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chloelj27's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you Faith Prince for sending me an e-copy on exchange for an honest review.
Firstly, I loved the idea behind Wild Souls and how Ethan could see into someone’s soul. I think many people would think it’s an interesting power to have, but I loved the struggles Prince showed through Ethan about it being quite unnerving. The visualisations described such as snakes choking to show the effect of a controlling relationship was so powerful. Ethan’s friendship/relationship with Jenna was really sweet and endearing, and gave that lightheartedness when the book needed it.
I think at times, the story lacked a little something, which I’m not sure exactly what, but I felt a little lost occasionally.
The characters themselves were likeable and were written well to fit the YA genre.
For a debut novel, this was a great read and you can see the potential Prince has. I look forward to her future work.
Firstly, I loved the idea behind Wild Souls and how Ethan could see into someone’s soul. I think many people would think it’s an interesting power to have, but I loved the struggles Prince showed through Ethan about it being quite unnerving. The visualisations described such as snakes choking to show the effect of a controlling relationship was so powerful. Ethan’s friendship/relationship with Jenna was really sweet and endearing, and gave that lightheartedness when the book needed it.
I think at times, the story lacked a little something, which I’m not sure exactly what, but I felt a little lost occasionally.
The characters themselves were likeable and were written well to fit the YA genre.
For a debut novel, this was a great read and you can see the potential Prince has. I look forward to her future work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, and Gaslighting
Minor: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, and Rape
insanebookperson's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gaslighting, Medical content, Vomit, Rape, Ableism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
cariam's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
There's plenty of things I should say about this book. But the main things that are my own opinions.
First off, I don't like when characters begin their relationships with dishonesty. It's an instant peeve of mine. Secondly, I liked the themes in this novel (nature vs nurture, why do bad people become worse, why do good people interact with bad people) and how they continued throughout the entire book. Third, I'm not a fan of books with Insta-Love (it's just not my thing). Lastly, I think it's very important to understand this is not a 9-12 year old YA fiction, it's more of a 17-19 age range.
I cannot read about child sexual abuse. Be it in passing, or in specifics, and god forbid in graphic natures. This was in the range of passing mentions, and specifics. I definitely rated this down because I wasn't warned before hand and I feel like it's a reasonable request to ask to be notified on.
This was a great spot of world building. It was unique and it was easy to follow along with. I enjoyed how different everyones souls were.
First off, I don't like when characters begin their relationships with dishonesty. It's an instant peeve of mine. Secondly, I liked the themes in this novel (nature vs nurture, why do bad people become worse, why do good people interact with bad people) and how they continued throughout the entire book. Third, I'm not a fan of books with Insta-Love (it's just not my thing). Lastly, I think it's very important to understand this is not a 9-12 year old YA fiction, it's more of a 17-19 age range.
This was a great spot of world building. It was unique and it was easy to follow along with. I enjoyed how different everyones souls were.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Sexual assault
gameoftomes's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Bold, unique standalone fantasy novel.
SETUP
Mostly set in the real world, with two speculative elements: Ethan Underwood can see souls and society has VR technology that can help you sense and feel what another person has sensed and felt while doing an experience. The soul representations are intriguing: snakes, sparrows, winged hyenas, tar, skies, shadows, light, glitter, etc. The souls can even influence each other, rubbing off on each other. Ethan can see strangulation marks and snake bites from the snake-soul guy on his non-snake-soul girlfriend, whose soul animal, a sparrow, looks sick and is missing feathers. Seeing souls put Ethan at a disadvantage and he can become overstimulated by the colors, animals, and noises. No one else is known in this world to see souls. Ethan is treated like he’s mentally ill. At one point, we learn that a therapist told Ethan’s mother he will probably have to be on permanent disability his whole life, that he won’t be able to handle a job.
MAIN CHARACTERS
New girl Jenna is impulsive and has a uniquely outrageous sense of humor, I related a lot to her vibe. I was definitely that particular breed of obnoxious as a teen. Very take charge, doesn’t care what others think or say about her. Ethan is afraid to open up properly to Jenna since everyone in the small town thinks he’s a freak. Kind of a Catfish situation happens where they talk and text-chat online, but Ethan struggles with revealing who he is, having been ostracized in their small-town. In addition seeing souls, Ethan can view secrets whenever he looks someone in the eye, which has lead to people not believing the secrets of others he shares.
Both teens are dealing with a lot from their parents. Jenna’s dad is trying to make in in the music business, but his struggle for fame and chase for a big future paycheck doesn’t help his family’s current finances or their relationship with him. Ethan’s dad left when he was young, and Ethan assumes (later finds this to be incorrect after a heart-to-heart) that his mother would much rather have a normal son and is doing everything to try and fix him into the son she wanted.
REAL-WORLD ISSUES
There are some hard-hitting issues that people in the book (usually side characters) go through that are explored with care but should be considered in trigger warnings: side character in an abusive relationship (talked about but not shown); mention of pedophile character; mention of past sexual abuse; a scene of Ethan going into a memory of an adult man about to rape a girl, not graphic but still disturbing; blaming self for abuse. There are also Harry Potter references.
LOVE STORY
The main relationship is a little insta-lovey, going from a great connection to I-Love-Yous rather fast. Most of Jenna’s defense of Ethan to her friends make sense, but she does seem to blindly assume Ethan is not at fault, fiercely defending him before asking Ethan about those situations from his past.
VERACITY
Very good at getting inside the teenage character’s heads, showing flaws and vulnerabilities. Realistic relationships with family, classmates. I can see some readers finding the characters annoying. The depth and realness of much of the novel outweighs the cringe-y teenage stuff, although the cringe-y parts are realistic to teens, reminding me of myself and my friends at that age. I’ve known people like them, I’ve had some of their traits myself.
VIBE
Reminds me a bit like older YA books- Beautiful Creatures, The Vampire Diaries, etc.: dual POVs, romance in a very 21st century viewing of Romeo & Juliet melodrama. What Wild Souls smartly does is shy away from a plot-intense third act that revs up action at the expense of character development. No one ever seems to act in a way that only serves the plot, which is really needed in a lot of fantasy-leaning YA. This is a book I would have been OBSESSED with in high school. There’s a bit of a generational gap with me now, but the fault is not with the story just my distance from teenage emotions.
Overall if you dig the summary and YA fantasy set in the real world, you’ll really enjoy this novel.
SETUP
Mostly set in the real world, with two speculative elements: Ethan Underwood can see souls and society has VR technology that can help you sense and feel what another person has sensed and felt while doing an experience. The soul representations are intriguing: snakes, sparrows, winged hyenas, tar, skies, shadows, light, glitter, etc. The souls can even influence each other, rubbing off on each other. Ethan can see strangulation marks and snake bites from the snake-soul guy on his non-snake-soul girlfriend, whose soul animal, a sparrow, looks sick and is missing feathers. Seeing souls put Ethan at a disadvantage and he can become overstimulated by the colors, animals, and noises. No one else is known in this world to see souls. Ethan is treated like he’s mentally ill. At one point, we learn that a therapist told Ethan’s mother he will probably have to be on permanent disability his whole life, that he won’t be able to handle a job.
MAIN CHARACTERS
New girl Jenna is impulsive and has a uniquely outrageous sense of humor, I related a lot to her vibe. I was definitely that particular breed of obnoxious as a teen. Very take charge, doesn’t care what others think or say about her. Ethan is afraid to open up properly to Jenna since everyone in the small town thinks he’s a freak. Kind of a Catfish situation happens where they talk and text-chat online, but Ethan struggles with revealing who he is, having been ostracized in their small-town. In addition seeing souls, Ethan can view secrets whenever he looks someone in the eye, which has lead to people not believing the secrets of others he shares.
Both teens are dealing with a lot from their parents. Jenna’s dad is trying to make in in the music business, but his struggle for fame and chase for a big future paycheck doesn’t help his family’s current finances or their relationship with him. Ethan’s dad left when he was young, and Ethan assumes (later finds this to be incorrect after a heart-to-heart) that his mother would much rather have a normal son and is doing everything to try and fix him into the son she wanted.
REAL-WORLD ISSUES
LOVE STORY
The main relationship is a little insta-lovey, going from a great connection to I-Love-Yous rather fast. Most of Jenna’s defense of Ethan to her friends make sense, but she does seem to blindly assume Ethan is not at fault, fiercely defending him before asking Ethan about those situations from his past.
VERACITY
Very good at getting inside the teenage character’s heads, showing flaws and vulnerabilities. Realistic relationships with family, classmates. I can see some readers finding the characters annoying. The depth and realness of much of the novel outweighs the cringe-y teenage stuff, although the cringe-y parts are realistic to teens, reminding me of myself and my friends at that age. I’ve known people like them, I’ve had some of their traits myself.
VIBE
Reminds me a bit like older YA books- Beautiful Creatures, The Vampire Diaries, etc.: dual POVs, romance in a very 21st century viewing of Romeo & Juliet melodrama. What Wild Souls smartly does is shy away from a plot-intense third act that revs up action at the expense of character development. No one ever seems to act in a way that only serves the plot, which is really needed in a lot of fantasy-leaning YA. This is a book I would have been OBSESSED with in high school. There’s a bit of a generational gap with me now, but the fault is not with the story just my distance from teenage emotions.
Overall if you dig the summary and YA fantasy set in the real world, you’ll really enjoy this novel.
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Rape, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Pedophilia
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