgettable read from the acclaimed author of The Probability of Miracles, The Museum of Intangible Things sparkles with the humor and heartbreak of true friendship and first love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101604489
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	04/10/2014
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Wendy Wunder is the author of The Probability of Miracles, which was called “beautiful” in a starred review from Kirkus and a “graceful balance of comedy and tragedy” by Publishers Weekly. When she’s not writing or spending time with her family, she teaches yoga in Boston. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wendywunder.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for The Museum of Intangible Things

“A crisp, beautifully crafted story of adventure, love, and the limits of friendship…” –Booklist (Starred Review)

“A finely crafted blend of heartbreak and humor…” –Kirkus

“Hannah’s fluid narration will keep the pages turning until the novel’s complex and bittersweet conclusion.” -SLJ
 
“…beautifully explored…highly entertaining…Hand this to (girly) fans of Steven Chbosky.” -VOYA

“A cast of well-rounded and memorable characters and a realistic perspective on mental illness make for a thought-provoking story.” –PW

“Zoe is a complex character who in addition to being bipolar is also intelligent, loyal, and funny. Tragically, however, it’s Zoe’s illness that brings this outstanding novel—and an inspiring friendship—to a heartbreaking but inevitable conclusion.” –Horn Book

"By building an engrossing story with likable characters around a set of poetic, even philosophical, concepts, Wunder invites readers to consider the intangibles in their own lives." -BCCB 

“Nobody writes true, messy, gorgeous friendship like Wendy Wunder. The Museum of Intangible Things is wrenching and real.”
—Katie Cotugno, author of How to Love
 
“The Museum of Intangible Things is the best kind of joyride: exhilarating and hilarious and full of heart. A must-read for anyone who has ever had - or longed for - a true best friend.” 
—Alexandra Coutts, author of Tumble and Fall

 

Editorial Reviews

02/17/2014
Wunder (The Probability of Miracles) tackles friendship and mental illness in this nuanced second novel about two best friends: intelligent, grounded narrator Hannah and charismatic Zoe, who has bipolar disorder. A strong setting roots the narrative as the girls bide time in their dead-end New Jersey town. When Hannah’s alcoholic father steals her meager college funds (earned selling hot dogs), and a playboy mistreats Zoe, prompting a manic episode, the two girls embark on a cross-country road trip. Wunder believably escalates Zoe’s mania, documenting her lack of sleep and appetite, racing thoughts, grandiosity, and belief that she communicates with aliens. Along the way, Zoe attempts to instruct the ever-practical Hannah in such intangibilities as audacity, insouciance, and love. As Zoe’s illness escalates, so does the danger, and a perceived betrayal causes Zoe to desert Hannah; to find her, Hannah contacts her crush in New Jersey, introducing a first love storyline. A cast of well-rounded and memorable characters and a realistic perspective on mental illness make for a thought-provoking story. Ages 14–up. Agent: Sara Shandler, Alloy Entertainment. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

A crisp, beautifully crafted story of adventure, love, and the limits of friendship…”
–Booklist, STARRED REVIEW
 
“A finely crafted blend of heartbreak and humor…”
–Kirkus
 
“A cast of well-rounded and memorable characters and a realistic perspective on mental illness make for a thought-provoking story.”
–Publishers Weekly
 
“…beautifully explored…highly entertaining…Hand this to (girly) fans of Steven Chbosky.”
—VOYA
 
“Hannah’s fluid narration will keep the pages turning until the novel’s complex and bittersweet conclusion.”
–School Library Journal
 
“Zoe is a complex character who in addition to being bipolar is also intelligent, loyal, and funny. Tragically, however, it’s Zoe’s illness that brings this outstanding novel—and an inspiring friendship—to a heartbreaking but inevitable conclusion.”
–Horn Book
 
“Nobody writes true, messy, gorgeous friendship like Wendy Wunder. The Museum of Intangible Things is wrenching and real.”
—Katie Cotugno, author of How to Love
 
“The Museum of Intangible Things is the best kind of joyride: exhilarating and hilarious and full of heart. A must-read for anyone who has ever had - or longed for - a true best friend.” 
—Alexandra Coutts, author of Tumble and Fall

From the Publisher

03/01/2014
Gr 9 Up—Hannah and Zoe are smart and creative teens living in a New Jersey lake community. Unfortunately, neither girl has the same fun-filled, picturesque lifestyle typical of other teens in the area. Hannah looks after her alcoholic parents and works hard selling hot dogs to save money for college. Zoe has bipolar disorder and struggles with manic and depressive periods. Their school is underfunded, with minimal academic offerings, so the girls sneak into the attic of an upscale private school in order to listen to classroom sessions and get a look at the lives of the rich. Things begin to spiral out of control after they crash a party hosted by a student at Sussex Country Day. Zoe enters the depressive phase of her illness and faces an uncertain future. Hannah discovers that her father drained her savings account for his own use. Then Zoe shifts into total mania and urges Hannah to travel with her on a cross-country car trip where they can escape, find adventure, take risks, and discover themselves. The pace of the plot increases exponentially from this point as the girls find themselves on a journey of increasingly wild experiences. The often-humorous cultural references to clothing styles and retail stores, music (especially Bruce Springsteen), national landmarks, and television will resonate with teens who are trying like Hannah and Zoe to manage life's challenges. The characters are well developed, and Hannah's fluid narration will keep the pages turning until the novel's complex and bittersweet conclusion.—Anne Jung-Mathews, Plymouth State University, NH

School Library Journal

2014-02-26
An unexpected love story with a wild road trip to boot. Type A Hannah and bipolar Zoe have been inseparable friends since they were 10. Hannah is known around their New Jersey lakeside town as "the hot dog girl" since her alcoholic weatherman father refuses to pay for college, forcing her to earn money "selling meat in the shape of a phallus to predatory commuters on the way to the city"—she's accustomed to putting her own needs last. But all of that is about to change. In episodic chapters characterized by frank dialogue and Hannah's biting wit, Zoe's depression turns to mania, and faithful Hannah rides across the country with free-spirited Zoe as she chases the weather. While Hannah helps Zoe work through the episode, Zoe gives Hannah "intangible lessons" in insouciance, audacity, betrayal, destiny, luck, and how to live and feel. And while Hannah starts to try out these new feelings on longtime crush Danny, the real love here is between Hannah and Zoe. In a finely crafted blend of heartbreak and humor, Hannah begins to see the reality of Zoe's disorder. A touch of magical realism throughout leaves the bittersweet ending open to interpretation and allows readers to overlook a few improbabilities. Fans of the author's The Probability of Miracles (2011) will discover more of life's possibilities and wonder. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews