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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a story about broken girls and a broken boy; it's a story about girls with angry sharp smiles; it's a story about healing and the way it's never quite done. It's a story about survival and carving out spaces to thrive. It hurt a little to read but it also made my heart sing. Alternately told in first person singular and first person plural this is a gorgeous narrative and one I won't soon forget.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Violence
Minor: Death
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
Check out this review and others on my blog!
The story follows Paheli, an Indian character who was sold by her mother in exchange for a favor. After she ran away, broken and hurt, she bumped into Taraana, who tossed her a box of magic stars before vanishing. Paheli then gathered girls like her who were betrayed and abused, and together with the magic stars they help others who have lost hope and save them from misery.
Azad painted this story in a rich, whimsical writing style that left me starry-eyed (haha pun haha). The writing made up a huge part of the story, with it’s lilting style showcasing how much each Wild One went through before Paheli found them. The writing fills the plot with emotions, which made me sniffle and smile.
The plot was pretty slow for the first 20-25% of the book which had me a little irritated. After that it picked up pace though, and things were quite exciting after that! The scenes were action-packed and thrilling, but sadly the magic descriptions weren’t up to par. We just get told that the Wild Ones’ screams destroy the middle-worlders but the those scenes were limply described and I feel they could have been better done.
The world building seems quite complex but also kind of vague at first, with the Between getting most of the attention. However, it all unfurls nicely and we get to know even small things about it’s working.
However, the most important aspect of this book is the story itself. It tells us that no one is bound to the fate that the world asks them. It tells us that your suffering does not define you and you always have it in you to rise above the pain.
The Wild Ones look out for each other always and have a very close bond!! They are everything you would ask from the found family trope: banter, teasing and fierce protectiveness of each other!!
And not to forget, they love food. A lot. Everywhere they go, no matter how important the task at hand is, they always eat first and Paheli is the true leader in this matter. If I had to use one word to describe Paheli, it’d be MANGO
We have the temerity to be not just women, but women of color. Women with melanin in our skins and voices in our throats. Voices that will not be vanquished. Not now, not ever. We will not be silenced.
The story follows Paheli, an Indian character who was sold by her mother in exchange for a favor. After she ran away, broken and hurt, she bumped into Taraana, who tossed her a box of magic stars before vanishing. Paheli then gathered girls like her who were betrayed and abused, and together with the magic stars they help others who have lost hope and save them from misery.
Azad painted this story in a rich, whimsical writing style that left me starry-eyed (haha pun haha). The writing made up a huge part of the story, with it’s lilting style showcasing how much each Wild One went through before Paheli found them. The writing fills the plot with emotions, which made me sniffle and smile.
The plot was pretty slow for the first 20-25% of the book which had me a little irritated. After that it picked up pace though, and things were quite exciting after that! The scenes were action-packed and thrilling, but sadly the magic descriptions weren’t up to par. We just get told that the Wild Ones’ screams destroy the middle-worlders but the those scenes were limply described and I feel they could have been better done.
The world building seems quite complex but also kind of vague at first, with the Between getting most of the attention. However, it all unfurls nicely and we get to know even small things about it’s working.
However, the most important aspect of this book is the story itself. It tells us that no one is bound to the fate that the world asks them. It tells us that your suffering does not define you and you always have it in you to rise above the pain.
The Wild Ones look out for each other always and have a very close bond!! They are everything you would ask from the found family trope: banter, teasing and fierce protectiveness of each other!!
And not to forget, they love food. A lot. Everywhere they go, no matter how important the task at hand is, they always eat first and Paheli is the true leader in this matter. If I had to use one word to describe Paheli, it’d be MANGO
I love the idea of this story, and I adore these characters & their intricacies. The backstories are real & heavy, but there’s an overall mood of hope & magic throughout the story. I feel as though the cover represents the overall feeling of this story perfectly :) Overall, I thought some of the action was a little repetitive and got a bit boring as the story went on, and there were some romantic choices made that I found unnecessary. Overall though, I really enjoyed this & would recommend it!
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Hands down the best part about this book was the style of writing. I admit that I'm a sucker for writing that sounds maybe a bit overly eloquent (but not really), and that seems to actively try to expand my vocabulary, so this was right up my alley. I understand that this might not be everyone's cup of tea - I can imagine it could sound snobbish to someone - but if you're the type of person who'se into that style of writing I highly recoomend this book for that reason alone. Honestly, it was a pleasure reading this book for its words alone.
Also I really enjoyed the magic system and the creativity with wich so many different cultures were weaved together. I could include how much I enjoyed the food-references here as well, however, usually food references inspire me to cook different food that this time I only got hungry for mangoes and nothing else so I can't honestly say it this time (the book wasn't very vegan-friendly, which is obviously not a fault of the book). By this I just want to say that if you happen to be into eating loads of cheese and meat, you'll probably need some snacks while reading.
I even thought the main romance was halfway decent. Ultimately, I wasn't quite on board but that's okay. I was on board enough to feel neutral about the romance-elements overall. I don't think there's much to say about the secondary romance plot, therefore it doesn't change my feelings about romance in this book.
What I didn't like was the ending? Without spoiling anything: I though it made use of a very hypocritical line of thought and justification. I have been rooting for these people the entire novel and really thought they would manage to pull something extraordinary off at the end to impose some actual justice instead of, you know, what actually happened. I understand if other people think differently about this (well, frankly, I don't really but I can accept that) but to me this is really where the book let me down most.
Still, overall I enjoyed the experience and I'll check out the next Nafiza Azad book for sure.
Also I really enjoyed the magic system and the creativity with wich so many different cultures were weaved together. I could include how much I enjoyed the food-references here as well, however, usually food references inspire me to cook different food that this time I only got hungry for mangoes and nothing else so I can't honestly say it this time (the book wasn't very vegan-friendly, which is obviously not a fault of the book). By this I just want to say that if you happen to be into eating loads of cheese and meat, you'll probably need some snacks while reading.
I even thought the main romance was halfway decent. Ultimately, I wasn't quite on board but that's okay. I was on board enough to feel neutral about the romance-elements overall. I don't think there's much to say about the secondary romance plot, therefore it doesn't change my feelings about romance in this book.
What I didn't like was the ending? Without spoiling anything: I though it made use of a very hypocritical line of thought and justification. I have been rooting for these people the entire novel and really thought they would manage to pull something extraordinary off at the end to impose some actual justice instead of, you know, what actually happened. I understand if other people think differently about this (well, frankly, I don't really but I can accept that) but to me this is really where the book let me down most.
Still, overall I enjoyed the experience and I'll check out the next Nafiza Azad book for sure.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is immense.
I know a lot of people don't like the style but I found it lent to the atmosphere, the chaotic, exuberant, wildness of how the girls want to be/see themselves.
There is so much sadness and pain here, but the Wild Ones absolutely seek out the wonder and make a point of finding the magic in every place they visit.
I have to say one of my favourite things was all the food. I MUST go to all these places and eat all this food - oh it spoke to my heart.
As many have said, there are multiple trigger warnings, and while nothing is shied away from, it's also not thrown in your face. It feels gentle but firm.
I love all these characters fiercely, and I can say without a doubt that snuck up on me. I wasn't ecpecting to love this as much as I did (mostly because of the content warnings).
I know a lot of people don't like the style but I found it lent to the atmosphere, the chaotic, exuberant, wildness of how the girls want to be/see themselves.
There is so much sadness and pain here, but the Wild Ones absolutely seek out the wonder and make a point of finding the magic in every place they visit.
I have to say one of my favourite things was all the food. I MUST go to all these places and eat all this food - oh it spoke to my heart.
As many have said, there are multiple trigger warnings, and while nothing is shied away from, it's also not thrown in your face. It feels gentle but firm.
I love all these characters fiercely, and I can say without a doubt that snuck up on me. I wasn't ecpecting to love this as much as I did (mostly because of the content warnings).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Abandonment
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Don't have enough patience for all the characters, POV switching, and over-explaining. Wasn't a fan of the writing style either. Peeked at some other reviews to see if there's a reason I should push on, but I don't think there is for me. Shame because it's such an interesting premise.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
So I definitely struggled in this book. I was going between 3.5-4 stars because the book started off really strong. I liked the premise of the story, these women who have gone thru trauma and found their community within each other to lean on. And then the second portion of the book with the Keeper guy. The magic system was really interesting and unique and kept me going. The themes of the book were very strong and thought provoking!!
My issues with the book though and why I toggled was ummm the filler parts. I felt like we got a lot of fluff with food and bouncing around through the doors. And I thought we would get more relationship between the girls and the love interest. But the love interest came and we were just in love. And we saw how she struggled with those feelings, considering her past but I wish we got more. And then we got to the climax and it was ok. But the ending thoughts were what did it for me! I loved the last few reflective nuggets the author incorporated and the last little nugget of hope and how this is not your last chapter in this life!
My issues with the book though and why I toggled was ummm the filler parts. I felt like we got a lot of fluff with food and bouncing around through the doors. And I thought we would get more relationship between the girls and the love interest. But the love interest came and we were just in love. And we saw how she struggled with those feelings, considering her past but I wish we got more. And then we got to the climax and it was ok. But the ending thoughts were what did it for me! I loved the last few reflective nuggets the author incorporated and the last little nugget of hope and how this is not your last chapter in this life!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence