The Wild Book (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Wild Book Hope Morrison Engle, Margarita . The Wild Book. Harcourt, 2012. 130p. ISBN 978-0-547-58131-6 $16.99 R Gr. 4-7 This lyrically composed novel in verse, based on the life of the author's grandmother, is set in Cuba in 1912, when eleven-year-old Fefa is first diagnosed with "word blindness," or dyslexia. While the doctor treats the diagnosis as an irrevocable and untreatable scar, Mamá responds by giving Fefa a blank book and the instructions to use it for writing: "Throw wildflower seeds/ all over each page . . . Let the words sprout/ like seedlings,/ then relax and watch/ as your wild diary/ grows." It is not an easy task: Fefa is mocked by her siblings, dizzied by the glowing white pages, and frightened about the possible consequences of her inability to read. In the end, however, Fefa's slow and observant style of reading saves the family from a dangerous situation. The plotting, though carefully constructed, is secondary here to the remarkable, intimate depiction of Fefa's struggle with dyslexia; Engle is masterful at using words to evoke this difficulty, and even those readers unfamiliar with the condition will understand its meaning through her rich use of imagery and detail ("The skin of a frog/feels just as slippery/and tricky as a wild/inky word"). An author's note provides information about the real life Josefa de la Caridad Uría Peña as well as some basic information about dyslexia. [End Page 452] Copyright © 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois