A review by thecrimsoncorsair
Wayward by Chuck Wendig

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

As much as I loved both Wayward and Wanderers as a whole, Chuck Wendig has never run across a simile or metaphor that he did not want to use. All of the flowery, descriptive, and unnecessary language really bogged both books down. Also the repeated use of the same word like canoodle and others drove me absolutely nuts. 

The man equally needs to open and close a thesaurus. 

But despite my criticisms, I really did love these books. I absolutely loved the characters, except the bad ones, lol. And the plot was weird and strange in a way which made it hard to put down. Despite the length, I was invested in these stories. I needed to know how it was going to all end. So, for me at least, I consider that a sign of a damn good book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Transphobia, War, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Body horror, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Excrement, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Pedophilia, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, and Panic attacks/disorders