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Wonder Valley by Ivy Pochoda

Wonder Valley

by Ivy Pochoda

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Readers' Rating (16):
  • Published:
  • Nov 2017, 336 pages
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There are currently 16 reader reviews for Wonder Valley
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Cathy O' Altavista, VA

Wonder Valley
Life often takes turns based on small actions that have large consequences. The characters in this novel seem to have all ended up in unfortunate circumstances. The way they come together and either survive or not makes for a very entertaining read. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes interesting characters. I felt the descriptions of life on the streets of LA was haunting and accurate. I wished the author had provided more closure on some characters, like Britt and her situation with Andy. I also would have liked more background on other characters. Wonder Valley is a novel that stays with you andmore
Kenan R. (Liberty, MO)

Wonderful and Seedy
This was a beautifully written book about a less than attractive subject. Marginalized characters are introduced in 2 time lines, and their stories of questionable choices and loss unfold independently of each other in Southern California from Skid Row to sketchy compounds in the Mojave. Eventually the stories from 2006 intersect in the 2010 story line and that is where I was hooked. The latter half of the book seems to move at a brisker pace as these lost people converge and we look for answers. I felt like the author did an excellent job of tying up the individual story lines without making the package toomore
Gary R. (Bolingbrook, IL)

Only in California!
Quite an interesting read; follow along with the SoCal adventures of the characters as they try to survive. You can feel the heat, you can smell the desert, and it all starts with a traffic jam and a naked jogger. A good read, give it a try!
Power Reviewer
Diane S. (Batavia, IL)

Wonder Valley
A man is running down the Hollywood freeway, he is completely nude, seemingly without a care in the world. As the cars sit in the usual crawling traffic, another man, a man on impulse will leave his car sitting in traffic and take off running, following the naked man. This is the beginning of this novel, which will take us from the streets of Los Angeles, to skid row and out to a desert commune with a divergent group of characters.

They are lost souls, trying to escape either something the have done, or do not understand where their lives took a wrong turn, hopeful still that they can turn it around. Gritty andmore
Mary H. (Ocala, FL)

Superb!
From the first page of this wonderful new novel, Ivy Pochoda draws the reader into her world of contemporary Los Angeles and the area in the Mojave Desert known as Wonder Valley. While the characters are first introduced in a series of seemingly unrelated vignettes, as the book progresses, the author skillfully merges their stories to intersect and intertwine. This group is from the seamier side of life--living each day under the radar and just trying to survive. I came away with a sense of wonder at the skill it takes to exist on the streets or entirely off the grid and how people with no real home or emotionalmore
Patricia L. (Seward, AK)

Exit for a closer view...
A naked young man is running against traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway, weaving through cars that have reluctantly stopped to avoid hitting him. Tony, a commuter, is uncontrollably compelled to chase him. In Wonder Valley, author Ivy Pochoda slowly unravels the tale that brought the young man to the freeway through Tony, Blake, Britt, Ren and James uncovering the chaos that is life for those unfortunates living in the underbelly of California.

Wonder Valley is the location of a farm where "lost kids pretend to find themselves in the middle of nowhere…" James, whose parents run the farm, has yet to findmore
Cheryl K. (Naples, FL)

Redemption...by any other name
I am not sure why I requested this book to read and review. I am more than pleased that I did. Ivy Pochoda's "addictive" characters are beautifully developed; their inward struggles tug at the heartstrings of the reader. Seeking personal redemption from the turmoil and disruptions in their lives, they are connected through a seemingly idyllic place called Wonder Valley. Their journeys take them through the steaming Mojave Desert to the unpleasant Skid Row section of Los Angeles. It is the excellent descriptions of these journeys, all connected in some way, and the outcomes reached, that made this reader'smore
Eileen C. (New York, NY)

Finding a way to be in the world
A compelling novel about family and friends and moral responsibility and the role of drugs and alcohol play in some people's lives. Although a number of the characters live morally problematic lives, Pochoda portrays them with a compassion and empathy that enabled me to understand the reasons why they might make the choices they did. It is not written chronologically, but it was still (most of the time) clear where in time the characters were. Vividly written, it is a great psychological novel.
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