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A review by tessa_talbert
Some Kind of Animal by Maria Romasco-Moore
3.0
**My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review**
Jolene(Jo) is an unhappy fifteen-year-old girl, haunted by the ghosts of her parent's sins and the agonizing reality of not knowing the truth of where she came from. She also holds another secret: Her sister, Lee. A feral child who runs the woods at night. When Jo's responsibilities force her to choose between her nightly runs with Lee and being able to grow into a position where she can finally provide for them both, Jo chooses to only see her sister once a week so that she can get her life back in order. Lee, however, does not agree with this. When she attacks a boy, the town thinks Jo is the culprit, and the secrets the girls have tried to desperately to keep start to unravel as new discoveries are made about their pasts and each other.
This book started out really well. Taut, edgy prose, and a protagonist with all the emotional turmoil of any young girl. I enjoyed the tight, choppy structure, the way it built tension and made the read quick and easy. The first third set itself up to lead into an eerie thriller and I was excited to continue, but unfortunately, it fell a bit flat and never quite recovered. Jo is obviously in need of help, but is not in an environment where she is going to get it. Often brushed off as plain rebellious or insane like her mother.
She is possessive of her best friend Savannah, obviously in love with her and unable to understand those feelings amongst the madness that is her life. The unrequited feelings are often there and brushed off and unexplored, and did not seem to fit into the story other than an afterthought. Lee is ruthless and fascinating; entirely more intelligent than one would be led to believe considering her upbringing. Every scene with her was enjoyable, if heartbreaking.
There were elements that took me out of the story entirely; odd descriptions that didn't seem to fit and left me staring blankly at the screen for a moment before moving on. Some instances were entirely unbelieveable, particularly as we limped our way into the finale. By that point the ending was, I'm assuming, supposed to be hopeful, but all I could think was that there was no way they would get away with that. No way that they wouldn't be found and separated in the end regardless.
Some Kind of Animal was a bizarre, twisty thing and if you enjoy ambiguity in your endings as well as tales of devotion between siblings — this one might interest you. But know that it is not really a happy tale.
Jolene(Jo) is an unhappy fifteen-year-old girl, haunted by the ghosts of her parent's sins and the agonizing reality of not knowing the truth of where she came from. She also holds another secret: Her sister, Lee. A feral child who runs the woods at night. When Jo's responsibilities force her to choose between her nightly runs with Lee and being able to grow into a position where she can finally provide for them both, Jo chooses to only see her sister once a week so that she can get her life back in order. Lee, however, does not agree with this. When she attacks a boy, the town thinks Jo is the culprit, and the secrets the girls have tried to desperately to keep start to unravel as new discoveries are made about their pasts and each other.
This book started out really well. Taut, edgy prose, and a protagonist with all the emotional turmoil of any young girl. I enjoyed the tight, choppy structure, the way it built tension and made the read quick and easy. The first third set itself up to lead into an eerie thriller and I was excited to continue, but unfortunately, it fell a bit flat and never quite recovered. Jo is obviously in need of help, but is not in an environment where she is going to get it. Often brushed off as plain rebellious or insane like her mother.
She is possessive of her best friend Savannah, obviously in love with her and unable to understand those feelings amongst the madness that is her life. The unrequited feelings are often there and brushed off and unexplored, and did not seem to fit into the story other than an afterthought. Lee is ruthless and fascinating; entirely more intelligent than one would be led to believe considering her upbringing. Every scene with her was enjoyable, if heartbreaking.
There were elements that took me out of the story entirely; odd descriptions that didn't seem to fit and left me staring blankly at the screen for a moment before moving on. Some instances were entirely unbelieveable, particularly as we limped our way into the finale. By that point the ending was, I'm assuming, supposed to be hopeful, but all I could think was that there was no way they would get away with that. No way that they wouldn't be found and separated in the end regardless.
Some Kind of Animal was a bizarre, twisty thing and if you enjoy ambiguity in your endings as well as tales of devotion between siblings — this one might interest you. But know that it is not really a happy tale.