The Miraculous

by Jess Redman

Overview

An Amazon Best Children's Book of 2019

In the tradition of heartwrenching and hopeful middle grade novels such as Bridge to Terabithia comes Jess Redman's stunning debut about a young boy who must regain his faith in miracles after a tragedy changes his world.

Eleven-year-old Wunder Ellis is a miracologist. In a journal he calls The Miraculous, he records stories of the inexplicable and the extraordinary. And he believes every single one. But then his newborn sister dies, at only eight days old. If that can happen, then miracles can’t exist. So Wunder gets rid of The Miraculous. He stops believing.

Then he meets Faye—a cape-wearing, outspoken girl with losses of her own. Together, they find an abandoned house by the cemetery and a mysterious old woman who just might be a witch. The old woman asks them for their help. She asks them to believe. And they go on a journey that leads to friendship, to adventure, to healing—and to miracles.

The Miraculous is Jess Redman’s sparkling debut novel about facing grief, trusting the unknown, and finding brightness in the darkest moments.

“A stunning story expressing the complexities and mysteries of love and death in all of its light and darkness. A beautifully rendered and meaningful read for young readers asking deep questions.” —Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor–winning author of The Night Diary

“Exquisitely crafted, serious, yet woven through with wry humor, this story’s miracles are its fierce and tender characters. I loved this extraordinary debut.” —Leslie Connor, National Book Award Finalist author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

This title has common core connections

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374309749
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	07/30/2019
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 5.30(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	650L (what's this?)
Age Range:	9 - 11 Years

About the Author

Jess Redman is a therapist and psychology teacher. She currently lives in Florida with her husband, two young children, and an old cat named Soul Pie. The Miraculous is her debut novel.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2019

After the death of his eight-day-old sister, Milagros, 11-year-old “miracologist” Wunder Ellis stops believing in miracles. His parents deal with grief by isolating themselves and essentially avoiding Wunder’s existence. But something peculiar is blossoming in the small town of Branch Hill, whether Wunder likes it or not: the day after his sister’s passing, an ancient woman appears in the condemned DoorWay House, with its spinning, spiraled wood that prompted Wunder to believe in miracles in the first place. The woman entreats Wunder and his assertive new friend Faye Ji-Min Lee to deliver letters to townspeople on her behalf. Faye, who has just lost her grandfather, is eager to believe the woman is a witch—quite possibly the reincarnation of Wunder’s sister. But Wunder is torn between allowing hope back into his life and letting “the stone of his heart” lie still forever. Infused with a whisper of fabulism, this debut’s quiet exploration of love and loss will remind readers to recognize the magic in the mundane. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

06/28/2019

Gr 3–6-Wunder Ellis always believed in miracles, collected examples of them in his book The Miraculous, and thought of himself as "a miracologist." Yet all of that changes when his sister dies after just eight days of life, and Wunder and his family spiral into grief. When a strange woman shows up at a house in the woods and Wunder makes a new friend with a strong interest in the paranormal, he begins to question the existence of miracles again. He and his friends attempt to show their town how many miracles are happening all around them. This bittersweet story of loss and hope will appeal to readers intrigued by highly emotional magical realism. Wunder and his family and friends are all exceptionally quirky. While Wunder and his friend Faye are well rounded, other characters are not fully developed. The climax takes a long time to build, and the magical realism is so lightly included in the beginning that it all seems to be coincidence, but becomes obvious by the end. Redman's handling of grief is realistic, and she shows how each character copes very differently. VERDICT While the adventure is slow to build, fans of emotionally charged fiction with light magical aspects will enjoy this title.-Ellen Conlin, Naperville Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

★ 2019-04-28
Eleven-year-old Wunder Ellis abandons his study of miracles when his newborn sister never makes it home from the hospital.

The third-person point of view stays firmly with Wunder, so named because he was a miracle for his parents. He was 5 when a numinous experience inspired him: The spiral wood grain of the old house at the town cemetery spun before his eyes, and the bird brushing past him seemed to fly from his own heart. Now, though, he plans to rid himself of his catalog of miracles, the journal his parents gave him. He feels disconnected from his friends, and his parents' grief is complicated and overwhelming. Faye Ji-Min Lee, an irrepressible classmate, refuses to let him give up. Redman explores faith, the intertwined nature of sorrow and joy, and the transformative process of grief through Wunder's eyes in a part-fantasy, part-realistic adventure with genuinely humorous moments. A verse (unattributed) from Corinthians 15:51 appears throughout: in the voice of a minister at the baby's funeral, on a gravestone, and in words spoken by the woman (is she a witch? Or something else?) who appears at DoorWay House by the cemetery: "We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed." Wunder and his family present white; Faye refers to her Korean church; one of Wunder's friends is Latinx.

Layered, engaging, and emotionally true. (Fiction. 9-12)

Kirkus Reviews

"Redman explores faith, the intertwined nature of sorrow and joy, and the transformative process of grief through Wunder's eyes in a part-fantasy, part-realistic adventure with genuinely humorous moments. . .Layered, engaging, and emotionally true." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Redman's gorgeous debut uses a cozy world of bright characters to tackle themes of death, grief, and doubt with gentle compassion and a light touch. . .[A] moving lesson for young people learning to cope with both the good and the bad that life has to offer." --Booklist

"The lesson that miracles can still exist in the midst of tragedy is especially powerful. . .This feel-good novel will have readers reflecting on events in their own lives (and very likely also reaching for a box of tissues)." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A stunning story expressing the complexities and mysteries of love and death in all of its light and darkness. A beautifully rendered and meaningful read for young readers asking deep questions." --Veera Hiranandani, Newbery Honor-winning author of The Night Diary

"Filled with longing, love, hope, and wisdom, The Miraculous is a small miracle of a book." --Alison McGhee, author of Shadow Baby and the #1 New York Times-bestseller Someday

"Exquisitely crafted, serious, yet woven through with wry humor, this story's miracles are its fierce and tender characters. I loved this extraordinary debut." --Leslie Connor, National Book Award Finalist author of The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle

From the Publisher