Reviews with content warning for Suicide - A History of Wild Places

Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw

49 reviews

adamsbookshelf's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I am very conflicted on how to rate this book. I enjoyed the overall plot and the ending was so strong. My biggest problem was the middle of the book (Parts 2&3). They felt so stagnant and nothing interesting was really happening. I found myself zoning out quite a bit.

However I did enjoy the story. I thought the Pastoral plot point was a cool concept, I just was so intrigued by the first part that I was waiting for the stories to connect so we could get back on track. it truly did feel like two separate stories that were pushed together.

I am aware now that we follow Maggie and Travis as they are brainwashed into becoming Cala and Theo. I am rating this novel based on notes I took while reading. Even though I enjoyed how the two stories came together I still spent over half the novel confused on what's happening.

Overall maybe I'm too harsh on this book, but I have been on the waitlist since June 2022 at the library. I feel like the hype around this book lead to me being slightly disappointed.

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caseyrich's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Great premise and interesting buildup but predictable plot twists and a lackluster ending.

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miak2's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Perhaps just like Eloise and the Fox, we have feared the wrong thing, when we should have feared what's right here within our own borders. Within our own walls. The beast is already inside the castle, tearing people apart, yet we stare into the woods waiting for it to appear.

3.5 stars

I liked the premise of this a lot but thought the execution of it was just okay. The book hinged on a few twist reveals which, largely, I saw coming. But I still enjoyed getting the full picture uncovered - all the motives and the explanations. I especially appreciated the multiple narrators for the audiobook, it made listening such an immersive experience, and all the narrators did a great job.

I want to praise Ernshaw for really creating the perfect, mysterious vibe for Pastoral. I could really picture their community and the spaces they occupied. The narrators all had strong voices that conveyed their speculations and emotions well. I also liked how the book wrapped up. The big reveals, while not surprising, all did make sense with the story and were pretty interesting.

You know the 'big book small book' meme? Throughout reading, though, I kept thinking about how many things could have been solved if straight people could just communicate. Theo and Calla. Bee and Levi. Just...talk to each other. Work together! Express your emotions!

Some other things I didn't like. The use of blindness as a plot point. I won't say much more, as I don't want to spoil anything, but what I thought was great disability rep ended up being...not quite that. Travis is shown to have a neat almost supernatural power that doesn't really come into play much at all. And there's some late-book reveals, past the climax of the plot, that seemed both super relevant but also very much an afterthought.

Very excited that I read this for my book club, though, as I think there'll be a lot to dissect!

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marpaige's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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toriwatson's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The premise of the book was interesting, I really liked the beginning. It kind of felt anticlimactic/like it didn’t deliver though? Like the answers were given but not in a satisfying way… The switch in narration sort of gave away one of the reveals (not all of it, but if you were paying attention it was fairly easy to spot). Also I wish Bee & Travis' abilities were more explored! It was a quick read though and nice to read on this rainy day!

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erinmjustice's review

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kylieqrada's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The mood lately is weird shit and I am livingggggg.

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bookwhisperer's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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feynmaniac1729's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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shantastic_reads's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

Well constructed beautifully eerie atmosphere - I could clearly visualize Pastoral in all its lush greenery and creepy stillness. The multiple POVs were effective in building tension, revealing different pieces of information and letting the reader put it together, bit by bit. The plot takes some predictable and unrealistic turns, and I think Travis' special ability described at the outset of the book is an unnecessary trope that doesn't ultimately add much. That said, I enjoyed this story and had a hard time putting it down.

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