The Wonder State is a then and now novel spanning 15 years in the lives of five friends, all centered on the Truth House, an abandoned house in the outskirts of Eternal Springs, Arkansas. Brandi writes letters to four teenage friends fifteen years after all but one, Brandi, stayed behind. When the friends return, Brandi is missing. The novel thrives on "secret messages from another timeline". The novel is recommended for young adult and new adult readers who enjoy things spooky and magical. The wooded Arkansas setting adds to the eerie feel of the story.

I would like to thank NetGalley and MCD for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

A little magic. A little thriller. A little slow to start. But hang on!!! I loved the development of these characters. We all have childhood friends that make parts of this story so relatable. I enjoyed the ride and will loook for more from this author.

Mystery, intrigue, spookiness and drama overshadow an unmemorable cast of characters. There are so many books that accomplish the back-in-the-hometown trope with more compelling content.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it.

What happened to Brandi? Everyone is asking the same question. Brandi had a small group of tight knit friends in high school in their small town in Arkansas who stumbled across something amazing and mysterious. But, when they graduated, everyone left the town but Brandi. Now, 16 years later everyone is back in this small town at Brandi's request to return, only to find out she is now missing and nobody has a clue where she could be or what happened.

This town is no ordinary small town, it has secrets that only this small group of friends knows about and have never spoken about to anyone else. Can they find out what happened to Brandi? Does it have to do with the secrets of magic sprinkled throughout this town? Did Brandi know or do something that she didn't tell anyone? All of these are answered in this story and let me tell you, it was nailbiting waiting for this to all be revealed.

Secrets begin to come out and not every person in the group has kept their promises, so therefore "friends" quickly become suspects and suspicion seeps out of every page. Eventually they come together and decide they need to unite for Brandi's sake and find out what really happened.

I really enjoyed the suspense, mystery and intrigue of the story and the characters were all so relateable and realistic. The storyline flowed really well even though it bounces back and forth from 1999 to 2015. I would definitely recommend this book if you like a mystery sprinkled with some magic.

Thank you to NetGally and MCD for the chance to read this book and review it.

This one was a struggle for me. The lack of memorable characters and just the whole “going back home to figure out what this is” thing was just not it in this one.

This was an awesome thriller fantasy read. That was a combo I didn't even know I needed until now. The book is written in two timelines, one leaning more on the fantasy route and the other more thriller. The author's writing is absolutely beautiful and the story of these 6 friends desperate to escape their lives was told so well.




Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Mystery, intrigue, spookiness and drama overshadow an unmemorable cast of characters. There are so many books that accomplish the back-in-the-hometown trope with more compelling content.

Really enjoyed this one. Part mystery/thriller with some added magic. Set in a great location, the Ozarks and with a lot of atmosphere, this was an excellent twisty read.

This was good but also hurt my brain. I think there were a few too many things going on so I had a hard time reconciling them all. I still enjoyed it though!

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this excellent book.

After enjoying Sara Flannery Murphy's previous novel, Girl One, I knew I had to read this one. The eerie atmosphere, the magical realism, and the secrets left me breathless…that ENDING!!! The Wonder State is a twisty and suspenseful mystery that didn’t disappoint. I highly recommend it.

THE WONDER STATE shares a familiar themes with the dark academia novels that have been so popular lately, evoking elements of a group of friends, hidden secrets, and tragic outcomes. In this captivating novel, a cryptic letter reunites the once tight-knit group as they are compelled to confront their past and the unresolved issues that still haunt them. However, this summary only scratches the surface of what makes this book truly remarkable.

At its core, THE WONDER STATE delves into profound notions such as yearning for something beyond one's current circumstances - an intense desire to escape and find a better life. It explores themes of love blossoming amidst uncertainty while longing for time to stand still in order to savor those intimate moments. Opening its pages invites readers on an enchanting journey filled with magic woven seamlessly throughout the narrative. This literary work fuels our contemplation on justice served and friendships reignited. Our author expertly captures these complex emotions against beautifully rendered settings that effortlessly transport us further into her imaginative world. This book will stick with me for a very long time, and I recommend to all who are even vaguely interested in the themes I mention above!

Sarah Flannery Murphy showed in her first two books her capacity to take a speculative premise and use it illuminate real world issues. In The Possessions, her protagonist had the capacity to channel the lives of the dead and Girl One revolved around a group of young women with extraordinary powers. In both cases, what makes these books shine is not the premise itself but the way in which Murphy uses it to deeply explore the lives of her characters who, despite any powers, still have to live in the world. In The Wonder State she does this again, delivering a coming-of-age story coupled with a story of paths not taken all wrapped up in a supernaturally-driven mystery.
It is 2015 and Jay finds herself back in the small Ozark town of Eternal Springs that she fled fifteen years before, drawn back by a photograph and a terse message from her childhood friend Brandi Addams. But when she arrives she finds that Brandi has disappeared in mysterious circumstances. When the other members of their former gang also reappear, drawn back by similar messages and forced to stay by a wound that will only stop bleeding when they are in the town. The narrative then interleaves the story of how the group came together, the magic that they discovered in the town and the present day story in which they visit those teenagerhood haunts in an attempt to discover what happened to Brandi.
As with both The Possessions and Girl One, Murphy takes a fairly common fantasy trope and deploys it in her own particular style. In the case of The Wonder State it is partly the magical place – certain locations that have specific, defined qualities and powers – but also the idea of the portal, a magical doorway into a possible otherworld. And through her characters Murphy explores how people might engage with those powers as teenagers, and the consequences of a more immature, unthinking approach, and the differences then in exploiting those powers as adults.
But the centre of The Wonder State is Jay’s coming-of-age story, the events that led to her leaving Eternal Springs and the reconsideration of her life that she is forced to do on her return. Murphy captures both the intense friendship between Jay and Brandi but also the forces that pull at that relationship, including the attraction of other people, their naivete and their powerlessness in the face of abusive adults. She then uses Jay’s reunion with her old crew and a rediscovery of the magic that brought them together to reflect on that time and how they have either changed or not changed since.
The Wonder State is another engaging speculative fiction novel from Murphy with a fascinating magic system, full of complex characters and atmospherically capturing the Ozark community and landscape in which they find themselves.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This story went in a direction I didn’t see coming! I really liked the plot with the story being set in Arkansas and a group of friends coming back together years after mysterious events happened to find one of their own. It kinda reminded me of IT in that aspect, minus all the horror and killer clown! There were a few parts that I never saw coming and I like how it flipped back and forth from present to past. If you like magic, mystery, and friendship, I would definitely recommend this book!

Thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for this early ARC., I was not enjoying this book at the beginning but I pressed on and it got so much better. I like academia type book and this made it fun to read. The. magic was odd to start but I kept going. It was not bad at all but still not really my thing.

Sara Flannery Murphy is back with The Wonder State after her powerhouse Girl One, and what a book!

It is with mixed feelings that I write this review because while I really enjoyed this book, it does have some flaws.

The prose in this book is strong, and the narrator on the audiobook is mesmerizing.

Nestled in Arkansas, a group of friends reunite after urgently receiving the signal. Will these former classmates be able to find out what happened to their friend and solve their long-standing mystery?

During the first 10% of the book, I was really wondering where the book was going, and it was dragging a bit. I read the blurb, renewed my interest, and pressed on.

The characters are slowly discovering magical houses, and this is the type of fantasy that I enjoy the most: realistic fantasy. Sara Flannery Murphy doesn’t get lost in long explanations. She keeps to the plot, and she masterfully lays the groundwork for everything to come together in the end.

The houses are very imaginative, and Murphy makes the fantasy look effortless.

Plus, I am just a sucker for returning to the hometown trope.

Now, for some of the not-so-great stuff about this book….

The characters were entirely unremarkable. In another year, I won’t even remember their names and who did what. There are too many of them. Murphy went too wide instead of deep.

Additionally, the ending isn’t as strong as it should be. I’m not going to elaborate for fear of spoilers, but there is a specific book that I have in mind that does almost this exact ending but much better.

Overall, The Wonder State is a delight, and Sara Flannery Murphy is an author to watch.

*Thanks, NetGalley, for a free copy of this book in exchange for my fair and honest review.

This book was such a fun and interesting concept, and I was on my toes the entire time! The Wonder State follows a group of kids in their small hometown one summer, while also following them as adults when they come back to the town after "one of their own" goes missing.

Magical realism, small towns, found family: this book has it all. Read this book if you enjoy:
- cozy mystery/magical realism vibes
- found family
- Scooby Doo kinda vibes

I absolutely loved The Wonder State. It really had everything I look for in a book...great atmosphere, a dose of magic, mysterious circumstances, and strong characters. The magic houses thing was genius and so original. The main character group was great. I enjoyed getting to know them and seeing them for who they are warts and all. Their shared history and trauma really made for an intense group. The Arkansas background was equal parts beautiful and creepy. I really hated to see it end but the ending was satisfying. This author really can tell a story and I look forward to reading more from them.

An intriguing, entertaining and well plotted paranormal thriller. There's secretes, miracles, friendships and a plot that kept me reading.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine