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A review by probablyjenna
Wanderers by Chuck Wendig
5.0
Top 10 Reasons Wanderers is the best:
1) Chuck Wendig creates an entirely immersive world, one that is eerily similar to our own. The attention to detail in his world-building is simply immaculate, and I truly could not stop thinking about the world of Wanderers.
2) The characters in Wanderers are going to remain in my favorites for a long, long time. Wendig was smart in his selection of whose pov we needed most/when, and his main characters are all so vastly different & fascinating.
3) On the note of characters, pete motherf***ing Corley. No further comment.
4) Wendig is not precious about his characters, but he’s also not cruel. Basically: he isn’t afraid to let his characters suffer (and in turn, his readers) but he is not going to cause a character to suffer unless it serves a necessary point. He’s brave enough to know that characters are gonna have to go through it, but clearly not just trying to cause shock.
5) Wanderers gives us political intrigue! Science fiction! Technology moral dilemmas! Dangerously contagious illness! Issues of philosophy and religion! Sleepwalking! if you can dream it, it’s probably in there somewhere.
6) As far as I can tell, wendig is a straight white man. One of his main characters is a teenage girl, and I would never guess she’s written by a man…that’s basically the highest compliment I can give. He has lots of other female characters and all of them feel that way.
7) Again, Wendig appears to be a straight white man…but besides his teenage girl MC, three other main characters are Benji, a Black man, Pete, a gay man, and marcy, a latinx woman. Again, these characters feel so well done. there are so many straight white authors who use these identity markers as if they’re checking off boxes of diversity, or as if these identities simply add a little ~flair~ to their otherwise very white/straight seeming character (looking at you, Taylor Jenkins Reid!!!) it honestly blows my mind how seamlessly wendig wrote these characters. their respective race and sexual orientation are key aspects of their character, but not necessarily a focal point except in some heated moments. I was so happy to have such an array of MCs & to see how certain events impacted each of them in different ways.
8) Each chapter opens with a really brief snippet of something that gives us more insight into the world of wanderers: newspaper clippings, Reddit posts, podcast transcripts, journal entries…it adds so much interesting context!
9) Similarly, there are interludes between each part of the book. The interludes range in style, focus, and perspective. I looked forward to each new part because it meant a new interlude!
10) Dystopian novels are probably my favorite genre. I am drawn to them for so many reasons, but at the heart of each one is this question of humanity’s place in this world. A great dystopian novel, for me, leaves me pondering different philosophical questions about humanity and ya know what? I have not stopped thinking about the ideas posed in wanderers since I set it down. Wendig’s mixture of topics creates the perfect backdrop for questioning our collective purpose in this world. This novel made me feel human, and also feel a bit ashamed of many aspects of my humanness. It made me feel deep empathy, yet also had moments where I felt filled with anger and hatred. Wanderers taps into the vast spectrum of emotion, and forces you to grapple with the uncomfortable realization that there are rarely easy answers.
1) Chuck Wendig creates an entirely immersive world, one that is eerily similar to our own. The attention to detail in his world-building is simply immaculate, and I truly could not stop thinking about the world of Wanderers.
2) The characters in Wanderers are going to remain in my favorites for a long, long time. Wendig was smart in his selection of whose pov we needed most/when, and his main characters are all so vastly different & fascinating.
3) On the note of characters, pete motherf***ing Corley. No further comment.
4) Wendig is not precious about his characters, but he’s also not cruel. Basically: he isn’t afraid to let his characters suffer (and in turn, his readers) but he is not going to cause a character to suffer unless it serves a necessary point. He’s brave enough to know that characters are gonna have to go through it, but clearly not just trying to cause shock.
5) Wanderers gives us political intrigue! Science fiction! Technology moral dilemmas! Dangerously contagious illness! Issues of philosophy and religion! Sleepwalking! if you can dream it, it’s probably in there somewhere.
6) As far as I can tell, wendig is a straight white man. One of his main characters is a teenage girl, and I would never guess she’s written by a man…that’s basically the highest compliment I can give. He has lots of other female characters and all of them feel that way.
7) Again, Wendig appears to be a straight white man…but besides his teenage girl MC, three other main characters are Benji, a Black man, Pete, a gay man, and marcy, a latinx woman. Again, these characters feel so well done. there are so many straight white authors who use these identity markers as if they’re checking off boxes of diversity, or as if these identities simply add a little ~flair~ to their otherwise very white/straight seeming character (looking at you, Taylor Jenkins Reid!!!) it honestly blows my mind how seamlessly wendig wrote these characters. their respective race and sexual orientation are key aspects of their character, but not necessarily a focal point except in some heated moments. I was so happy to have such an array of MCs & to see how certain events impacted each of them in different ways.
8) Each chapter opens with a really brief snippet of something that gives us more insight into the world of wanderers: newspaper clippings, Reddit posts, podcast transcripts, journal entries…it adds so much interesting context!
9) Similarly, there are interludes between each part of the book. The interludes range in style, focus, and perspective. I looked forward to each new part because it meant a new interlude!
10) Dystopian novels are probably my favorite genre. I am drawn to them for so many reasons, but at the heart of each one is this question of humanity’s place in this world. A great dystopian novel, for me, leaves me pondering different philosophical questions about humanity and ya know what? I have not stopped thinking about the ideas posed in wanderers since I set it down. Wendig’s mixture of topics creates the perfect backdrop for questioning our collective purpose in this world. This novel made me feel human, and also feel a bit ashamed of many aspects of my humanness. It made me feel deep empathy, yet also had moments where I felt filled with anger and hatred. Wanderers taps into the vast spectrum of emotion, and forces you to grapple with the uncomfortable realization that there are rarely easy answers.