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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
Talia's been forced to live with her aunt's family, including her cousin Lake, with whom Talia has absolutely nothing in common. But through flashbacks, Talia's story slowly begins to unfold, explaining why and how she ended up in this living arrangement–and where and how she plans on escaping.
If you love cult stories, this is going to be your jam. Talia's mom founded a cult atop a mountain in the Catskills, and it was a cult that only invited women to be part of its world. Her mom founded it for good reason–rage, anger, injustice, a desire for a community that cared about women–but the settlement had so much mysterious around it, even for Talia who grew up there.
Suma does a fantastic job of worldbuilding and her settings are lush and evocative. Talia is a complex character, and she's forced to navigate her before atop the mountain community she grew up in with the new life at her aunt's house, stumbling through what it is to be a "typical" high schooler. She's ANGRY but that anger is a necessary driver for her. She uses it to unpack her past in order to build a future. . . and it's one that will involve her cousin Lake, despite their initial hesitations toward one another.
If you've loved Suma's work, you'll love this one. It's a book that will connect with readers who want unique takes on cults, who love stories of angry girls and women, and who love stories where it is women and their stories that are wholly centered. Indeed, that's one of the book's overarching themes. In a world that is constantly dominated by men and women's stories are erased, what happens when they are centered?
In this case, well,it's men who break it apart because they so deeply fear what happens when women empower one another. Fortunately for Talia and Lake, the future looks promising in a way neither could have predicted at the start of their journey together .
If you love cult stories, this is going to be your jam. Talia's mom founded a cult atop a mountain in the Catskills, and it was a cult that only invited women to be part of its world. Her mom founded it for good reason–rage, anger, injustice, a desire for a community that cared about women–but the settlement had so much mysterious around it, even for Talia who grew up there.
Suma does a fantastic job of worldbuilding and her settings are lush and evocative. Talia is a complex character, and she's forced to navigate her before atop the mountain community she grew up in with the new life at her aunt's house, stumbling through what it is to be a "typical" high schooler. She's ANGRY but that anger is a necessary driver for her. She uses it to unpack her past in order to build a future. . . and it's one that will involve her cousin Lake, despite their initial hesitations toward one another.
If you've loved Suma's work, you'll love this one. It's a book that will connect with readers who want unique takes on cults, who love stories of angry girls and women, and who love stories where it is women and their stories that are wholly centered. Indeed, that's one of the book's overarching themes. In a world that is constantly dominated by men and women's stories are erased, what happens when they are centered?
In this case, well,
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First, I'd like to say a thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Wake the Wild Creatures.
It's just after 4am here in Los Angeles. Body aches and the chills, compliments of flu season, are keeping me awake.
I figure this must be the universe's way of telling me I have time, right now, to start this book.
I'm one chapter in, and I'm really loving Nova's writing style. It's truncated. But also flowing. I love a writer who makes a style their very own!
She brings the reader into the wild woods with such glaring details, right before she dumps you into the nightmare of suburbia.
That was my initial thoughts on Wake the Wild Creatures. And I continued to be enthralled by the characters and their surroundings to the very end. The story jumps timelines often, which is my only true complaint. I hope that Nova does a follow up as I'd love to continue to follow Talia on her journey through life.
It's just after 4am here in Los Angeles. Body aches and the chills, compliments of flu season, are keeping me awake.
I figure this must be the universe's way of telling me I have time, right now, to start this book.
I'm one chapter in, and I'm really loving Nova's writing style. It's truncated. But also flowing. I love a writer who makes a style their very own!
She brings the reader into the wild woods with such glaring details, right before she dumps you into the nightmare of suburbia.
That was my initial thoughts on Wake the Wild Creatures. And I continued to be enthralled by the characters and their surroundings to the very end. The story jumps timelines often, which is my only true complaint. I hope that Nova does a follow up as I'd love to continue to follow Talia on her journey through life.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment