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thereadingchallengechallenge's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a very unusual book. It's part small-town mystery and critique of misogyny and part survival adventure story where you don't know who to trust. The characters are dynamic and strange and it's hard to imagine them being real but also so easy to picture them in your mind given the skillful writing.
If you liked I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall or you're looking for a YA book unlike any other, Some Kind of Animal might be just what you're looking for.
If you liked I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall or you're looking for a YA book unlike any other, Some Kind of Animal might be just what you're looking for.
amandalop's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
The only reason I finished this book is because a student loaned it to me and I wanted to return it and not have to lie that I finished the book.
This book reads like a teenager wrote it. The concept of the plot itself is fine, actually, it's intriguing. However, everything else falls apart. The characters lack depth. The writing quality is bad. The use of profanity reads like a preteen who recently learned swear words and uses them for the hell of it. Reading the book, you'll encounter things and be like "oh, that absolutely is going to lead somewhere!" nope, never does. The book tries to deal with some heavy topics like mental illness (see: protagonist's mother) and does it in extremely harmful ways using extremely outdated language.
There's potential here, but I personally cannot wait to return this book to its owner.
This book reads like a teenager wrote it. The concept of the plot itself is fine, actually, it's intriguing. However, everything else falls apart. The characters lack depth. The writing quality is bad. The use of profanity reads like a preteen who recently learned swear words and uses them for the hell of it. Reading the book, you'll encounter things and be like "oh, that absolutely is going to lead somewhere!" nope, never does. The book tries to deal with some heavy topics like mental illness (see: protagonist's mother) and does it in extremely harmful ways using extremely outdated language.
There's potential here, but I personally cannot wait to return this book to its owner.
jamielibrary's review against another edition
2.0
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy of “Some Kind is Animal” by Maria Romasco Moore. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
15 year old Jo lives in a rural town where people descend further and further into generational poverty and drug abuse. All the teens long to be the ones who escape but few break the cycle.
Jo has a secret feral twin sister whom she meets at night to explore the forests and national parks surrounding the town. No one knows Jo has a twin until the twin attacks a boy and Jo’s secret life collides with the other self she portrays in society.
This book was bleak and I didn’t feel satisfied by the answers that were uncovered about the past. There was also a lot of woman hating from all of the characters. The ending was unrealistic that they could just ride off into the sunset and not have to face any repercussions for everything that happened. The book ended on a hopeful note which both didn’t make sense and didn’t seem to match the rest of the book at all.
There were also some problematic themes with Jo sort of having feelings for her best friend Savannah but treating her poorly, getting possessive and jealous, and slut shaming her constantly. And then dragging her along into danger she knew full well Savannah would struggle to handle.
While the book was a quick read and not difficult to understand it also didn’t feel like a worthwhile read to me. Maybe thrillers just aren’t my genre because the twists are always too easy for me to see coming.
2/5 stars
15 year old Jo lives in a rural town where people descend further and further into generational poverty and drug abuse. All the teens long to be the ones who escape but few break the cycle.
Jo has a secret feral twin sister whom she meets at night to explore the forests and national parks surrounding the town. No one knows Jo has a twin until the twin attacks a boy and Jo’s secret life collides with the other self she portrays in society.
This book was bleak and I didn’t feel satisfied by the answers that were uncovered about the past. There was also a lot of woman hating from all of the characters. The ending was unrealistic that they could just ride off into the sunset and not have to face any repercussions for everything that happened. The book ended on a hopeful note which both didn’t make sense and didn’t seem to match the rest of the book at all.
There were also some problematic themes with Jo sort of having feelings for her best friend Savannah but treating her poorly, getting possessive and jealous, and slut shaming her constantly. And then dragging her along into danger she knew full well Savannah would struggle to handle.
While the book was a quick read and not difficult to understand it also didn’t feel like a worthwhile read to me. Maybe thrillers just aren’t my genre because the twists are always too easy for me to see coming.
2/5 stars
backlistbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
3.0
nonbinaryreading's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kelly_cosgrove's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
theyalibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Typical coming-of-age novels include a protagonist who forced to confront their sexuality, question their faith or religion, testing boundaries and rebelling, a journey, etc. Well, this isn't your typical coming-of-age story! It is so much more. Jo's story is raw, bloody, dangerous, scary, even feral. Therefore, all those typical coming-of-age characteristics are explored so much more honestly! Side characters are mostly really odd, in such a strong way, that they really just become metaphors for the unstable and frightening process of losing childhood innocence. These characters are really more about the sometimes painful acceptance humans must realize as they confront the past and scenarios in which they are created and the threats of the uncertain future.
Each night Jo, an orphan raised by an aunt and "owned" by a grandmother, sneaks out to run the wild forest that lines her town. She goes to the woods to meet her "sister". The intriguing suspense of who or what Jo's sister is exactly draws the character into the story fast. This review will not share any more than that, because the story is just too good and should not be ruined with spoilers.
This book should be purchased by libraries, teachers, and any reader. It would be an excellent choice for book clubs and will interesting to all genders.
I was given an early release copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Each night Jo, an orphan raised by an aunt and "owned" by a grandmother, sneaks out to run the wild forest that lines her town. She goes to the woods to meet her "sister". The intriguing suspense of who or what Jo's sister is exactly draws the character into the story fast. This review will not share any more than that, because the story is just too good and should not be ruined with spoilers.
This book should be purchased by libraries, teachers, and any reader. It would be an excellent choice for book clubs and will interesting to all genders.
I was given an early release copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
revenance_ink's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
leahbrarian's review against another edition
2.0
There are some books that are purposefully strange. Grasshopper Jungle, for example, is weird fiction: strange in its premise, strange in its execution. I don't think this is meant to be that type of book; I think the intent was to have a slightly strange and unbelievable foundation but make everything sort of make sense. However, every single plot development and character choice just made the book even stranger. It was like Jo's motto as a character was, "Well this might as well happen. My life is already so weird."
The characters were fairly clearly written but often didn't seem that deep or real and overall weren't particularly interesting. The small town Ohio setting seemed suitably grim, gray, and hopeless. The writing itself was pretty engaging, though it took a while for me to get into it and there were frequent points where the plot seemed to lag or go in circles for a while.
The strong wilderness element might appeal to readers of survival fiction, and it's certainly a different kind of read, but I'm not sure that makes it a worthwhile one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.
The characters were fairly clearly written but often didn't seem that deep or real and overall weren't particularly interesting. The small town Ohio setting seemed suitably grim, gray, and hopeless. The writing itself was pretty engaging, though it took a while for me to get into it and there were frequent points where the plot seemed to lag or go in circles for a while.
The strong wilderness element might appeal to readers of survival fiction, and it's certainly a different kind of read, but I'm not sure that makes it a worthwhile one.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC.