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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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:
No
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Maybe the best book I've read in 2021.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"We, however, don't cry. We're too angry to."
The Wild Ones foi uma experiência complicada. Eu li os textos da autora sobre esse livro e tenho imenso respeito e gratidão por ela ter escrito e ter colocado suas dores aqui.
Eu me conectei com o livro, não acho que não tenha como não. Eu adorei a escrita e a forma como ela escolheu contar a história das meninas. Eu adorei os capítulos onde a gente não tem como saber quem é que está narrando e achei ótimo o uso do "nós".
Enquanto o romance na maior parte do tempo não me incomodou como normalmente faz, acho que porque o processo de atração em si não aconteceu/não foi muito explícito, ele tomou uma parte muito maior do livro do que esperava e de certa forma foi muito imaturo pra mim. Eu não estou falando sobre trauma mas sobre a quantidade de tempo de vida dessas pessoas. Paheli leva todo o foco do livro e sendo a primeira ela é extremamente adolescente ainda, no começo foi interessante ver uma "líder" de forma diferente mas quando o romance toma conta da equação ficou maçante.
Eu entendi a denúncia que a autora fez e de forma nenhuma quero ditar sobre perdão ou pespectivas, nada assim, mas me incomodou o fato de que apenas "garotas" são pensadas sobre no livro. Não houve uma vilanização de mães exatamente, porque eu senti o que autora trouxe mas eu acho que teria sido uma boa opção ter expandido essa questão. Não é só garotas adolescentes que sofrem, e claro que entendo o público alvo também mas eu acho tão importante o momento que a gente ganha maturidade e consegue olhar pra nossa figura materna e entender ela como mulher que sofre as mesmas opressões que a gente e acho que isso faltou demais aqui.
O começo do livro foi maravilhoso pra mim, o audiobook (que corri atrás desesperadamente assim que comecei o livro correspondeu minhas expectativas) é ótimo, mas as últimas 100/150 páginas eu me vi ao ponto de desistir. Puxou tanto pro final as coisas que virou uma bagunça e tudo perdeu um pouco do sentido pra mim, nesses últimos momentos eu nem sequer me lembrava sobre o que grupo era e o que ele significava sabe. Com o passar do tempo fica complicado gostar do livro quando elas passaram horas andando e comendo e não exatamente resolvendo as coisas e acaba que algumas coisas ficam muito convenientes. Nem quer o livro de memorias foi bem explorado como estava sendo no início. O começo pode ficar complicado, tem várias info dumps pra explicar o universo e fica muito evidente porque as narradores conversam diretamente com você. O furo sobre magia me incomodou demais, é dito e mostrado todo tempo como mágica não funciona nelas então como o feitiço para localizar possíveis Wilds pôde ser colocado? Não fez sentido.
A autora trouxe diferentes experiências, amostras do que o grupo faz, a gente tem um pouco de como elas ajudam mulheres ao longo do tempo. As vezes por acaso, de caso pensado e com uma rede de apoio mesmo e quando essa ajuda falha mas pra mim ficou raso. Como eu disse eu gostei dos capítulos narrados em conjunto mas sendo eles e os de Pahali, que fui perdendo a vontade de ler com o tempo, acaba que fica esse vazio sobre o que elas realmente fazem durantes esses séculos. Também pensei que raça ia ser pelo menos um pouco abordado e não foi como eu esperei.
Eu não falei sobre Taraana mas ele faz parte da maioria do livro e eu não desgostei dele mas o plot dele não funciona pra mim, ainda mais quando um dos pontos que estavam funcionando, que era a vulnerabilidade dele, o fato de ele ter medo e de assumir seus traumas terem sidos meio apagados na transformação.
Estava sendo um sólido 4 estrelas mas não sei se foi meu interesse, a falta dele, ou a autora foi se perdendo e acabou que não funcionou pra mim do meio pro final.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was incredible.
Rep: Indian female MC (aro-spec coded), French BIPOC trans female sapphic side character, Korean female side character, Indonesian female side character, Filipina female side character, West African female side character (wears a head scarf), Pakistani female side character, Fijian female side character, Turkish female side character, Muslim Iraqi female side character, Japanese female side character. Unsure who is queer but at least half are not attracted to men.
CWs: Abandonment, blood, confinement, death, emotional abuse, grief, homophobia, injury/injury detail, infidelity, kidnapping, lesbophobia, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, sexism, torture, trafficking, prostitution, violence. Moderate: child abuse, child death, pregnancy, mention of attempted abortion, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, suicide by running into traffic, bullying.
Rep: Indian female MC (aro-spec coded), French BIPOC trans female sapphic side character, Korean female side character, Indonesian female side character, Filipina female side character, West African female side character (wears a head scarf), Pakistani female side character, Fijian female side character, Turkish female side character, Muslim Iraqi female side character, Japanese female side character. Unsure who is queer but at least half are not attracted to men.
CWs: Abandonment, blood, confinement, death, emotional abuse, grief, homophobia, injury/injury detail, infidelity, kidnapping, lesbophobia, misogyny, murder, physical abuse, sexism, torture, trafficking, prostitution, violence. Moderate: child abuse, child death, pregnancy, mention of attempted abortion, rape, sexual assault, sexual violence, suicide by running into traffic, bullying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Pregnancy
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh... mygosh.
I had been yearning to read this book since I first saw the cover and synopsis last year and boi did I drop everything to read it as soon as I got it.
We stan the queens. Paheli and Valentina own my heart. All the Wild Ones and Taraana and Lalie do too, but Paheli and Valentina could ask me to give up my favorite books and I would.
The. writing. is. so. beautiful. It's even more magical than the Between.
I wasn't 100% invested in the plot, but give me magical doors and for some reason I forget everything.
The girls' struggle and pain aren't hidden or sugarcoated, they're stated on the page and visible through their actions and words, and Nafiza Azad does it in a really powerful way, allowing them to reclaim their life and their body.
Catch me recommending this book until my last breath.
I had been yearning to read this book since I first saw the cover and synopsis last year and boi did I drop everything to read it as soon as I got it.
We stan the queens. Paheli and Valentina own my heart. All the Wild Ones and Taraana and Lalie do too, but Paheli and Valentina could ask me to give up my favorite books and I would.
The. writing. is. so. beautiful. It's even more magical than the Between.
I wasn't 100% invested in the plot, but give me magical doors and for some reason I forget everything.
The girls' struggle and pain aren't hidden or sugarcoated, they're stated on the page and visible through their actions and words, and Nafiza Azad does it in a really powerful way, allowing them to reclaim their life and their body.
Catch me recommending this book until my last breath.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
valentina has my heart
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The amount you enjoy The Wild Ones will be directly correlated to the amount you enjoy poetry and flowery language. Azad’s writing reminded me of Nikita Gill and Rupi Kaur. As such, this book was very much not my cup of tea, but it’s not a bad book! Just not a fit for my tastes.
The make up of The Wild Ones is wonderful. It’s the story of a group of girls who come from traumatic, sorrowful backgrounds. They became part of the middle world when Paheli gifts them the stars they press into their palms, a gift given to her so long ago. The girls stay until they are ready to move on. The journey they take as a Wild One feels like a metaphor for processing trauma. So much of this book feels like a series of metaphors, and it makes you think, reread, reconsider.
The Wild Ones are Black girls, brown girls. They are a sisterhood of strength and recklessness and fearlessness. They rescue other girls who are in the same pain they were (are) in. When their creator, the Keeper of the Between, seeks them out, they protect him too. It’s altogether an interesting book, and I DO recommend it to the right reader. It’s extremely stylised, so it requires the right reader to appreciate it fully, but I believe to the right reader, this will be an amazing five star novel. I liked the diversity, I liked the world, but the pace and writing style lost me.
Because of the linguistic choices that Azad made in telling this story, I found the pacing lagged and my attention waned, leading to a lot of rereading. I cannot emphasise enough that this is entirely due to my own reading preferences and for others, this could be a non-issue. The style made the writing (to me) feel vague and scattered. There were single paragraphs and single scenes that I found lovely, but as a reader I felt like I was constantly chasing cohesiveness in the novel.
It’s a good book, but it wasn’t a good book for me. I think others will like it, but before diving into it, do note the prose-like writing style and go in prepared to navigate it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Gaslighting
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The theme of this book, women using their power to protect and avenge other victims of men, is very powerful and well-written. The overall story is just kind of slow and not that interesting. It also gets difficult to keep track of who characters are as the POV jumps around.
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall 3.75 stars
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Overall 3.75 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking
TRIGGER/CONTENT WARNING(S): Sexual and physical violence, depicted discussions of depression and suicide
The Wild Ones focuses on the hardships that girls and women face in life, the strength they can find in others, and the importance of building a caring family in which they can feel supported. Azad goes into greater detail about how humans build relationships and the horrors and beauty that may be found inside them.
This novel puts the challenges that girls and women experience around the world in our culture front and center. It highlights how we can come together as a community to address the challenges that all women face. We get to observe how the survivors deal with the traumas they’ve had throughout their lives.
Paheli is an Indian figure who was sold by her mother in exchange for a favour in the book. After she fled, broken and injured, she ran upon Taraana, who gave her a box of magical stars before disappearing. Paheli collected other betrayed and abused females, and together with the magical stars, they helped those who had lost hope and saved them from pain.
The writing was an important component of the plot, with its melodic tone highlighting how much each Wild One had to go through before Paheli discovered them. The writing elicited both sniffles and smiles as it infused the plot with emotions.
For the first 20-25 percent of the book, the plot moved at a snail’s pace, which irked me. However, things increased up up after that, and things were rather exciting! The scenes were exciting and action-packed, but the magical descriptions were lacking. The middle-worlds are destroyed by the Wild Ones’ screams, yet those moments were limply depicted, and I believe they could have been done better.
An issue I had with The Wild Ones was that the chapters are recounted from two perspectives; one is Paheli’s, and the other is an unnamed Wild One, which perplexed me much. Only Paheli and Valentina seemed to have true personalities, and I had trouble differentiating characters and their voices.
I didn’t really get why there had to be SO MANY of Wild Ones, I feel like it would have worked with 4-7 of them which would have given them at least adequate page time instead of mentions here and there. It would have also allowed for character development and differentiation.
Although the idea appears to be intriguing, the premise did not live up to its full potential. The cover is gorgeous, and I adored the concept of a magical girl team that might represent many readers who feel underrepresented in the YA genre.
Recommended if you’re looking for a powerful feminist fantasy.
Check out my review and more on my blog: https://herbookishobsession.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/blog-tour-review-the-wild-ones-by-nafiza-azad/
The Wild Ones focuses on the hardships that girls and women face in life, the strength they can find in others, and the importance of building a caring family in which they can feel supported. Azad goes into greater detail about how humans build relationships and the horrors and beauty that may be found inside them.
This novel puts the challenges that girls and women experience around the world in our culture front and center. It highlights how we can come together as a community to address the challenges that all women face. We get to observe how the survivors deal with the traumas they’ve had throughout their lives.
Paheli is an Indian figure who was sold by her mother in exchange for a favour in the book. After she fled, broken and injured, she ran upon Taraana, who gave her a box of magical stars before disappearing. Paheli collected other betrayed and abused females, and together with the magical stars, they helped those who had lost hope and saved them from pain.
The writing was an important component of the plot, with its melodic tone highlighting how much each Wild One had to go through before Paheli discovered them. The writing elicited both sniffles and smiles as it infused the plot with emotions.
For the first 20-25 percent of the book, the plot moved at a snail’s pace, which irked me. However, things increased up up after that, and things were rather exciting! The scenes were exciting and action-packed, but the magical descriptions were lacking. The middle-worlds are destroyed by the Wild Ones’ screams, yet those moments were limply depicted, and I believe they could have been done better.
An issue I had with The Wild Ones was that the chapters are recounted from two perspectives; one is Paheli’s, and the other is an unnamed Wild One, which perplexed me much. Only Paheli and Valentina seemed to have true personalities, and I had trouble differentiating characters and their voices.
I didn’t really get why there had to be SO MANY of Wild Ones, I feel like it would have worked with 4-7 of them which would have given them at least adequate page time instead of mentions here and there. It would have also allowed for character development and differentiation.
Although the idea appears to be intriguing, the premise did not live up to its full potential. The cover is gorgeous, and I adored the concept of a magical girl team that might represent many readers who feel underrepresented in the YA genre.
Recommended if you’re looking for a powerful feminist fantasy.
Check out my review and more on my blog: https://herbookishobsession.wordpress.com/2021/08/05/blog-tour-review-the-wild-ones-by-nafiza-azad/