I received this ARC from Publisher for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Wildlife by Fiona Wood Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on September 16th 2014
Pages: 400
Source: ARC from Publisher
Goodreads
During a semester in the wilderness, sixteen year- old Sib expects the tough outdoor education program and the horrors of dorm life, but friendship drama and love that gets complicated? That will take some navigating. New girl Lou has zero interest in fitting in, or joining in. Still reeling from a loss that occurred almost a year ago, she just wants to be left alone. But as she witnesses a betrayal unfolding around Sib and her best friend Holly, Lou can't help but be drawn back into the land of the living.In this tender, funny story of first love, good friendship, and going a little bit wild, Fiona Wood introduces two unforgettable girls who discover that before you can be true to yourself, you have to figure out exactly who you are.
My Thoughts:
This is a book I heard about at the NOVL blogger breakfast and was dying to get my hands on it! Unfortunately, it came out right when I was moving and school and grad school were starting back up. I was really bad with my time management for awhile there and this one slipped through the cracks! I’m so glad that I finally picked it up.
Wildlife by Fiona Wood has three of my favorite story elements. It’s set in another country (Australia), there are dual narrators, and it’s set during a wilderness semester (so it’s basically a combination of camp and boarding school.) Oh, how well these worked together!
I really liked that the two main characters (Sib and Lou) were so different from one another yet had so much in common. They’re both teen girls dealing with life changing events. The specifics that got them to where they are are vastly different. However, they’re both just trying to figure out who they are and where they’re going in a newly unfamiliar world.
It was interesting to see the events and characters through each girl’s eyes. Lou is new to the school and has a fresh perspective on the people Sib has known for years. Her observations about Sib and everything else were some of my favorite parts. It did take me awhile to get into the back and forth between the two perspectives but ultimately I think it added to the story.
After tearing through Wildlife I am eagerly anticipating Six Impossible Things (although I do wish it was published first in the US as well since I think I would have appreciated the mentions of crossover characters more!)
Six Impossible Things - YA BibliophileYA Bibliophile
[…] book is a companion to Wildlife, which I finally read earlier this year. It takes place before Wildlife, but was published […]