One of the books that I have as reference, and it is not a classic, is WONDER. It is a book that I really enjoyed because of many things but the most important one is to learn to accept yourself, that being different does not have to be a bad thing. There are sentences that I have underlined and I had the same feeling with the young adult book of Coia Valls, published in Catalan by Animallibres and let’s hope that soon will see the light in Spanish, given that is an adventure book which aims to update the myth of the panther women and go in depth in matters like accepting oneself, and others, the courage that means to dare to listen and make decisions , the value of friendship and love as a source of freedom. Emma Ambrose lost her parents in a car accident. Shortly after, a police inspector knocks at her house and tells her that, in his opinion, the accident from her parents was a murder. A letter from Mali seems to be the confirmation of this suspicion. Emma decides to travel to Sahel with the hope of finding out the truth, and maybe be able to reveal the mystery of her odd nature, because Emma has a secret: Some nights she disappears and when she wakes up, she does not know what she did nor where she has been.

A novel for those teens who like adventure with traces of fantasy novel with archaic, mysterious, wild, and enigmatic horizons.

Emma must grow up overnight, face that her parents are no longer beside her and take the initiative. A difficult step for every teen to take but she takes it even though that does not mean that she does not long that innocence from when she was a kid, and her mother would tell her stories to end her fears. It is an enigmatic character, she is afraid of losing control, of the fight of that animal and brutal of her shifting nature that uneases her. She must be strong to keep control but without meaning to void the wish. Because what would life like without wishes?

A captivating novel from which we can pull from different strings to understand human nature. Coia Valls had already published children books. Here she goes into the young adult world exceeding expectations.