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novelvisits's review
4.0
{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
The Writing – I thoroughly enjoyed Abby Geni’s writing in The Wildlands. I found her descriptions lovely, illustrative, but not overly done. Her knowledge of the natural world and especially of animals truly shone.
“Slowly, cautiously I swung the glow of the flashlight scanning the ground until I located the rattlesnake. It was coiled beneath a bush, too far away to strike. I watched as the creature lifted its head, it’s tongue dancing, sniffing the air. Its eyes were as glassy and unblinking as buttons. The sinewy neck was tattooed with whirls, the flesh ripplin’ and swayin’ hypnotically. The knobs of its tail shimmered.”
Cora’s Narration – From some point more than 40 years after The Wildlands ends, Cora McCloud is telling the story of the things that happened to her family. She does so from both her own perspective and from the perspective of Darlene, her oldest sister. I really liked this because by doing so, Geni gave a balanced context to the family’s story. Cora at 9 had already lived a lifetime of tragedy. She lost her mother in childbirth and her father in a tornado that also took her home. Plus the older brother she adored had runaway amidst family conflicts shortly after the tornado struck. Cora loved her two sisters, but longed for more than just getting by from day to day. When Tucker resurfaced, he offered her more. He offered a plan.
Nine year old Cora wouldn’t have understood all Darlene had sacrificed and all she went through to keep her orphaned family intact. But, Cora all grown up and with the advantage of time, could empathize with her sister and so round out the entire McCloud family story.
Tucker’s Passion – Tucker McCloud had an almost single-minded passion for animals and animal rights. Geni did a fabulous job of weaving that into The Wildlands without offering judgment either way. From Tucker I was reminded of the abuses animals have long suffered for the benefit of people. I also learned about things I’d never heard of like zoochosis, where captive animals exhibit symptoms of neurological distress such as self mutilation, excessive grooming, along with anxious tics that we might see in distressed humans such as rocking or swaying, excessively pacing back and forth, random biting, and twisting or nodding of the neck and head. (Definition from One Green Planet.) I appreciated that Tucker made me more aware of both the animals and the dangers of extremism.
Narration – I loved Carol Monda’s reading of The Wildlands. She WAS Cora, but all grown up. The tone and gravel of her voice made Cora’s story real and measured, and her pace was perfect. Monda’s reading combined with Geni’s writing made for a winning combination.
What Didn’t
A Bit of a Stretch – The last quarter of the book had some parts that were a little out there in terms of believability. Yes, they made for some great drama, so I was willing to forgive them, but I can’t pretend I didn’t notice.
Jane – Middle sister Jane felt like a throw away character. The reader never really got to know her and she contributed almost nothing to the story. I think she either should have been left out or more fully developed.
Epilogue – As with most epilogues, it really wasn’t needed. Enough said!
{The Final Assessment}
Despite a couple minor flaws, I liked The Wildlands very much. It was a fascinating story of family and fanaticism, love and longing, compassion and crisis, animal instincts and the psychology of human behavior. Its audio form compelled this listener to keep going for “just one more chapter” over and over again. Grade: B+
Originally at: https://novelvisits.com/the-wildlands-by-abby-geni-audiobook-review/
What Worked For Me
The Writing – I thoroughly enjoyed Abby Geni’s writing in The Wildlands. I found her descriptions lovely, illustrative, but not overly done. Her knowledge of the natural world and especially of animals truly shone.
“Slowly, cautiously I swung the glow of the flashlight scanning the ground until I located the rattlesnake. It was coiled beneath a bush, too far away to strike. I watched as the creature lifted its head, it’s tongue dancing, sniffing the air. Its eyes were as glassy and unblinking as buttons. The sinewy neck was tattooed with whirls, the flesh ripplin’ and swayin’ hypnotically. The knobs of its tail shimmered.”
Cora’s Narration – From some point more than 40 years after The Wildlands ends, Cora McCloud is telling the story of the things that happened to her family. She does so from both her own perspective and from the perspective of Darlene, her oldest sister. I really liked this because by doing so, Geni gave a balanced context to the family’s story. Cora at 9 had already lived a lifetime of tragedy. She lost her mother in childbirth and her father in a tornado that also took her home. Plus the older brother she adored had runaway amidst family conflicts shortly after the tornado struck. Cora loved her two sisters, but longed for more than just getting by from day to day. When Tucker resurfaced, he offered her more. He offered a plan.
Nine year old Cora wouldn’t have understood all Darlene had sacrificed and all she went through to keep her orphaned family intact. But, Cora all grown up and with the advantage of time, could empathize with her sister and so round out the entire McCloud family story.
Tucker’s Passion – Tucker McCloud had an almost single-minded passion for animals and animal rights. Geni did a fabulous job of weaving that into The Wildlands without offering judgment either way. From Tucker I was reminded of the abuses animals have long suffered for the benefit of people. I also learned about things I’d never heard of like zoochosis, where captive animals exhibit symptoms of neurological distress such as self mutilation, excessive grooming, along with anxious tics that we might see in distressed humans such as rocking or swaying, excessively pacing back and forth, random biting, and twisting or nodding of the neck and head. (Definition from One Green Planet.) I appreciated that Tucker made me more aware of both the animals and the dangers of extremism.
Narration – I loved Carol Monda’s reading of The Wildlands. She WAS Cora, but all grown up. The tone and gravel of her voice made Cora’s story real and measured, and her pace was perfect. Monda’s reading combined with Geni’s writing made for a winning combination.
What Didn’t
A Bit of a Stretch – The last quarter of the book had some parts that were a little out there in terms of believability. Yes, they made for some great drama, so I was willing to forgive them, but I can’t pretend I didn’t notice.
Jane – Middle sister Jane felt like a throw away character. The reader never really got to know her and she contributed almost nothing to the story. I think she either should have been left out or more fully developed.
Epilogue – As with most epilogues, it really wasn’t needed. Enough said!
{The Final Assessment}
Despite a couple minor flaws, I liked The Wildlands very much. It was a fascinating story of family and fanaticism, love and longing, compassion and crisis, animal instincts and the psychology of human behavior. Its audio form compelled this listener to keep going for “just one more chapter” over and over again. Grade: B+
Originally at: https://novelvisits.com/the-wildlands-by-abby-geni-audiobook-review/
mjdudley7's review
adventurous
informative
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
amanda_y8s's review
5.0
This book grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go— a tornado, an upended family, the fight to survive. The narrative was full of beautiful turns of phrase, but the ending was especially gripping, with spectacularly rendered scenes of the power and grandeur of the natural world within the context of human civilization.
guarinous's review
3.0
Some of the situations I found to be implausible in their execution, but this is an interesting story of sibling love interwoven with ruminations on the difference between good and extreme animal activism.
_askthebookbug's review
5.0
The Wildlands. .
.
Thank you so much @counterpointpress for sending over this review copy! :) .
.
QOTD : If you could save Earth one step at a time, what would be your first step? .
.
When a tornado hits the tiny city of Mercy, Oklahoma, four siblings lose their father and home to it. Darlene, Tucker, Jane and Cora are orphaned instantly as their father never makes it to the safe bunker. When the entire responsibility of looking after the McClouds falls on a 19 year old Darlene, she reaches out to media for help. Posing in front of hundreds of cameras with her sisters by her side, she gives interviews in return of cash. She gives up her hopes of attending college and takes up a job in a grocery store. Tucker, a man with wild dreams shuns from interviews and runs away from home, from his sisters. .
.
Three years later, on the anniversary of the Tornado that destroyed the McClouds, an injured Tucker reappears mysteriously at the same time of the bombing Joy cosmetics. News are all over the State that lab testing animals were freed from the lab. He reaches out to his favourite sister Cora, who’s just 9 years old and they both vanish off the face of Mercy. .
.
Tucker is full of dreams, dreams of freeing animals from zoos and labs and save them rom suffering. He transforms young Cora into Corey by chopping off her hair and filling her mind with ideas of saving the planet. She becomes his accomplice as he continues with his spree of murdering people and setting animals free. When months go by, Cora starts missing her sisters and realises that Tucker has never been right. A misfortune strikes and Tucker finds himself in grave danger but many questions haunt you as you put the book down.
.
.
This book is so marvellously written that I almost pictured the visuals in front of me while reading. The protagonist is divided into two parts each being narrated by Cora and Darlene. The sisterly love, the naïveté of Cora and Tucker’s obsession with being the saviour is so well portrayed in this book that it blew my mind. The story flows freely with no glitches whatsoever and makes you understand everybody’s side of the story. .
.
I would rate this book 5/5.
.
Thank you so much @counterpointpress for sending over this review copy! :) .
.
QOTD : If you could save Earth one step at a time, what would be your first step? .
.
When a tornado hits the tiny city of Mercy, Oklahoma, four siblings lose their father and home to it. Darlene, Tucker, Jane and Cora are orphaned instantly as their father never makes it to the safe bunker. When the entire responsibility of looking after the McClouds falls on a 19 year old Darlene, she reaches out to media for help. Posing in front of hundreds of cameras with her sisters by her side, she gives interviews in return of cash. She gives up her hopes of attending college and takes up a job in a grocery store. Tucker, a man with wild dreams shuns from interviews and runs away from home, from his sisters. .
.
Three years later, on the anniversary of the Tornado that destroyed the McClouds, an injured Tucker reappears mysteriously at the same time of the bombing Joy cosmetics. News are all over the State that lab testing animals were freed from the lab. He reaches out to his favourite sister Cora, who’s just 9 years old and they both vanish off the face of Mercy. .
.
Tucker is full of dreams, dreams of freeing animals from zoos and labs and save them rom suffering. He transforms young Cora into Corey by chopping off her hair and filling her mind with ideas of saving the planet. She becomes his accomplice as he continues with his spree of murdering people and setting animals free. When months go by, Cora starts missing her sisters and realises that Tucker has never been right. A misfortune strikes and Tucker finds himself in grave danger but many questions haunt you as you put the book down.
.
.
This book is so marvellously written that I almost pictured the visuals in front of me while reading. The protagonist is divided into two parts each being narrated by Cora and Darlene. The sisterly love, the naïveté of Cora and Tucker’s obsession with being the saviour is so well portrayed in this book that it blew my mind. The story flows freely with no glitches whatsoever and makes you understand everybody’s side of the story. .
.
I would rate this book 5/5.
hmonkeyreads's review
3.0
I liked this but it feels like it took forever for me to finish it.
The strange adventures of a 9 year old girl, kidnapped (willingly) by her older brother who is an animal rights activist and their crime spree across America. Meanwhile her sister tries to locate them.
Reminded me a little of a book I read years ago where a chimp was raised as member of the family (We are All Completely Beside Ourselves) and also a little bit of Fierce Kingdom.
The strange adventures of a 9 year old girl, kidnapped (willingly) by her older brother who is an animal rights activist and their crime spree across America. Meanwhile her sister tries to locate them.
Reminded me a little of a book I read years ago where a chimp was raised as member of the family (We are All Completely Beside Ourselves) and also a little bit of Fierce Kingdom.
april_golden's review
3.0
There were parts of this I really enjoyed, and then there were parts of this that I really did not. The author writes beautifully, so it wasn’t that. Instead, it was more dislike of characters and feeling a bit lost at times, like “where is this going?” Overall, interesting book and when my book club discussed it, there was A LOT of chatter, so I think it lends itself to group discussions.
mschwartz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
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
4.25
madtnation's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
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? No
4.0
betweenbookends's review
4.0
I’ve previously read and loved Abby Geni’s short story collection, The Last Animal and her debut novel, The Lightkeepers. So I was very excited to get to this and I’m glad to report that it was worth a read. The Wildlands, to me, felt like a slight deviant from her usual style. While the inherent theme of environment and relationship to the natural world remain the focus, her stories, usually more personal, literary and character driven, in this however, was much more plot focussed, in the style of a page turner, and more simply written. I’m not sure if that was a conscious choice by the author to better fit into the ‘thriller’ genre but to me, that was a slight let-down. In the Wildlands, she also dialled up the human impact to environment, presenting a social cause and making it personal.
~
The plotline follows the life of 4 siblings, orphaned after a category 5 tornado devastates and destroys their home, taking away the life of their father, having already lost their mother. Darlene the eldest, quickly rises to look after her younger siblings and foregoes her aspirations to attend University, instead taking a job and being the sole breadwinner of the family. A massive fight between the Tucker, the second eldest sibling and Darlene, spirals out of control and Tucker leaves his sisters for good. Most of the story is narrated from the youngest, 9 year old Cora’s perspective. Cora has a very special bond with her brother, and his reappearance under unusual circumstances convinces Cora to tag along with Tucker on a mission that she doesn’t really understand. The consequence of Tucker’s actions, to which Cora becomes an unintentional accomplice, and Darlene’s efforts to retrace Cora’s whereabouts and rescue her, is the central crux of the story.
~
Geni shines in the description of the natural world and the plot was certainly engaging, but ultimately for me, it didn’t create the magic that The Lightkeepers did. Geni, in this explores the idea of how extreme faith in a cause, however noble, can tip over and become toxic, fanatic, with one losing one’s sense of reason. Tucker’s love for the animals, and the wild, and his hate for human race as the cause of that destruction becomes more and more radical as the novel progresses. The unnatural hold he has over Cora, her thoughts and interpretations was uncomfortable to read. Certain plot points seemed unrealistic to me, and Tucker’s cynical voice at times was a little too heavy-handed bordering on being ‘preachy’ than engaging. The final ‘event’ that Tucker is involved in seemed too far-fetched and reasoning for it didn’t entirely make sense. Another minor qualm was that, Jane, the third sibling could have been removed from the book to no consequence.
~
The Wildlands is an interesting, ecological thriller that is worth a read. However, if you’ve never tried Abby Geni, I’d certainly recommend The Lightkeepers over this one.
~
3.5/5
~
The plotline follows the life of 4 siblings, orphaned after a category 5 tornado devastates and destroys their home, taking away the life of their father, having already lost their mother. Darlene the eldest, quickly rises to look after her younger siblings and foregoes her aspirations to attend University, instead taking a job and being the sole breadwinner of the family. A massive fight between the Tucker, the second eldest sibling and Darlene, spirals out of control and Tucker leaves his sisters for good. Most of the story is narrated from the youngest, 9 year old Cora’s perspective. Cora has a very special bond with her brother, and his reappearance under unusual circumstances convinces Cora to tag along with Tucker on a mission that she doesn’t really understand. The consequence of Tucker’s actions, to which Cora becomes an unintentional accomplice, and Darlene’s efforts to retrace Cora’s whereabouts and rescue her, is the central crux of the story.
~
Geni shines in the description of the natural world and the plot was certainly engaging, but ultimately for me, it didn’t create the magic that The Lightkeepers did. Geni, in this explores the idea of how extreme faith in a cause, however noble, can tip over and become toxic, fanatic, with one losing one’s sense of reason. Tucker’s love for the animals, and the wild, and his hate for human race as the cause of that destruction becomes more and more radical as the novel progresses. The unnatural hold he has over Cora, her thoughts and interpretations was uncomfortable to read. Certain plot points seemed unrealistic to me, and Tucker’s cynical voice at times was a little too heavy-handed bordering on being ‘preachy’ than engaging. The final ‘event’ that Tucker is involved in seemed too far-fetched and reasoning for it didn’t entirely make sense. Another minor qualm was that, Jane, the third sibling could have been removed from the book to no consequence.
~
The Wildlands is an interesting, ecological thriller that is worth a read. However, if you’ve never tried Abby Geni, I’d certainly recommend The Lightkeepers over this one.
~
3.5/5