Days of Wonder: A Novel

New York Times bestselling author Caroline Leavitt returns with a tantalizing, courageous story about mothers and daughters, guilt and innocence, and the lengths we go for love.

As a teenager, for a moment, Ella Fitchburg found love--yearning, breathless love--that consumed both her and her boyfriend, Jude, as they wandered the streets of New York City together. But her glorious life was pulled out from beneath her after she was accused of trying to murder Jude's father, an imperious superior court judge. When she learns she's pregnant shortly after receiving a long prison sentence, she reluctantly decides to give up the child.

Ella is released from prison after serving only six years and is desperate to turn the page on a new life, but she can't seem to let go of her past. With only an address as a possible lead, she moves to Ann Arbor, Michigan, determined to get her daughter back. Hiding her identity and living in a constant state of deception, she finds that what she's been searching for all along is a way to uncover--and live with--the truth. Yet a central mystery endures: neither Jude nor Ella can remember the events leading up to the attempted murder--that fateful night which led to Ella's conviction.

For fans of Miranda Cowley Heller's The Paper Palace and Allegra Goodman's Sam, Caroline Leavitt's Days of Wonder is a gripping high-drama page-turner about the elusive nature of redemption and the profound reach of love.

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Published Apr 23, 2024

320 pages

Average rating: 6.29

7 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Margie Pettersen
Oct 27, 2025
6/10 stars
Ella was a young teen in love with her boyfriend, Jude. Her mother is supportive of her relationship, but Luke's father is not and tries to drive them apart. Ella and Jude talk about killing his father, who is abusing him, but take no action, until one night. Both teens are sleep-deprived and upset. The next thing she knows, Ella is being arrested for the attempted murder of Jude's father, a prominent judge. She is railroaded into making a confession even though she honestly cannot remember giving the judge the tea that used to poison him. Then she is sentenced to 25 years in prison and realizes she is pregnant. She has been cut off from any contact with Jude. She is convinced that the best thing to do is to give up her baby for adoption. However, due to errors found in the trial proceedings, she is released early and now wants to find her daughter. The rest of the book is a gut-wretching journey in search of her daughter. This part made me a bit uneasy.

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