The Wild Book (Yonder)

The Wild Book (Yonder)

With over one million copies sold in Spanish, Mexican literary legend Juan Villoro’s The Wild Book is a fantastical homage to libraries, in which a boy is sent to live with his kooky, book-obsessed uncle in a library where books have supernatural powers and adventure lies behind every cover. Thirteen-year-old Juan’s summer is off to a terrible start. First, his parents separate. Then, almost as bad, Juan is sent away to his strange Uncle Tito’s house for the entire break! Who wants to live with an oddball recluse who has zigzag eyebrows, drinks fifteen cups of smoky tea a day, and lives inside a huge, mysterious library? As Juan adjusts to his new life among teetering, dusty shelves, he notices something odd: the books move on their own! He rushes to tell Uncle Tito, who lets his nephew in on a secret: Juan is a Princeps Reader, which means books respond magically to him, and he’s the only one who can find the elusive, never-before-read Wild Book. But will Juan and his new friend Catalina get to The Wild Book before the wicked, story-stealing Pirate Book does? An unforgettable adventure story about books, libraries, and the power of reading, The Wild Book is the instant-classic young readers’ debut by beloved, prize-winning Mexican author Juan Villoro. “Books are portals to other worlds. In The Wild Book , a young boy learns about the power of stories when he explores his uncle’s enchanted library of shape-shifting books. This is a beautifully written ode to the inherent magic of books and reading. … Translated by award-winning Lawrence Schimel, Juan Villoro’s prose is lovely and clear. Villoro, “Mexico’s Updike,” is his nation’s most prolific, prize-winning writer. The Wild Book is no exception within his canon. Each of the twenty-one chapters is accompanied by Eko’s stunning woodcut-style illustrations, depicting books with teeth and pages flying. Deserving a place beside classics like The Phantom Tollbooth and Half-Magic , The Wild Book is a timeless celebration of reading.” ―Claire Foster, Foreword Reviews (Five-Heart Review) “For me, when it comes to good writing, texts are alive and living among us, no matter the genre. Juan Villoro’s The Wild Book ― a story in which books themselves are characters ― is an especially good example.... In Uncle Tito’s library, the books choose their readers. So Villoro’s novel chose me…. Equal parts ecology and magical realism, Villoro explores the nature of literature and reading. The best stories are wild, after all.... Villoro entrusts young readers to care for and sustain the magic ― and in doing so, takes them seriously. But the novel is also generous with its adults … Uncle Tito, changes and grows just like Juan, the teenage protagonist…. Villoro’s novel illuminates why YA literature has such a large adult readership. Even as we age, or perhaps especially then, our purpose is not to tame our life stories ― but rather to allow them their wild lives.” ―Kristin Van Tassel, Los Angeles Review of Books "Brings to mind the same ecstatic thrill I felt reading The Phantom Tollbooth as a child, Fahrenheit 451 as a teen, and Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore as an adult. I'm absolutely envious of the young readers who are about to discover the magic of Juan Villoro's The Wild Book ." ―David Gonzalez, Skylight Books (Los Angeles, CA) “This quirky tale – originally published in Mexico – is a delight, giving books a life of their own. Before long, you'll see your reading list in a whole new way…. The Wild Book has a classic, magical feel, but it's also grounded in reality, as we see Juan coming to terms with his parents' separation and his feelings for Catalina, the girl who works in the local pharmacy. And Tito is a wonderfully rich character, from his constant need to urinate to his obsession with creating literary recipes. A must-read for book-lovers everywhere.” ―Booktrust, Five-Star Review “A rewarding and bewitching story which goes to the heart of why books are so powerful and incredible. From exploring how the person reading a story changes the very fabric of the story being read, so that one book can mean quite different things to different people, to how stories help us navigate our lives, often providing opportunities to practise scenarios before we encounter them in real life, thereby giving us skills, confidence and resilience, The Wild Book is a paean to the potential of books. If you consider yourself a bibliophile, this, quite simply, is a must-read. In some ways a Library of The Shadow of the Wind for younger readers, The Wild Book luxuriously riffs on how books can be mirrors and windows…. Delicate, fine and surprising turns of phrase pack this novel, originally published in Mexico, mixing moments of humour with splashes of original beauty. The smooth and seamless translation is a delight, as are the glimpses into another culture, with lots of references to exploring the Amazon, and some nods towards literatu