Review: Wildlife by Fiona Wood

Note: Wildlife is a companion novel to Six Impossible Things. While there are no explicit spoilers in this review, you may be able to guess what happens between Six Impossible Things and Wildlife. Just in case you’re really allergic to even the hint of a spoiler.

My favourite kinds of stories are the ones you can relate to. The stories that leap from the page, wrap their arms around you and say, “It’s OK, you’re not alone.” Wildlife is one of those books. I connected with so many aspects of this story – the grieving process, the struggle to fit in, the best friend who is really a bitch, the nervousness and excitement that goes along with first relationships, the loneliness that is being a teenager – there is so much in there. The only other author that has represented the teen experience so authentically, with such raw emotion, is Melina Marchetta. Yep, I’m putting Fiona Wood up there with Ms Double M herself. That’s how much I loved this book.

I almost couldn’t read it. I got seven pages in and discovered something that made me sick. I seriously had to hide the book - I was so devastated, I couldn’t even look at it. After a day or so I finally forced myself to pick it up again and I’m so glad I did. The writing was exquisite and as much as I hated what had happened, it was beautifully dealt with.

Lou from Six Impossible Things is at the centre of this sad story, and her isolation and despair are palpable as she comes to grips with her grief in the middle of nowhere, at a school camp where she knows no one. The short, unfinished sentences that open her chapters in the beginning of Wildlife perfectly encapsulate the breathlessness of depression – the pain so deep, so overwhelming, that it numbs you and leaves you unable to speak or even function properly. It’s utterly heartbreaking, but importantly it’s also incredibly cathartic, as you watch Lou slowly heal and find her way back to contentment, if not complete happiness.

Lou’s intense grief and loneliness are perfectly balanced by the alternate chapters that focus on Sibylla’s story. While she is dealing with her own problems, they’re not as dark as Lou’s, and in comparison her story is light and fun. She has a new, hot boyfriend who is pressuring her to move fast, her best friend is acting strange, and her oldest friend is strangest of all. It might sound like this kind of plot would contrast too starkly with Lou’s chapters, but actually they’re wonderfully integrated. A similar sense of isolation underpins both characters’ experiences, and ultimately they both represent significant life events, for better or worse.

As with Six Impossible Things, the secondary characters are a highlight in Wildlife. There were a few that I loved, and a couple that I hated, which was just as it should be. I adored both main characters. Sometimes I just wanted to shake some sense into Sibylla, but I think that’s because I identified with her so much and, you know, I’ve got hindsight and all. Lou I just wanted to hug and squish and make all the problems go away. My heart still hurts for her.

Wildlife is pretty much the perfect teen book. It is so incredibly realistic, while also being touching and inspiring. It's a fun, easy read, but it also explores very important and deep issues. It will make you feel happy and sad and worried and excited and so many things all at once. It will tear you apart into tiny pieces, before patching you up again, just as whole, but not quite the same.

Rating: 5/5

Fine Print
Published: June 2013, Pan Macmillan
Get It: Bookworld

Top Ten Books I Wish Had Sequels

I don’t know that I actually want sequels to any of these books, coz I’m a big fan of standalones these days. But there are some books that have left me wanting more, with characters that stay with me well after I’ve finished reading…

-Liar by Justine Larbalestier. This was a mindscrew of a book and I just want to know the TRUTH. But Larbalestier has said even she doesn’t know, plus I think a big reveal would undermine the power of the story somewhat. But on the other hand CLOSURE.

-Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson. This was an adorable, heartfelt roadtrip book that made me happy sigh when I finished it. I loved the characters and would like to read more about them, although I felt satisfied with the story told in this one.

-The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Mary grew up to marry Dickon and have lots of forest animals and babies and a beautiful big garden and she definitely didn’t marry her broody cousin Colin and Dickon definitely didn’t die. The end.

-Between the Lives by Jessica Shirvington. Although I loved how this one ends, it definitely left me wanting MOAR.

-The Princess Bride by William Goldman. I’d love to see Buttercup’s Baby, Goldman’s joke sequel chapter, actually happen. I have to know what happens to Fezzik. Namely how he gets saved because HE CAN’T DIE.

-North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. It would be awesome to see the wedding and Margaret settling into life as Mrs Thornton. And the actual reaction of the elder Mrs Thornton. And maybe the wedding night… you know, the feast and stuff. Yeah.

-Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. OK, so technically this does have a sequel in Lola and the Boy Next Door, but another story focused on Anna and Etienne would be great. I love those two.

-Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley. I'm keen to spend another night with these characters. Perhaps a year after the events in the original.

-Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta. I’d love to see Josie as an adult. I related to her so much as a teen, I wonder if I’d still relate to her as a (not quite) grown-up. I like to think she achieved her dreams. And made it work with Jacob Coote.

-This is Not a Test by Courtney Summers. This is another book where really, I just want to know what happens on the page after the last one. It had quite an ambiguous ending, and I like CLOSURE. But as with Liar, I think if I actually got it, the book wouldn’t be nearly so powerful.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

It doesn't happen too often, but I think this sequel was even better than the first book.

Picking up months after the events of The Hunger Games, the characters are still dealing with the aftermath of their actions. I have to say, I thought I knew roughly where the story was going - but boy, was I wrong. I discovered this when I was about a quarter of the way through and came across a review of Catching Fire on a blog with a massive spoiler in the first paragraph.* It was definitely not something I was expecting to happen, and I felt a bit frustrated - but also curious to see exactly how it would work, if it did at all.

Of course, work it did. Without giving anything away (ahem), I'll just say it was one helluva twist, organically woven into the tale and making for some awesome action. I was once again so impressed with Collins' writing - she definitely knows how to keep readers on their toes! The story just got more and more interesting, without expanding too much and over-complicating matters, as some series tend to do (I'm looking at you, Sookie Stackhouse). As for the characters, I fell in love with them in the first book, but found them even more amazing in this one. They just got stronger, and I found myself identifying even more with Katniss' actions this time round. To top it all off, there were a number of intensely powerful scenes that were so beautifully written, I immediately reread them just to try and absorb their awesomeness.  I'm officially a Hunger Games addict - Mockingjay, here I come!

*Spoilers without warning are one of my pet peeves. So unnecessary and unfair!

Rating: 5/5

Spoilery Talking Points

• I'm still firmly on the fence between Peeta and Gale, though I have to say Peeta really grabbed me towards the end. That kiss, those speeches, phwoar! But I once again wished for more Gale. It's easy to lean towards Peeta when you get to see so much more of him. Maybe that's Collins' intention...
• I can't quite get my head around the whole rebel conspiracy and the part everyone played in it - especially Haymitch - and why Peeta and Katniss weren't told at all. Hopefully it's explained more fully in the next novel.

Eye Candy
I stuck with my original picture of the main trio, but Jennifer Lawrence popped up for me in this book. Funnily enough, it was not as Katniss, who she's playing in the film, but as Johanna:

When it came to Finnick, a guy who could make thousands of girls swoon with the mere toss of his hair, who else could I picture but...

Just kidding! I did picture Robert Pattinson, though.

Review: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

So. I just finished Where She Went. I don't think I can form coherent thoughts. But I'll try.

It was amazing. While If I Stay sucked me in to Adam and Mia's story, Where She Went held me there. Told from Adam's perspective and dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy that took Mia's family - and, in another way, Mia herself - away, it was a fascinating take on grief, depression, music, celebrity, loneliness, loss and love. At first I was frustrated with the angst-riddled Adam, thinking, "Really? I know she's the love of your life, but SUCK IT UP. Just a little." But then as the story unfolded, and we're told in flashbacks exactly what happened for Adam to get this way, I understood more, and thought, "OK, you're entitled to your pain."

Then there was Mia - like Adam, oh, I was so angry with Mia. Well, not so much angry, more frustrated and confused. The person who cut Adam off without so much as a goodbye definitely didn't sound like the same girl who desperately yearned for him in If I Stay. But she had her reasons, too, and again, once they're explained, it all makes sense. I wasn't such a fan of the more supernatural elements of the book - which is strange, I know, considering the first one is pretty much told from the perspective of a ghost - but this one just had a differnt tone (rightly so) that those parts just didn't seem to gel with. For me, at least. But I loved all the answers and explanations we got, and the sense of closure at the end. Plus, I'm a sucker for all-nighter type stories and secret tours of beautiful cities. So romantic!

Rating: 4.5/5

(Spoilery) Talking Points

• My favourite scene in the whole book had to be when Mia gave Adam his guitar, and he looks around the room and sees that he IS still there, still important in her life. Then Mia describes Adam as her parents' gift to her, like the cello was at her first recital. Such a powerful moment. It definitely made me tear up.
• Another thing that made me tear up - Teddy, of course. I liked how Adam described his reaction to Teddy's loss - how he felt "gutted". Sums it up perfectly, I think.
• Ahhh, the ending - it made me so happy. I wanted MORE. More happiness! More love! More of the old Mia and Adam, please!

Eye Candy
As I mentioned in my review of If I Stay, I pictured Emma Stone as Mia and Darren Criss as Adam. Here's an excuse to post Darren Criss pics a reminder:

Fine Print

Genre: Young Adult

Publisher: Doubleday

Published: 2011
Get It: Book Depository

Related
While googling Darren Criss, I came across this piece of adorableness. My heart just about burst (in a good way). So. Darn. Cute.