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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I received this arc in a giveaway and this review is entirely my opinion.
3.5 - 4 stars
This is the first book I've read by Nafiza Azad (she's written two books I believe), so I don't have any previous work to compare this book to. I thought this was really well written. The magical system was so creative and I really loved all of the wild ones; they each had great personalities. A few other reviews have said that they think things were described too much but I thought the details were perfect. they told me everything I needed to know about the atmosphere and environment of each scene. I loved how descriptively Nafiza writes.
I think the one thing I had a slight issue with was the magical system. Although I really loved it and how everything worked, it felt like things were constantly being repeated about how the Between worked and things like that. It almost seemed like it was being written as more complicated than it is and it got a bit boring reading over again about how the Wild Ones traveled and what the Between was.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapter titles I thought those were so cute. I got one of those pits that I get in my stomach when I finish a book that I really love with characters I'm going to miss intensely. I'm definitely going to be reading from Nafiza again.
3.5 - 4 stars
This is the first book I've read by Nafiza Azad (she's written two books I believe), so I don't have any previous work to compare this book to. I thought this was really well written. The magical system was so creative and I really loved all of the wild ones; they each had great personalities. A few other reviews have said that they think things were described too much but I thought the details were perfect. they told me everything I needed to know about the atmosphere and environment of each scene. I loved how descriptively Nafiza writes.
I think the one thing I had a slight issue with was the magical system. Although I really loved it and how everything worked, it felt like things were constantly being repeated about how the Between worked and things like that. It almost seemed like it was being written as more complicated than it is and it got a bit boring reading over again about how the Wild Ones traveled and what the Between was.
Other than that, I really enjoyed this book, especially the chapter titles I thought those were so cute. I got one of those pits that I get in my stomach when I finish a book that I really love with characters I'm going to miss intensely. I'm definitely going to be reading from Nafiza again.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
4.5/5 stars
I picked up this book having never heard of it and quite honestly I didn’t read the synopsis, I saw the cover filled with colors and diversity and I knew I had to read it.
What I liked about this book was the authors ability to tell a story that was both balanced between fantasy and real life events.
Although the cover is beautiful and the book is no doubt fantasy, what I took away from it is that this book was written as away to highlight how girls of color have been silenced and mistreated by others for years. While this book is full of trauma and potentially triggering content, I thought the author did a great job balancing this trauma with joy, and happiness. In the end the book highlighted how strong, amazing, and beautiful women are.
I would like to note that it doesn’t appear that the traumas were placed in this book to dump on the readers or to pull on heartstrings. It felt as though it was meticulously placed as way to echo much of reality in an authentic way. I sometimes struggle with trauma being placed in stories as a thrill factor, twists, or to elicit favorable emotional reactions and this book did not do that.
There were a few things that I didn’t particularly like about the story. The first half of the book was slow and felt like an information dump at times. I had a hard time keeping up. On top of that, there is about 10-11 different characters. This is something that I struggle with that in books as I can’t keep up with what information I need to remember. However in this story, it was largely done because the “wild ones” are meant to be one entity, which I liked. It give me freshwater/bunny vibes.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but it’s definitely going to require a reread. I think if I had time to really flesh out and process some of the details I might be able to rate a little higher.
CW/TW: misogyny, sexual violence, kidnapping, sexual assault, rape, suicide, trafficking, death of parent
I picked up this book having never heard of it and quite honestly I didn’t read the synopsis, I saw the cover filled with colors and diversity and I knew I had to read it.
What I liked about this book was the authors ability to tell a story that was both balanced between fantasy and real life events.
Although the cover is beautiful and the book is no doubt fantasy, what I took away from it is that this book was written as away to highlight how girls of color have been silenced and mistreated by others for years. While this book is full of trauma and potentially triggering content, I thought the author did a great job balancing this trauma with joy, and happiness. In the end the book highlighted how strong, amazing, and beautiful women are.
I would like to note that it doesn’t appear that the traumas were placed in this book to dump on the readers or to pull on heartstrings. It felt as though it was meticulously placed as way to echo much of reality in an authentic way. I sometimes struggle with trauma being placed in stories as a thrill factor, twists, or to elicit favorable emotional reactions and this book did not do that.
There were a few things that I didn’t particularly like about the story. The first half of the book was slow and felt like an information dump at times. I had a hard time keeping up. On top of that, there is about 10-11 different characters. This is something that I struggle with that in books as I can’t keep up with what information I need to remember. However in this story, it was largely done because the “wild ones” are meant to be one entity, which I liked. It give me freshwater/bunny vibes.
Overall I enjoyed this book, but it’s definitely going to require a reread. I think if I had time to really flesh out and process some of the details I might be able to rate a little higher.
CW/TW: misogyny, sexual violence, kidnapping, sexual assault, rape, suicide, trafficking, death of parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence
Moderate: Suicide, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent
SLOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW BURRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. 11 points of views. QUEER. Found Family. Feminist. What else do I need to say?!
If you love the found family troupe with a fantasy novel with each chapter being a different point of view this is the novel to read. The cover is stunning, the plot is fantastic, and I can't say much without spoiling the entire thing. just go read this book. NOW NOW NOW!!! 5 stars. 5 stars. and 5 stars.
If you love the found family troupe with a fantasy novel with each chapter being a different point of view this is the novel to read. The cover is stunning, the plot is fantastic, and I can't say much without spoiling the entire thing. just go read this book. NOW NOW NOW!!! 5 stars. 5 stars. and 5 stars.
*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review*
The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad has a promising premise to it, I will admit that. And the cover is absolutely stunning. But my god, I was confused the entire time.
I gave myself some time to gather my thoughts on this book, so here we go.
The Wild Ones follows multiple women, and centres on their hard struggles in life, the strength they can gain from one another, and creating a family out of nothing to feel supported in.
Characters: there are so many god damn characters. It’s hard to keep track of all of them. There’s 11 Wild Ones, plus lots of side characters like Taarana. I don’t honestly remember any of the Wild Ones names except Paheli, because she is the one POV where it’s obvious that it’s her. I wish we could have get to know more of them.
Plot: this plot was so choppy, and I’m disappointed in it. It has such a cool premise but it fell so flat for me. On top of that, the story was told in alternating POVs. One pov would be Paheli, and one would be from a Wild One, but we wouldn’t know who it is. I already knew going in that those types of POVs I don’t like, but I had no clue it was going to be in here. It wasn’t done that well for me.
Worldbuilding: I felt like the world wasn’t flushed out enough. We didn’t get that many descriptions, only that the Wild Ones went to a place called “The Between”. Only Middle Worlders can go there, and the Wild Ones are able to become invisible in the real world. That’s really all I understood about the world in this book. I’m still confused about it.
Since I gave myself a few days to gather my thoughts, I found that I forget a lot of what happened. And that doesn’t happen often. When a book I read becomes one I don’t remember key details of, it shows me that the book wasn’t for me.
Even though this book was not for me, I think it will definitely be one that is beneficial to other people. I am a very white passing Métis man, this book was not written for me. I am reviewing it from my standpoint, not someone else’s. Please keep that in mind.
The Wild Ones by Nafiza Azad has a promising premise to it, I will admit that. And the cover is absolutely stunning. But my god, I was confused the entire time.
I gave myself some time to gather my thoughts on this book, so here we go.
The Wild Ones follows multiple women, and centres on their hard struggles in life, the strength they can gain from one another, and creating a family out of nothing to feel supported in.
Characters: there are so many god damn characters. It’s hard to keep track of all of them. There’s 11 Wild Ones, plus lots of side characters like Taarana. I don’t honestly remember any of the Wild Ones names except Paheli, because she is the one POV where it’s obvious that it’s her. I wish we could have get to know more of them.
Plot: this plot was so choppy, and I’m disappointed in it. It has such a cool premise but it fell so flat for me. On top of that, the story was told in alternating POVs. One pov would be Paheli, and one would be from a Wild One, but we wouldn’t know who it is. I already knew going in that those types of POVs I don’t like, but I had no clue it was going to be in here. It wasn’t done that well for me.
Worldbuilding: I felt like the world wasn’t flushed out enough. We didn’t get that many descriptions, only that the Wild Ones went to a place called “The Between”. Only Middle Worlders can go there, and the Wild Ones are able to become invisible in the real world. That’s really all I understood about the world in this book. I’m still confused about it.
Since I gave myself a few days to gather my thoughts, I found that I forget a lot of what happened. And that doesn’t happen often. When a book I read becomes one I don’t remember key details of, it shows me that the book wasn’t for me.
Even though this book was not for me, I think it will definitely be one that is beneficial to other people. I am a very white passing Métis man, this book was not written for me. I am reviewing it from my standpoint, not someone else’s. Please keep that in mind.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes