Little Wonder

By Sophie Chen Keller

Book Overview

A musical prodigy and his mother spend years searching for each other in this "tender, heartfelt novel about love, loss, and the enduring power of a mother's love" (Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Women).

A SWEEPING NOVEL FROM JENNA BUSH HAGER'S THOUSAND VOICES

"An immersive journey amid the sights and sounds of urban China as a migrant mother and son follow a seemingly impossible dream inspired by their love of music--and their devotion to each other . . . Keep something handy to dry your eyes."--Charmaine Wilkerson, New York Times bestselling author of Black Cake

Song is a nobody--just a food delivery worker from a village in Northeast China--but her son, River, is a little wonder.

At the age of four, he toddles to a piano and taps out his favorite song. At eight, he masters Liszt's three Liebestraume; at ten, he blazes through the complete set of Chopin's tudes. And at every step, through the valleys of loss, illness, and poverty, Song is there to light his way--until finally, at the age of eleven, River is invited to study with a preeminent teacher in Beijing.

But in the chaos of Beijing Railway Station on the busiest day of the year, Song faces every mother's nightmare: She loses her grip on River's little hand and is unable to find him after a desperate, harrowing search.

Over the next days, weeks, and eventually, years, Song and River fight to forge a path back to each other as they carve out new lives that carry them farther apart. An evocative exploration of a mother's love and a son's yearning, Little Wonder takes us on an extraordinary journey through a modern Beijing that pulses with the music of humanity and its impossible--and impossibly brave--hopes.

As every musician knows: You start in one key. You wander to other keys, strange and distant places. But in the end, you always come back home.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0G5X5Z5R9
• ISBN13: 9798217094608
• Release Date: June 2026
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.4" x 9.5"