The Search for WondLa is perfect for readers 8 to 13-year-old and is a good introduction to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres.

This children's dystopian novel is about a 12-year-old girl named Eva who has raised in an underground bunker by a motherly robot and has never been in contact with other humans. Eva is suddenly forced to run from her home and from the only family she's known, the robot, and flees to the surface. The world above her underground home is foreign to her and there are many different alien species on the planet. She then begins her quest to find other humans and learns lessons about herself, making new friends, and the new world around her.

If you're parents and are thinking about buying this for your kid(s), know that there are brief scenes where: an animal is killed for food, an alien is killed and its organs preserved for display in a museum, and a major character dies -- sounds more gruesome when I write it out like that, but it's not an inaccurate summary. I still think it appropriate for children 8+.

What I liked most about The Search for WondLa is that it teaches important lessons about technology, independence, and friendship. Without giving away any spoilers I will give one technology-lesson example: Eva's motherly robot tells her that the first rule of survival is to trust always technology, but Eva quickly learns that technology is not always accurate and reliable. She needs to use her own instinct and judgment to navigate her strange world. I think that this is an important lesson for kids today because it teaches them that what you read on the internet, tablet or smartphone may not always be an accurate or a reliable source, sometimes you're better off if you think things through for yourself and trusting your gut.

Another great part of this book that cannot go unmentioned is the illustrations, which are by the author as well. I thought that was pretty neat because we are seeing exactly what the author envisioned and not someone else's interpretation of what they'd read. Click here to see a few of these illustrations.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series and I think that The Search for WondLa would make a great movie.

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