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squirrelsohno's review against another edition
3.0
I really am not sure what to say about Natalie C. Parker's debut "Beware the Wild". It's a book about a town in the swampy bayous of Louisiana where a fence stands between the town of Sticks and its most dreaded enemy, the creepy swamp. One day, our heroine Sterling's brother disappears into the swamp after a fight, and is soon replaced with a girl named Lenora May who takes his place as the sister she never had, and nobody - besides Sterling - is ever the wiser.
At the heart of "Beware the Wild" isn't so much the paranormal element, I think, but more about relationships and memories, and what happens when you know something with your heart but suffer the knowledge that everyone else thinks you're completely insane in thinking it. This is the best part of the novel, watching Sterling deal with her complicated life and act like a trouper through it. Sterling probably was herself one of the better parts of the novel. She was strong, determined, and unwavering in her devotion to her lost brother, going to the point of risking her life to save him. She was determined to be proven right, and I like that in a girl.
For a good portion of the book, though, I was either confused or just completely did not care. By the end I don't know if I just didn't connect or if the book just wasn't for me from the get go. I enjoyed the setting. I enjoyed the mood. I enjoyed Sterling, minus her love interest. I enjoyed her friends for the most part. I just don't think that Parker did enough in her debut to connect the reader to all the characters, and to set it up so the flow was engrossing and follow-able.
Parker's debut does have a lot going for it. The prose is nice and crisp, the descriptions vivid enough without being the entire story, and the characters for the most part nice and well-rounded (with an exception I will get to in a minute). There were just times where I found it confusing or boring, where it wandered down paths, or where the characters just didn't act like reasonable humans. These were the parts that threw me for a loop and left this book at a 3 star rating.
But this all brings me to one selling point of the novel that I just didn't find was true at all.
"This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance."
Let's talk about that romance. Our love interest is Heath, a boy that Sterling apparently was very into a few years back before he became reclusive, drug-addled, and completely off her radar, until he pops back into her life as she tries to figure out what happened to her brother. Except there is a problem with Heath - he's boring and there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Sterling. This romance is totally less than swoonworthy. Their return to a relationship after years of not even talking was less than realistic, and he annoyed me to death half the time. Heath felt tacked on for solely the sake of having a romance.
Overall, "Beware the Wild" wasn't entirely for me, but it was far from having no merits. It was a beautiful story with a distinct hook, but in a market filled with books that are packed with everything - great plot, great characters, great writing, and even a great romance - I'm not sure if "Beware the Wild" is something I would ever pick up off a shelf. But am I okay with the fact I read it? Yes. It was a pretty good read.
At the heart of "Beware the Wild" isn't so much the paranormal element, I think, but more about relationships and memories, and what happens when you know something with your heart but suffer the knowledge that everyone else thinks you're completely insane in thinking it. This is the best part of the novel, watching Sterling deal with her complicated life and act like a trouper through it. Sterling probably was herself one of the better parts of the novel. She was strong, determined, and unwavering in her devotion to her lost brother, going to the point of risking her life to save him. She was determined to be proven right, and I like that in a girl.
For a good portion of the book, though, I was either confused or just completely did not care. By the end I don't know if I just didn't connect or if the book just wasn't for me from the get go. I enjoyed the setting. I enjoyed the mood. I enjoyed Sterling, minus her love interest. I enjoyed her friends for the most part. I just don't think that Parker did enough in her debut to connect the reader to all the characters, and to set it up so the flow was engrossing and follow-able.
Parker's debut does have a lot going for it. The prose is nice and crisp, the descriptions vivid enough without being the entire story, and the characters for the most part nice and well-rounded (with an exception I will get to in a minute). There were just times where I found it confusing or boring, where it wandered down paths, or where the characters just didn't act like reasonable humans. These were the parts that threw me for a loop and left this book at a 3 star rating.
But this all brings me to one selling point of the novel that I just didn't find was true at all.
"This debut novel is full of atmosphere, twists and turns, and a swoon-worthy romance."
Let's talk about that romance. Our love interest is Heath, a boy that Sterling apparently was very into a few years back before he became reclusive, drug-addled, and completely off her radar, until he pops back into her life as she tries to figure out what happened to her brother. Except there is a problem with Heath - he's boring and there is absolutely no chemistry between him and Sterling. This romance is totally less than swoonworthy. Their return to a relationship after years of not even talking was less than realistic, and he annoyed me to death half the time. Heath felt tacked on for solely the sake of having a romance.
Overall, "Beware the Wild" wasn't entirely for me, but it was far from having no merits. It was a beautiful story with a distinct hook, but in a market filled with books that are packed with everything - great plot, great characters, great writing, and even a great romance - I'm not sure if "Beware the Wild" is something I would ever pick up off a shelf. But am I okay with the fact I read it? Yes. It was a pretty good read.
elockwood's review against another edition
5.0
Spooky, unsettling, and lovely. Characters I wish were my friends when I was in high school. A story about how meaningful it is to be believed.
justlily's review against another edition
5.0
I usually reserve my five stars for those books that change me somehow. A line that sticks with me forever because it described exactly the way I've felt. Characters I fall head over heels for and will carry with me always. Things like that.
That's not really the case here.
Instead, this book gets five stars because I've never read any of it before. I have never read a YA book like this before, with this plot, with these kinds of characters... It is entirely and completely unique. Something I almost never get to say when it comes to YA.
I loved the Southern setting here. The author struck the perfect balance of making it stand out without being cliche. It lent so much to the characters and their interactions and motivations. Also they all had really cool names, so there's that.
A lot of times for me, and this goes across the genres, romance is a huge turn off. I just really find it almost unpalatable pretty much all the time. So prepare for the shock of a lifetime when I said I loved it here. I believed it, I found it sweet and endearing and "age-appropriate" for the ages of the characters. It was just incredibly well done.
I can't give this less than five stars. Although it wasn't life changing, it pretty much had no faults.
That's not really the case here.
Instead, this book gets five stars because I've never read any of it before. I have never read a YA book like this before, with this plot, with these kinds of characters... It is entirely and completely unique. Something I almost never get to say when it comes to YA.
I loved the Southern setting here. The author struck the perfect balance of making it stand out without being cliche. It lent so much to the characters and their interactions and motivations. Also they all had really cool names, so there's that.
A lot of times for me, and this goes across the genres, romance is a huge turn off. I just really find it almost unpalatable pretty much all the time. So prepare for the shock of a lifetime when I said I loved it here. I believed it, I found it sweet and endearing and "age-appropriate" for the ages of the characters. It was just incredibly well done.
I can't give this less than five stars. Although it wasn't life changing, it pretty much had no faults.
mellabella's review against another edition
3.0
I think I had really high expectations of this book. Maybe it was the cover. Or, reviews I read on another site. It was enjoyable. Don't get me wrong. Very Southern Gothic. While it had it's creepy moments, I wasn't bowled over. Sterling's brother Phineas went into the haunted swamp one day. Everyone knows not to venture into the swamp.There are all kinds of bad things in there. Who comes out the day Phineas goes in is Lenora May. She takes his place as Sterling's sister and no one remembers Phineas. Except for Sterling and town "troublemaker" Heath. Heath lost his best friend to the swamp. Rumors of him being bad news followed. I liked the small twists and turns. The teen romance aspect wasn't annoying. Depending on what you are looking for, it will probably leave you satisfied.
lia_trn's review against another edition
5.0
"... wanting the power to protect someone he loved drove him to take as much as he could. In the end, he was so powerful that little of his humanity is left, then he was more of a danger than a protector."
That was my favorite line from the book (I changed it a bit so it would be easy to understand out of context).
I know how it's like to constantly justify all the wrong doings of an overprotective loved one, how it's like to be angry of being held trapped, and how it's like to feel guilty and heartless for trying to get away...
As you can guess, I feel connected to this book on a very personal level, so my rating may have been biaised~
Still! It was a very enjoyable read and a very interesting one too!!!. If the story has been a little bit more creepier, it would be the best read I had so far this year.
That was my favorite line from the book (I changed it a bit so it would be easy to understand out of context).
I know how it's like to constantly justify all the wrong doings of an overprotective loved one, how it's like to be angry of being held trapped, and how it's like to feel guilty and heartless for trying to get away...
As you can guess, I feel connected to this book on a very personal level, so my rating may have been biaised~
Still! It was a very enjoyable read and a very interesting one too!!!. If the story has been a little bit more creepier, it would be the best read I had so far this year.
hollygraph's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this swampy setting in Beware The Wild, it came alive like a character in the book. I will be watching for more books from Ms. Parker.
abbievillehorror's review against another edition
4.0
This a story about friendship and family dressed up as a ghost story and every single word earns its real estate. A perfect blend of magical realism, horror, and thriller with subtle yet consequential characterization. Even the swamp itself is a character, and that's what provides the strength of this book. From page one, Sterling is so strongly characterized I was reading in a southern twang. And the things that make her remember, the little details, are sprinkled everywhere making every character believable and interesting and complex. And even though the romance between Heath and Sterling happens quickly, it's justified and has a foundation so it doesn't feel like cheap insta-love. I was thrilled to see some LGBTQ+ representation with Abigail.
perilous1's review against another edition
3.0
Set in Louisiana in an ultra small-town (with the rather tongue-in-cheek name of ‘Sticks’), this YA urban fantasy presents with memorable characters and a deliciously eerie bayou ambiance.
Ever since they were children surviving the abuse of their alcoholic father, Sterling has always relied on her older brother, Phin. So when Phin announces he’s going off to college, Sterling rails against his “abandonment” the only way she knows how. Her passive but dangerous self-neglect incites a fight between them, and Phin takes off into the sinister swamp that everyone in town knows you should never enter. While waiting for her brother’s reemergence, Sterling instead witnesses a girl walk out of the swamp and straight into the life that Phin once held. The mysterious Lenora May replaces all traces of Phin in an instant—including everyone’s memories of him. Everyone, that is, except for Sterling. Determined to get her brother back, she is aided by her deeply skeptical best friend, and a troubled boy from her high school class who has good reason to believe her story…
What I Liked:
While the Southern gothic theme bears some resemblance to Beautiful Creatures, the prose is smoother, tighter, and all around more pleasant as an experience. Parker’s characterization of both people and settings paints a vividly immersive mental picture, effectively conveying the good, the bad, and the creepy—all with a cadence one could almost equate to a literary dance. Her voice is uncommon and promising. And the first-person present-tense telling (solely from Sterling’s POV) was the least obtrusive I’ve come across in recent memory.
This reader VERY much appreciated the book’s nuanced depiction of anorexia. Unlike with some YA where the characters essentially become their mental illness, it was shown as a persisting and comprehensive flaw—more a passive mode of control rather than an active fixation on weight or body image. Sterling’s abusive past with her alcoholic father and unhealthy co-dependency on her brother culminate into to the reverse of acting out: a willful negligence and disinterest. But her family and friends are anything but passive over the issue. Her support structure is refreshingly strong, caring, and observant—in spite of her unfortunate childhood background.
On a similar note, I rather enjoyed the parallels of the inter-reliant (yet detrimental) brother/sister relationships. The symmetry was rousing without feeling too intentional. In a way, Sterling is to Phin what Fisher is to May—destructively clingy. While dependency was once a matter of survival, it has become a stagnant thing that holds them back.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
Unfortunately there were a few hints of author intrusion, primarily early on. The general impression was a needlessly inserted political agenda, blatantly catering to an offensive stereotype. Case in point:
"Darold's never been invited to join them. He says it's because he's not yet ancient enough to need a rocker, but I'm convinced half of them will vote Democrat before they let a black man join their ranks."
The romantic angle was a little underwhelming. (Although, granted, the focus is far more on the plot than on romance.) There were times the pacing seemed to suffer from the distractions of attraction. At one point the MC puts her mission of retrieving her brother on hold so she can go on a date.
While the worldbuilding started out uniquely compelling, it steadily depleted in momentum and believability as the story progressed. The eventual solution found for freeing people from the symbiotic bonds of the mystical swamp was both sketchy and confusing. This reader would have preferred more clearly defined rules and boundaries of the magics at work—however much this fleshing out would have undoubtedly inflated the page count.
Overall, this was an entertaining low-fantasy read—bewitching in writing style and noteworthy in concept.
Favorite Quotes:
"There's always a little piece of truth stuck inside a good pretending."
"There's one surefire way to annoy a sibling and that's to stand around their friends while being young."
Ever since they were children surviving the abuse of their alcoholic father, Sterling has always relied on her older brother, Phin. So when Phin announces he’s going off to college, Sterling rails against his “abandonment” the only way she knows how. Her passive but dangerous self-neglect incites a fight between them, and Phin takes off into the sinister swamp that everyone in town knows you should never enter. While waiting for her brother’s reemergence, Sterling instead witnesses a girl walk out of the swamp and straight into the life that Phin once held. The mysterious Lenora May replaces all traces of Phin in an instant—including everyone’s memories of him. Everyone, that is, except for Sterling. Determined to get her brother back, she is aided by her deeply skeptical best friend, and a troubled boy from her high school class who has good reason to believe her story…
What I Liked:
While the Southern gothic theme bears some resemblance to Beautiful Creatures, the prose is smoother, tighter, and all around more pleasant as an experience. Parker’s characterization of both people and settings paints a vividly immersive mental picture, effectively conveying the good, the bad, and the creepy—all with a cadence one could almost equate to a literary dance. Her voice is uncommon and promising. And the first-person present-tense telling (solely from Sterling’s POV) was the least obtrusive I’ve come across in recent memory.
This reader VERY much appreciated the book’s nuanced depiction of anorexia. Unlike with some YA where the characters essentially become their mental illness, it was shown as a persisting and comprehensive flaw—more a passive mode of control rather than an active fixation on weight or body image. Sterling’s abusive past with her alcoholic father and unhealthy co-dependency on her brother culminate into to the reverse of acting out: a willful negligence and disinterest. But her family and friends are anything but passive over the issue. Her support structure is refreshingly strong, caring, and observant—in spite of her unfortunate childhood background.
On a similar note, I rather enjoyed the parallels of the inter-reliant (yet detrimental) brother/sister relationships. The symmetry was rousing without feeling too intentional. In a way, Sterling is to Phin what Fisher is to May—destructively clingy. While dependency was once a matter of survival, it has become a stagnant thing that holds them back.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
Unfortunately there were a few hints of author intrusion, primarily early on. The general impression was a needlessly inserted political agenda, blatantly catering to an offensive stereotype. Case in point:
"Darold's never been invited to join them. He says it's because he's not yet ancient enough to need a rocker, but I'm convinced half of them will vote Democrat before they let a black man join their ranks."
The romantic angle was a little underwhelming. (Although, granted, the focus is far more on the plot than on romance.) There were times the pacing seemed to suffer from the distractions of attraction. At one point the MC puts her mission of retrieving her brother on hold so she can go on a date.
While the worldbuilding started out uniquely compelling, it steadily depleted in momentum and believability as the story progressed. The eventual solution found for freeing people from the symbiotic bonds of the mystical swamp was both sketchy and confusing. This reader would have preferred more clearly defined rules and boundaries of the magics at work—however much this fleshing out would have undoubtedly inflated the page count.
Overall, this was an entertaining low-fantasy read—bewitching in writing style and noteworthy in concept.
Favorite Quotes:
"There's always a little piece of truth stuck inside a good pretending."
"There's one surefire way to annoy a sibling and that's to stand around their friends while being young."
aneeqah's review against another edition
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
Honestly, this book started out as a gripping novel. Then it got weird. And then weirder. Then a bit too weird. Regardless, it was a quick and easy read, and had some surprising depth.
Full review to come.
Honestly, this book started out as a gripping novel. Then it got weird. And then weirder. Then a bit too weird. Regardless, it was a quick and easy read, and had some surprising depth.
Full review to come.