The Wonder State

A Novel

By: Sara Flannery Murphy

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

From the author of Girl One comes a spellbinding adventure about a strange power lurking in the Arkansas Ozarks, and the group of friends obsessed with finding it.

Five friends arrive back in Eternal Springs, the small town they all fled after high-school graduation. Each of them is drawn home by a cryptic, scrawled two-word letter: You promised.

It has been fifteen years since that life-changing summer, and they're anxious to find out why Brandi called them back, especially when they vowed never to return.

But Brandi is missing. She'd been acting erratically for months, in and out of rehab, railing at whoever might listen about magic all around them. About a power they can't see. And strange houses that appear only when you need them . . .

Told in two enthralling time lines, The Wonder State is a stunning, immersive follow-up to Girl One. Sara Flannery Murphy has created another dazzling, genre-blurring novel―an adventure story laced with nostalgia and magic, exploring belonging and the lasting power of community.

©2023 Sara Flannery Murphy (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Narrator Jesse Vilinsky adeptly manages a range of Ozarkian accents and vocally distinguishes class levels; she even ages the more mature voices in the modern timeline. Recommend to fans of speculative mysteries and coming-of-age tales, as well as to readers of Alice Hoffman and Sarah Addison Allen.”—Library Journal

"Richly imagined and vividly rendered . . . Magical, moving, and gripping, this is a special book indeed."—Kristine Huntley, Booklist (starred review)

"The latest standalone thriller from [Sara Flannery] Murphy gets its hooks into readers from the opening chapter and doesn’t let go . . . With echoes of I Know What You Did Last Summer, this gives a familiar trope new life."—Publishers Weekly

Compelling story

The characters and the world are really well written, but most the voice acting was mumbled and slurred, which would be fine if the characters were drunk the whole time. It was hard to listen to. I'd recommend reading this book over listening to it.

Exactly what I’m into

One of my favorite books, totally immersive and surprising. This is a great read for fans of supernatural mystery.

Distracting Accents and Character Voices

The awkward accents and some of the voice choices the narrator chose for certain characters were very strange. It took me out of the story. The story itself had an interesting premise!