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Poignant and Sarcastic: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

contemporary Saturday, September 07, 2013

The Probability of Miracles
by Wendy Wunder
Genre: Young Adult - Contemporary
Publisher: Razorbill
Publication date: December 8, 2011
Source: Bought/Own copy
Author's website | GoodReads

A dying teen learns to live in this heart-wrenching debut, perfect for fans of If I Stay

Campbell Cooper has never been in love. And if the doctors are right, she'll never have the chance. So when she's told she needs a miracle, her family moves 1,500 miles north to Promise, Maine--a place where amazing, unexplainable events are said to occur--like it or not. And when a mysterious envelope arrives, containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies, she finally learns to believe--in love, in herself, and maybe even in miracles, as improbable as they may seem.

I’m such a sucker for tear-jerkers and protagonist-with-cancer--themed YA novels. That’s why I decided to grab The Probability of Miracles off its shelf out of impulse. Just as I was reading its synopsis, I already felt something “heavy” in between the pages of this book, dawning on me. And it was worth it. TPOM was a hilarious, fun, and light-hearted profound read—if that makes any sense.

Sometimes all we need is a good cry, and TPOM gave just that—a good, deserving cry. I learned so many things about living from it. Now, don’t think that this book would leave you bawling your eyes out and drowning in your own tears (or maybe it would?). It was a flawless fusion of good humour and thought-provoking themes.

“The present moment can be chopped into infinitely smaller present moments. This moment is forever. And it is all that matters.”

Cam was a weird and amusing character. Her definition of fun (and life) was crazy, and she’s very adventurous. She’s such an active character, always coming up with the most bizarre antics. Cam’s mind was full of peculiar thoughts that were witty and hilarious. Also, I loved her jesting by deadpanning. No book has ever made me laugh out literally loud this many times!

Cam’s growth throughout the novel was truly amazing. However, despite all those, I found her a little bit insubstantial. I’ll be honest; she isn’t that remarkable for me. I love her character, but I wanted to see a little more struggle from her in the predicaments she was going through. Aside from that, she’s definitely amazing.

Asher was sort-of like a mysterious entity in the book. He seemed to be there but not at the same time. It was weird for him to be in there. I mean, the book could have been as good (if not better) even if he wasn’t included at all. He lacked exposure and backstory, but exposure mostly. Good side: the romance didn’t become the focus of TPOM. Well, if the author was actually trying to do just that (not putting the spotlight on the love story), it wasn’t so successful.

“If you believed that thoughts were energy and energy is matter (∑=mc²) and matter never disappears, then a person can never truly leave you unless you stop thinking about them. Everything you shared with a person is still there swirling around in the universe. Love, Cam had to admit, might be real. And love endures. Relationships endure. Because thoughts are energy, energy is matter, and matter never disappears.”

The plot was simple, yet various scenes were quite (or maybe very) absurd. But the hilarity of them was extreme that it made me just accept and believe that those kinds of things could really happen to people in real life. The pacing didn’t engage me so much, but it had some few bits here and there that kept me reading.

To sum up, this book really has something to offer. Its complexity wasn’t too deep, but rather a very humorous and witty read. However, despite all the sarcasm and deadpan jokes, it would make you ponder and think of how you’re living your life now, and how you’re going to live it tomorrow.

“People keep talking about this unfolding. I can't trust the unfolding, okay? If there is some higher power making origami out of the universe, it hates my guts. I was a fat kid whose parents got divorced, whose father died, and then who got cancer herself. So no. I don't trust how things are going to unfold.”