Land of a Hundred Wonders by Lesley Kagen

Land of a Hundred Wonders Reviews

• 
  Sandi

  I admit it, "Land of a Hundred Wonders" is probably only worth four stars. But, I gave it five stars because it made me cry. I had tears streaming down my checks and it wasn't from any cheap, cheesy manipulation. I rarely cry over books, but this one got me.
  
  I'm not going to write a synopsis of this book, the back cover and the blurbs here and on Amazon sum up the story pretty well. What I am going to say is that this book is really well written. I heard Gibby's voice in my head, not my voice reading the story. The language was a convincing rendition of a young woman from Kentucky who has suffered a brain injury that affects her memory and speech. The characters and their relationships were authentic. The mysteries were suspenseful and kept me reading.
  
  "Land of a Hundred Wonders" is a wonderfully charming book that has a lot to offer in surprisingly few pages. I'm not much of a re-reader, but I can see myself picking this up of the shelf again in a few years.
• 
  Jeanine Marie Swenson

  
  Gifted bestselling author, Lesley Kagen, has weaved another masterful yarn with her second publication, Land of A Hundred Wonders. Set in a small, rural town in Kentucky, we are quickly immersed in the dialect, culture and world of the 1970's. The heroine, Gabby McGraw, has suffered a terrible accident and family tragedy and struggles to rebuild her identity, memories, relationships and family network. Through the masterful use of metaphor, humor and intrigue, Kagen humanizes universal struggles with grief, loss, racial tensions and the difficulty of change. We get to experience the inner workings of a young woman who longs to be "quite right" and recognized for her unique talents by a world that can be cruel, judgmental and predatory toward those with developmental or cognitive impairments. Each of the characters is authentic and memorable. I highly recommend this excellent, fictional work of art.
• 
  Bonnie

  I really liked this book because it showed that there is hope, love and friendship for everyone despite or because of hardships. Nobody's life is perfect and the characters in this book have more than their share of problem's: Gib's brain damage, Billy's post traumatic stress disorder, Clever's emotional abandonment by her mother as well as raciscm, incest and the death of loved ones. Despite or because of their problems, Gib and her friends are able to draw closer and love.
• 
  Janelle

  Maybe I was looking for more, but I really couldn't get into or finish this book. . .
  I rarely give up on a book, but I couldn't wait any longer for something to happen.
  I know that Gibby was NQR and felt like the author wasn't willing to write an involved story line in order to have the reader get the sense that Gibby needed things to be simple.
• 
  Susan Peterson

  Gibby McGraw stole my heart from the first page of this novel! Gibby survived an accident that killed her parents, but her injuries left her Not Quite Right. Her memory is poor, she doesn’t get jokes, and her language and understanding of others is poor. But she has a trusting heart and loves her friends and her Grampa something fierce. Set in rural Kentucky in the early 1970’s, this poignant novel deals with racism, secrets, and an unsolved murder with warmth and humor, and a little bit of magic woven in with the realities of bigotry.
• 
  LORI CASWELL

  Set in 1973, Gibby MaGraw has lost her parents to an automobile crash that she survived. But she did suffer brain damage that has left her NQR (Not Quite Right). This makes being a newspaper reporter pretty challenging.
  
  While out looking for her next big story she stumbles upon the dead body of the next governor of Kentucky, Buster Malloy. She figures if she can solve the murder and write a fantastic news article she will show everyone including her mother in heaven that she is on the road to becoming Quite Right again.
  
  Off with her leather-like briefcase that holds her blue spiral notebook, her favorite #2's, and her camera she stumbles over quite a few more astonishing things as she tries to put all the clues together with her hit and miss memory.
  
  More important though she learns some things are far more important than all the brains in the world, and that miracles occur in the most unexpected moments.
  
  Dollycas's Thoughts
  
  Lesley Kagen is a Wisconsin Author and I am making my way through all of her books and I am enjoying them so much.
  
  The author is excellent at bringing her characters to life. Gibby has been through some terrible things and she just keeps going. Being "Not Quite Right" slows her down a bit but she keep pushing through. She is courageous and funny, most times unintentionally, and readers will fall in love with her immediately.
  
  She is surrounded by her grandpa and many friends who are all truly unique. They all have her best interests at heart and go to great lengths to protect her from remembering too much too fast. It is too hard to pick a favorite.
  
  The story is set is the south in the 70's and I believe the author portrayed the issues of the time quite well.
  
  This a heartwarming story that will hold your attention from the first page to the last. I was surprised at how quickly I read this book and all in one sitting. I was almost sorry to reach the end. The Land of a Hundred Wonders in a perfect place to escape.
• 
  Julie Barichello

  I wanted to like this book.
  
  Last year I read "Whistling in the Dark" by Lesley Kagen and enjoyed it. When I came across "Land of Hundred Wonders" in a used book store during a vacation in Longmont, CO, I was more than willing to give it a try -- particularly since there is a journalism angle, albeit a loose angle.
  
  The biggest disappointment of this novel lies in the emotion falling flat. The reader is supposed to care Gibby's parents died in a car crash, but the sentimentality of that is never sold. The reader also is supposed to believe Lydia has a powerful role in Gibby's life and that Gibby cherishes Lydia's quirky tourist attraction, Land of a Hundred Wonders. Unfortunately, the reader doesn't meet Lydia until page 243, and no one knows what Land of a Hundred Wonders is like until Lydia's introduction.
  
  Lydia's entire purpose as a character is introduced and concluded in a matter of 11 pages -- one chapter. The emotion meant to be infused in this scene is flatter than the screen of your Nook (or Kindle, or book cover, assuming the paperback isn't tattered ... what have you).
  
  The novel also gave me the distinct impression the author couldn't decide which storylines should be the subplots and which should be the main, so everything got equal dominance. As a reader, I never felt like I was on a purposeful journey. I kept getting sidetracked into subplots that eventually ate massive sections of the book.
  
  I did the book the justice of reading it to the end, but I am left with a poor aftertaste. After reading Melanie Benjamin's "Alice I Have Been," which left a powerful impression and is a memorable, well-crafted novel, I have to confess I feel like I wasted a week on reading on "Land of a Hundred Wonders." This book leaves little to wonder about, aside from why the editor and the author didn't invest more time into revising and tightening plot and strengthening the characters.
• 
  Laura Edwards

  I had mixed feelings about this book. I'd actually heard the author give a talk a couple of years ago and she was hilarious. And there were passages throughout the book which had me chuckling out loud. The premise of a narrator who suffered minor brain damage from a serious head injury is an interesting one. Unfortunately, it is also the main thing which causes the book to bog down at points, slowing to a turtle's crawl and making me mutter, "Get on with it". And while the "good" characters were quite nuanced, the "bad guys" (Sneaky Tim Ray, the sheriff and Willard) seemed like caricatures from a cartoon. Anytime Sneaky Tim Ray made an appearance, I think I groaned in disgust. Oh, and it takes nearly the entire book for us to get a glimpse of the Land of a Hundred Wonders and, I have to say, I was underwhelmed. After the build up to Miss Lydia's place, the scene fell flat. Not to mention, with a hundred signs in the ground and only a handful of the sayings printed for the reader, how did the author end up using the number 12 twice with two different sayings? A catchable error which was missed by both the author and the editor. But I'm glad I stuck with the book through the slow parts because the last quarter of the novel was quite good (despite the intro to Miss Lydia's place). Enough so that I'd probably try another of Ms. Kagen's books.
• 
  Sarah

  A light-hearted romp! NQR (Not Quite Right) Gibby, self-appointed editor-in-chief and the sole reporter of her one-woman newspaper is hot on the trail of a murder mystery. Gibby aims to solve the murder in order to cease the cloud pacing of her poor dead mama (or really wow the wings off her by winning the weekly Appleville Scrabble tournament.) Gibby is a charmer. Her pluck, determination, and tendency to be just slightly off (with comments such as dead as a store nail) and none too shy (she inquires if the reverend has been having any hot sex) brought a smile to my face. The book is a delight but it is the central character that makes this one a winner.
• 
  Connie

  A feel good book. I loved the colloquialisms ("Like in some of those Bible stories. Ya know how you got to ponder them some to figure out what the hell the Lord is really trying to tell you? Like when He uses that word 'smote' and you're not exactly sure what He means by that, but you get a sense that he's madder than a sprayed roach?") and malapropisms ("Miracles really are in the eyes of the beholden." And "Hope springs internal.) The writing was a delight!
• 
  Dena

  Lesley Kagen is one of my all time favorite authors! Every character is so true to life.
  My daughter had brain surgery and for awhile she was NQR (thank God she is now back to herself) so I could relate to the frustration Gibby felt. The only thing that is wrong with this book is that it had to end. lol I want Mrs. Kagen's books to go on and on! Can't wait to read Mare's Nest and the new one she is working on!!!
• 
  Michael

  There are not enough words to describe how disappointed I was, after finishing this book. I read the rave reviews and I thought it was going to be an exceptional novel, it as nowhere near that or anywhere closet to it. I could`nt follow the story, it was not very consistent, not only that but the characters were not as developed. The lead character Gibby had potential, as well as her grandfather, but the plot was not convincing enough for me and it left a lot of unanswered questions.
• 
  Marianne

  Great book! Reads a lot like Secret Life of Bees. The main character's attitude, ignorance and observations are similar to Lily's in Bees. I laughed. I was touched. Great read!
• 
  Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)

  This had a lot of interesting ideas, or at least, ideas that should have been interesting. I got 20% of the way through the book and realized nothing was happening and I was bored. Sometimes it works in a book for 'nothing to happen' but in this case I don't think the writing was strong enough to carry it.
• 
  Jennifer Wardrip

  Reviewed by Cat for TeensReadToo.com
  
  Though she survived the wreckage that took her parents lives one rainy summer night, that near-fatal car accident left Gibby McGraw N(ot).Q(uite).R(ight).
  
  While she spends her mornings working at Grandpa Charlie's Top o'the Morning Diner, her afternoons visiting the residents of Cray Ridge, Kentucky, running errands while Grandpa fishes, and gathering information to put in the stories she writes for Gibby's Gazette, Gibby also realizes everyone in town thinks she's diminished. Heck, even Sheriff LeRoy Johnson called her "dumber than anthracite" when he thought she was out of hearing range; but Gibby has a plan.
  
  At the top of her list of VERY IMPORTANT THINGS TO DO is to prove she is Quite Right and can take care of herself so Mama can rest in peace and Charlie will get off her back and stop sending her to talk with Reverend Jack every time she says or does something "inappropriate."
  
  And the perfect plan fell into her lap when she found Buster Malloy's murdered body, the man with plans to be the future state governor, washed up on the shores of Browntown. Now all Gibby need do is employ the skills learned from THE IMPORTANCE OF PERCEPTION IN METICULOUS INVESTIGATION by Howard Redmond of New York City, New York, to find Buster's killer and write the article for her paper.
  
  What Gibby didn't count on was all hell breaking loose in the meantime.
  
  I'm a huge fan of novels set in small towns; it's a prime opportunity for authors to utilize the family dynamic on a much larger scale and populate their world with plenty of quirky, compelling characters. Cray Ridge, Kentucky, is lousy with those folks, and I mean that in the best way possible.
  
  Gibby's the protagonist and we experience the novel via her first-person narrative, but all the characters were spectacular. Lesley Kagen had me laughing at Gibby's inappropriate outbursts and downright embarrassing questions until my sides hurt, and she had me stemming the flow of tears at certain points throughout while demonstrating just how much Gibby had lost due to the brain damage.
  
  There's so much more regarding friend and familial connections, secrets and betrayals, but I fear going further into detail will lead to spoilers. All I can say is the roots of the characters' relationships run deep and when that happens, there is a great deal of twisting and rot that must eventually be unraveled.
  
  A second, but equally important aspect in this novel is its social context. Ms. Kagen set LAND OF A HUNDRED WONDERS in the post-Civil Rights Movement south. As anyone who has ever spent time in the United States southern regions, there are places one can visit today in 2009, and still feel as though the events of that era never took place. Ms. Kagen does a superior job portraying the segregation that still existed in small places like Cray Ridge, not to mention the abuse of power employed by white law enforcement, and the simmering tensions between the former and those forced to live in the deteriorating conditions of Browntown.
  
  We also see the toll Vietnam took on American soldiers sent overseas in Gibby's friend Billy Brown Junior. The only son of the town's richest man, he spends the days since his return in the woods, often times believing he's still in the jungles of the Orient, with his own hideout shelters all over town.
  
  LAND OF A HUNDRED WONDERS is a complex, hilarious, tender, slice-of-life, love story, murder mystery all rolled into one package. I *loved* reading this novel. Picking it up and opening the pages was like settling in for a visit with a group of close friends; and while the ending, like life, was somewhat bittersweet, it was an entirely appropriate send off for these characters I'd come to cherish.
• 
  Educating Drew

  "I'm knocked up," she says.
  "I know how you favor those knock-knock jokes as much as Grampa," I say, swiping off eraser crumbs. "So I'm real sorry, but I don't have time to be honing my sense of humor right now. It's vital I get this story done."
  "Being knocked up don't have nuthin' to do with a joke. It ain't funny."
  "Well, what does it have to do with then?" I ask, fussy. Besides feeling like a full-out failure when I don't understand what something means, I fear Mama's gonna wear her pacing feet to the bone if I don't figure out who murdered Mr. Buster soon.
  "Knocked up means" - Clever stops to hawk and spit - "I'm gonna. . . I'm gonna have a baby." (pg. 57)
  
  
  
  
  Perhaps while you were reading that you chuckled to yourself and thought, that girl's just not quite right. See, that's Gibby talking to her best friend - Clever, and you were correct to make that assumption. Gibby has been NQR since the terrible car accident that left her orphaned and living with her grampa in a small Southern town in the 70's.
  
  Gibby fancies herself an investigative reporter, and she's in luck, because she stumbled across a dead body, and not just any body, but the future governor's body! Gibby feels that this is her chance to become QR once again. She'll solve the mystery and her dead mamma will be proud and able to rest. 'Course, Gibby does tend to forget things. Like where that body was to begin with.
  
  While solving the murder is the back drop of this lyrical novel, Gibby's relationships with her family, friends, and community all after this tragic accident.
  
  Kagen is a wonderful writer. The novel is told in Gibby's point of view and she has mastered the voice of this young lady who struggles with her brain injury. I'm not familiar with anything else that Kagen wrote, and only picked up this novel because the cover was just oh-so-beautiful. I'm sure that it won't be the last from this author. I *highly* recommend this book.
• 
  Marlys

  The is an interesting read -- part murder mystery, but also a great character study. The narrator, Gibby, has suffered a traumatic brain injury in ca car crash. The accident not only killed her parents but resulted in her being "Not Quite Right," a state she is determined to change. Set in rural Kentucky in the 1970s, the story is peopled with a variety of quirky personalities including Billy Brown, a Vietnam vet who came back from the war a different person than he had been before; Gibby's best friend Clever, a wild child whose mother has recently thrown her out of the house (again); and Miss Lydia, who conducts VISITATIONS and sells healing potions at "Land of a Hundred Wonders." The book is laugh-out-loud funny in places; the characters are sometimes rowdy & bawdy but care deeply about each other. The mystery keeps the plot moving but is really secondary to the interaction of the various characters. I wasn't sure I was going to like the book at first, but later I couldn't put it down!
  
• 
  Elizabeth

  This second book by Leslie Kagen is a treat! It is chock full of characters that surround, Gibby, a young woman who has suffered a brain injury in a car accident. She is trying to get back to being Quite Right or QR through being an investigative reporter. She is a special person who is a sweet good friend identifying situations (positive & negative) around her as best she can. She has trouble with language because of the brain injury and some hilarious interpretations ensue. I loved that this book took a turn toward being a love story. I enjoyed how everything sorted itself out in the end. There is an unlikely heroine which was super. For some reason, "Because of Winn-Dixie" popped into my head while reading this. Probably because of Gibby's charisma and that she is center stage while everyone around her is working through their stuff much like India in "Because of Winn-Dixie". Cool!
  Gibby is also friends with a girl named Clever and they fancy themselves "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"--it is very sweet how they say quotes from the movie.
• 
  Eunira

  Gibby has been NQR (Not Quite Right) since she suffered a brain injury in an automobile accident that also made her an orphan at age 17. Her childlike speech, as she is unable to "filter" what she says, is often inappropriate or impolite, and makes the book more fun.
  
  Gibby's doctors said she may improve if her brain is stimulated enough, but after three years, Grampa has nearly given up hope that she will ever be QR (Quite Right) and he just wants to keep her safe, which is complicated when a beautiful young woman acts and thinks like a child.
  
  When she finds a dead man, obviously murdered, Gibby decides to not tell anybody but instead to solve the crime herself so she can prove she can be QR, which puts her in danger.
  
  There are several threads to the story, in addition to the mystery of the dead man, and an undercurrent of tense race relations of the time(1973).
  
  The plot is a little implausible, but the book is a quick, fun and worthwhile read.
• 
  Susan

  I found this book in the dollar bin at Borders and picked it up with no real expectations. I was pleasantly surprised. The story is about a young woman, Gibby, who is NQR (not quite right) after being in a car accident that killed her parents. She lives with her Grandpa in the backwoods of Kentucky and struggles to remember events in her life. When she finds the next governor of Kentucky murdered on the beach she sets out to solve the mystery of his death herself, so she can become QR (quite right). All sorts of outlandish characters are in this story from bounty hunters, a hippie from NYC, a Vietnam vet, and the woman who speaks with the dead. The book has humor, adventure, love and triumph of the human spirit. It is a very fast, enjoyable read. I have also read this author's only other book, Whistling In The Dark, which was also very good.
• 
  Victoria

  After finishing - and being super impressed by - Kagen’s debut novel,
  Whistling In the Dark, I anticipated the release of this, her second book with a lot of anticipation. And it lived up to it! I really enjoyed reading it - it’s a lovely novel and absolutely filled with wonders - just as the title promised. Well-written, combined with Kagen’s wonderful sense of humour and excellent plotting, Kagel truly succeeded here. The narrator, however, truly stole the show.Both original and charming, Kagen created a wonderfully real feeling character. She is such a talented writer, and I cannot wait to see what topic she tackles next! I am really looking forward to reading more of her work, as this was such an absolute joy to read.
• 
  Sara

  This is the first book I believe I've ever read where the narrator is "NQR" (not quite right). She's a young woman who has experienced a tragedy in her family and is now living with the results from a head injury. But, before you decide that it sounds too, too depressing to read, wait! It is a very funny book! My husband read it after I did and told me that he was having to be careful not to wake me up laughing at the character's descriptions of life being "NQR". Mrs. Kagen has created some wonderful characters whose love for each other reaches out of the pages and wraps you in its warmth. A nice, tidy mystery moves the story along and you find yourself cheering the good guys and booing the bad.
  Great read!
• 
  Jen

  I love books like this, that are full of characters brimming with goodness and love. The protagonist has short-term memory loss/brain damage from a car crash that left her an orphan. She lives with her Grampa in small town Kentucky in 1973, where she helps him run his diner and self-publishes a newspaper. She finds a dead body and wants to investigate the mystery to break the story, and all kinds of nasty characters (and golden ones) come out of the woodwork. I think this is the first book I've really loved so far this year.
  
  "Whenever I see somebody doing a good deed, I reward them with a star. Even though Grampa says goodness is its own reward, I say it never hurts to have something shiny."
• 
  Judy

  Unique story with even more one-of-a-kind characters. A truly original protagonist who refers to herself as NQR, (not quite right). As a result of a horrendous car crash, she is left with developmental problems that she is clever enough to realize. She strives to become and prove herself to be QR someday. Part drama, part love story, part mystery. A delightful summer/beach read that will leave you truly satisfied at the end.
  
  This is the second of Lesley Kagen's books for me and they've both pleased me. In the first one, Whistling In The Dark, the dual protagonists are endearing young girls you strain to protect. Again, part mystery, part love story but truly novel. Mrs. Kagen had successfully nailed down the art of original characterization. I look forward to her next book.
• 
  Erikajean Jean

  I really like this book! Though it was a little sad at times how people treated Gibby, the main character, I found this book to be a bit funny. She might be a little brain damaged,a little slow, and not quite remember everything, but she is certainly not stupid. This book touched on just about everything... family, relationships, secrets, miracles, abuse, love and race just to name a few. I got a little teary eyed in two spots on this book, and I think that any book that can spark emotion from its reader is worth recommending! One of my favorite things about this book is Gibby's jumbled up brain and the authors use of Homophones (man, I had to dig back in to my grade school English for that word!).I also love Gibby's literal interpretations of everyday sayings ;-)
• 
  Elizabeth

  Gibby survived an auto accident that claimed the lives of both of her parents. She survived, but she's NQR (not quite right) and now lives with her Grandpa. This book is filled with Southern charm and characters. Set in the 1970s, you get a peek into the way of the world there and then. This novel has a little mystery, a little romance, and a lot of humor. Gibby's inside view of a head injured patient was fascinating to me. It was an easy read, a nice story, and a great way to spend a few hours.
• 
  Michele Minor

  This book is unique in that the story is told from the point of view of a character who had suffered brain damage as the result of a traumatic brain injury. The author catches Gibby's point of view correctly in that she wants to get back to normal and realizes that she isn't quite right. When she finds the dead body of Buster Malloy who is running for governor of Kentucky she decides to investigate the murder for her small paper in order to prove that she is back to normal. She discovers family secrets and prejudice in her small town.
• 
  Barb Heart

  I loved Gib -- a brain damaged young girl from an accident that changed her life and that of others around her.... Set in early 70's this little book has small town issues, racial issues, those of dirty dealings (including the sherriff), a vietnam vet, a sweet grandfather, and it even has a slimy no good sex predator. What is so amazing is the way Gibs mind works and her sayings are a little off which causes many looks and leaves the reader with many smiles. Oh I would love to see this as a movie.