A great look at dyslexia in the early 1900s through the eyes of Fefa, a 10/11 year old Cuban girl. This is the only novel in verse I've ever made it through, possibly because it's a super quick, beautiful read. The language is lovely, and I deeply appreciated the way Fefa feels more powerful as she gets better at reading and writing. Plus, the cover is gorgeous. ( )

The Wild Book is the story of a young girl who suffers from what a doctor calls ‘word-blindness’ which was probably what we now call dyslexia. Despite the doctor’s warning that she could never learn to read or write, Fefa’s mother gives her a diary to plant her letters and words like wild flower seeds, and see what grows with time and slow practice. She continues to practice and practice, and eventually she is able to save her family from ransom demanded by bandits--through her ability to read the ransom note.

Fefa was told she wouldn’t be able to read or write, and yet despite her siblings mean comments about her failures, she persisted, and she accomplished something that she never dreamed she would. I love the strong female characters in the story, Fefa herself, as well as her mother who would recite poetry just like the men in their community would do.

The Wild Book is the story of Newberry Honor-winning author, Margarita Engle's Cuban grandmother's struggle with dyslexia. Engle relates her grandmother's story in verse. From stories she was told as a child, Engle presents a fictional account of what it must have been like for her grandmother, Fefa, to grapple with dyslexia. Engle explains how Fefa is distressed and ashamed of her inabilities to read and write until her mother presents her with a blank book and encourages her to learn to create words and watch those words grow and become phrases. A poetically beautiful tale that offers a message of hope to any child struggling with dyslexia.

Marissa B. / Marathon County Public Library
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The descriptive language used throughout this book creates lovely imagery. "The skin of a frog feels just as slippery and tricky as a wild inky word." I am a big fan of books written in poetry so I might be biased, but I loved this book. I enjoyed the fact at there was a decent amount of character development. The young girl grows in knowledge and capability through life experiences, determination, and encouragement from her mother. Each poem led you through her journey to overcome her dyslexia and not accept her diagnosis of "word-blindness." This would be a fantastic book for a child struggling with reading or lacking interest in reading. I highly recommend this book because it shows that everyone can overcome a challenge or setback as long as they never give up. ( )

Overall, this was an enjoyable book to read, but simply not my style. The language is very descriptive, the first person point of view was an excellent choice, but the climax of the story didn't happen till almost the very end of the book. The language allows the reader to be immersed into the story and allows the reader to imagine being there with the narrator through her struggles of learning to read. An example of this is when Fefa describes the letters spilling off the page as she tries to read a book. Also, the first person point of view allows almost the same thought. The author using first person allows the reader to feel like the narrator is talking to the reader, as if telling the story just to them. This is shown the best when the author is describing what happens when her family goes to the beach and explains in detail what each of her family members is doing. However, I don't like that the climax of the book, a letter saying they needed to pay a ransom for the children or they would all be kidnapped. The solution was found the page after, and this leaves me feeling I read the whole book for no reason. The message behind this book is to never give up; if there is something holding you back, keep working on it until it no longer has a hold on you. ( )