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Wednesday, October 05, 2016

"My Name is Wonder" Book Review by Crystal J. Casavant-Otto

5 Star Review:


My Name is Wonder is a tale of adventure that will have you thinking from the first page until well after you’ve closed the book. This beautifully written novel chronicles the transcendent adventures of a little goat with big dreams. At first I thought this was a children's book until I took a closer look. In as much as "A Killer's Grace" was a story about the dark side of life, "My Name is Wonder" is a book for adults to help get them into the child's mindset of wonder. It's not a children's book, it's a book for your inner child in my opinion. This is a difficult thing to explain. Have you ever spent time with a 2 year old who asks all sorts of questions? Questions that make you cock your head and furrow your brow? For example, my 2 year old recently asked me to explain why he couldn't have his cookie at the beginning of his meal. It would have been easy to dismiss the question and reply "because I said so", but children's minds are always trying to understand the why of life. Why do you have to wash your hands before lunch? Now that's an easy one to answer because of germs and such, but I'm still wondering why you have to wait until the end of the meal to enjoy the cookie. Don't you sometimes get full toward the end of the meal and enjoy the cookie less because your tummy is already a bit over-full? Wouldn't you have enjoyed that cookie more had you had it at the beginning of the meal? Wouldn't it be tastier if you ran out of room for brussel sprouts instead of running out of room for cheesecake?

Why are we talking about this? Well - I wanted to get you into the mindset of wondering. Wondering why one thing is acceptable when another isn't. Wondering how we came up with a particular rule or thought process. When we stop the childlike wondering, we start simply going through the motions instead of having a mindful presence in our own lives. That's how I felt while reading "My Name is Wonder". Yes, the characters are fictitious, but the moral of the story applies to each and every one of us. This book is written beautifully by a man who I find to be very insightful. This book is guaranteed to keep you thinking long after you've closed the cover.

I find myself referring back to sections of My Name is Wonder as I go about my daily tasks. That's always the sign of a well written book; it sticks with you. I certainly hope to read more from Ronald Chapman, because I've really enjoyed his style and insight.

Paperback: 202 Pages
Genre: Fiction/Spirituality
Publisher: Terra Nova Books (September 1, 2016)
ISBN-10: 1938288785
ISBN-13: 978-1938288784

My Name is Wonder is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and IndieBound.




About the Author:


Ronald Chapman is owner of an international speaking and consulting company, Magnetic North LLC. In addition to international accreditation as a speaker and national awards for radio commentary, he is the author of two novels, My Name is Wonder (Terra Nova Publishing, 2016) and A Killer's Grace (Terra Nova Publishing, 2016 and 2012), two works of non-fiction, Seeing True: Ninety Contemplations in Ninety Days (Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2008) and What a Wonderful World: Seeing Through New Eyes (Page Free Publishing, 2004) and the producer of three audio sets, Seeing True: The Way of Spirit (Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2016, 2005), Breathing, Releasing and Breaking Through: Practices for Seeing True (Ozark Mountain Publishing, 2015), and Seeing True – The Way of Success in Leadership (Magnetic North Audio, 2005). Ron provides a wide array of social media content at www.SeeingTrue.com, content for people in substance abuse recovery at www.ProgressiveRecovery.org, and other content from his master site, www.RonaldChapman.com. He holds a Masters in Social Welfare from The University at Albany (New York.) Prior to his relocation to Atlanta, Georgia in 2008, he was a long-time resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Ronald can also be found online at:

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1338592.Ronald_Chapman

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/seeingtrue/



----------Blog Tour Dates

Thursday, October 6th @ Renee’s Pages with Tange Dudt
Tange Dudt reviews My Name is Wonder by Ronald Chapman; find out what she had to say after reading this insightful and moving novel.
http://reneespages.blogspot.com/

Friday, October 7th @ Monika Josan
Ronald Chapman's My Name is Wonder will be featured on Monika Josan | a life path today and readers can hear Monika's thoughts as she reviews this delightful novel.
http://monikajosan.com/

Monday, October 10th @ Bring on Lemons with Alison Taylor
Educator and mom of four Alison Taylor reviews My Name is Wonder by Ronald Chapman. Alison offers her ideas and insight about this enlightening and beautifully written novel.
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/

Tuesday, October 11th @ Bring on Lemons with Penny Harrison
Wisconsin business woman and mompreneur Penny Harrison shares her thoughts and feelings after reading My Name is Wonder by Ronald Chapman - don't miss this insightful blog stop.
http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com

Get Involved! If you have a website or blog and would like to host one of our touring authors or schedule a tour of your own, please email us at blogtour@wow-womenonwriting.com.


About today's reviewer: Crystal is a church musician, babywearing mama (aka crunchy mama), business owner, active journaler, writer and blogger, Blog Tour Manager with WOW! Women on Writing, Publicist with Dream of Things Publishing, as well as a dairy farmer. She lives in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin with her husband, four young children (Carmen 9, Andre 8, Breccan 2, and Delphine 1), two dogs, two rabbits, four little piggies, a handful of cats and kittens, and over 230 Holsteins.

You can find Crystal riding unicorns, taking the ordinary and giving it a little extra (making it extraordinary), blogging and reviewing books, baby carriers, cloth diapers, and all sorts of other stuff at:http://bringonlemons.blogspot.com/ and http://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com/

1 comment:

  1. Good morning, Crystal! What a pleasure to see you switch your perspective from the dark path I portrayed in A Killer's Grace, to the light-filled journey of Wonder. And I am delighted it awoke your inner child with all its wondering. 8-) Thank you once again for such a thoughtful and detailed review. I'm not sure how you manage to do that with all the other things on your daily palette, but I do want you to know how much I appreciate your efforts! Nothing but the best! Ron Chapman

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