Review: Wild by Alex Mallory

Title: Wild
Author: Alex Mallory
Series: n/a
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 8, 2014
Source: from publisher via Edelweiss
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The forest is full of secrets, and no one understands that better than Cade. Foraging, hunting, surviving— that’s all he knows. Alone for years, Cade believes he’s the sole survivor. At least, until he catches a glimpse of a beautiful stranger…

Dara expected to find natural wonders when she set off for a spring break camping trip. Instead, she discovers a primitive boy— he’s stealthy and handsome and he might be following her. Intrigued, Dara seeks him out and sets a catastrophe in motion.

Thrust back into society, Cade struggles with the realization that the life he knew was a lie. But he’s not the only one. Trying to explain life in a normal town leaves Dara questioning it.

As the media swarm and the police close in, Dara and Cade risk everything to get closer. But will the truth about Cade’s past tear them apart?

A YA Tarzan retelling.

I've pretty much loved all of the historical fiction novels I've read of Saundra Mitchell's, so when I heard she was writing a YA retelling of Tarzan under a pen name, I immediately added the book to my wishlist. I wasn't disappointed. The tone and voice of this novel were so different from her other books that it was as if she was a different author completely...but not at the detriment to this novel. In this case, different is very good. I appreciated the liberties the author took with the original story but I also liked that she stayed relatively true to it in its most basic form.

an approximation of Cade =D

If I had to describe this novel as simply as possible, I'd have to say that it was a blending of the Disney version of Tarzan and Crocodile Dundee. I normally hate making comparisons like that, but for this book, it just feels apt. Because when we meet Cade, he is wild...not completely uncivilized but definitely unused to human companionship. Cade's parents made sure he was educated, that he could read and write, but because they believed the world as they knew it had ended, they didn't teach him the ways of the world. So when he ends up in polite society, it's a bit like Mick walking around NYC, clad in his safari gear and completely perplexed by all the technology surrounding him. Dara and other concerned citizens, even those who find his tragic story implausible, try to acclimate him to city life. But after nearly two decades of living in the wilderness, integration into our world doesn't seem all that possible.

Still, Cade is curious. His folks told him of the many conveniences the world has to offer, the technologies that had been available when they bailed on the rest of the world in favor of survival. But he's never seen them until now. Dara is curious, too, about this boy who claims to know little of the luxuries she's taken for granted her whole life. As they discover more about each other, there are romantic sparks, but it never felt as if their relationship was in any way the antithesis to discovering the mystery of who Cade really was and how he came to be in that forest in the first place.

The relationships in this novel were so genuine and believable. So even though Dara actually had a boyfriend, I wasn't bothered by what was developing between her and Cade because before she even met him in those woods, she was already questioning her relationship with Josh. They would be graduating in mere months, heading off to different colleges in the fall, and it was obvious that they'd outgrown each other. Josh was the one holding on to something that was already gone. I swore he and Cade would end up in fisticuffs, or that at least one of them would resort to belting out that famous Tarzan yell to claim Dara as their woman, but both behaved admirably. For the most part. ;0) Cade saw Dara, saw who she was and what she was about, and Dara was able to do that for Cade, as well. Their mutual attraction and the feelings that developed were actually quite sweet and well-deserved. There was respect and longing and passion there that had been missing in her relationship with Josh for some time.

Dara also takes care with her other relationships. Just as she didn't rush into anything with Cade -- or out of anything with Josh -- she doesn't take her devotion to her family or her friends lightly. Her father is the sheriff in charge of the investigation into Cade's disappearance from society at large and subsequent appearance in their small town. Dara loves and respects Sheriff Porter, but she also wants him to trust her. Neither wants this case to come between them. And even though Dara's younger sister was a rather large nuisance to the situation for much of the novel, Dara is still there when Lia needs her most. Just as Sophia, Dara's best friend, is always there when Dara is in need. The brother-sister bond that developed between Cade and Sophia might have actually been my favorite relationship of the whole book, though, because it showed just how much Cade's presence had changed things, even so much as to point out how one's perspective can be completely altered if they can keep an open mind.

And Cade adjusting to our world definitely requires a shift in perspective. Though, I will admit that maybe a little too much time was spent exploring this aspect, as well as showing him in his natural habitat. I think I was nearly to the halfway point before anything actually happened, though when it did, it sent the lives of all involved into a tailspin. But what the story lacked in action, it made up for in heart. These were characters I could truly empathize with, who I wanted to see triumph, even if it wasn't in the way I had imagined for them.

There are beautiful moments between the characters and whimsical ones, and it was all just so honest and real, true to the way that normal people would react to a situation such as this. And the way it was told was honest, too. You never had to wonder how any one character felt because in a matter of seconds, the author was telling you. You're in and out of characters thoughts, quick as a flash, but the transitions are seamless. As was the open-ended conclusion to the story, if you can believe that. Even knowing that there's not another book planned to follow this one, I'm okay with where the author left Cade and Dara's story. She handled it brilliantly, and I don't think I would have wanted more. I do wish I hadn't spent the last thirty pages or so panicking for fear of no resolution, though. o_O

Wild was a strong retelling with a unique twist on the original story, one that's felt throughout the novel and explored intimately. If you want to read a strongly developed novel that focuses on the characters and their stories more fully than the accompanying romance, I'd definitely recommend Wild to you. Also, if you're a fan of hot guys with dreads who have decent manners despite their particularly wild upbringing, you'd probably enjoy this book. :D

GIF it to me straight:

Okay, so it's emotional and beautiful, too, but I couldn't resist. ;)

About the author:

Alex Mallory is a pen name for YA author Saundra Mitchell. She’s a big fan of reading, history, camping and competitive M&M sorting.

Find Alex:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: alex mallory, harper-collins, retellings, reviews, saundra mitchell, wild

Review: Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell

Title: Mistwalker
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Series: n/a
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Source: for review via ATW ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man. Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls. Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

I expected to be seduced by this book, much like the Grey Man "tries to seduce Willa to take his place". But to be honest, there's not much seduction here.  If you were looking forward to a romantic tryst with an urban legend type character, I think you're going to be disappointed with this one.  But, if you're looking for a story about a girl who's troubled by the part she played in her brother's death, about a girl who's trying to figure out where to go from here, then this might be your kind of book.

This is the third novel I've read from Saundra Mitchell, and as per usual, one of my favorite aspects is the setting. In this story, it's a poor fishing village in Maine.  I've never been to Maine, but I've always wanted to visit, and I almost felt like I had through the author's beautiful prose.  Her descriptions of the wharf and the lobster boats that sit in it, the island and it's somewhat magical lighthouse, the mystical fog that rolls into the village seemingly of its own accord, even the changing of the leaves as winter approaches...so much beauty and majesty in such a cold, harsh place.

Mistwalker was surprisingly (to me, at least) told from both Willa and Grey's perspectives.  While Willa's voice was rather stilted and halting as she tried to deal with her grief, I found Grey's to be very appealing and almost poetic in nature.  Of course, Willa is from present-day and Grey is the spirit of a seventeen-year-old boy who's been trapped in the lighthouse for 100 years...their voices should sound very different.  However, I appreciated Grey's perspective much more.  His frustration and humiliation over being deceived into his current position were nearly tangible, and his overall appearance and control over the fog and mist made him that much creepier.  But he was just a boy who had been tricked, and he'd still proven himself more or less honorable over the 100 years he'd been ensnared on the island.

Willa, on the other hand, wanted to avoid thinking about her situation, wanted to avoid anything that meant things would change.  She gives everyone the cold shoulder and pushes them all away.  And then she meets the Grey Man.  Nothing comes of it, except that now she's even more worried about her own sanity.  But as luck would have it, their meeting is fortuitous to both of them in ways that neither of them are ready to comprehend.

The problem I ran into with this story was the pacing.  It just never really felt like the story was moving forward.  I think I would have preferred this narrative as a short story rather than a full-length novel.  The writing is good...it's par for this author, but I have to admit I was more than a little bored at times.

A story of seduction that sounds to good to be true, Mistwalker is not what it appears to be, but I think it's all the better for it.  It's not entirely unique in its handling of grief and heartbreak, but it is genuine.  Haunting and beautiful, this eerie tale of tragedy and deception will appeal to fans of ghost stories and urban legends alike.

About the author:

Saundra Mitchell is the author of SHADOWED SUMMER, THE VESPERTINE, THE SPRINGSWEET, THE ELEMENTALS and forthcoming MISTWALKER. She’s also the editor of the YA anthology DEFY THE DARK.

This fall, she debuts WHILE YOU’RE AWAY, her first New Adult novel writing as Jessa Holbrook. In summer 2014, she debuts WILD, her first YA novel writing as Alex Mallory.

Find Saundra:

Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Read More

Labels: houghton mifflin harcourt, mistwalker, paranormal, reviews, saundra mitchell, souls, urban legends

Teaser Tuesday #78: Mistwalker by Saundra Mitchell

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here's what I'm teasing this week:

Title: Mistwalker
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Series: n/a
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication Date: February 4, 2014
Source: for review via ATW ARC Tours
Purchase: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man.

Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls.

Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

My teaser(s):

"I think it's plain by now.  If she's a romantic, it's the secret sort.  I won't win her by force or insistence.  Instead, I ask again, an intimate murmur made for her alone." -- Grey

- p. 147 of ARC

"From that lighthouse, he saw me. That lighthouse, where nothing but a fall stood between him and the ocean. Where some kind of spell brought him everything he wanted. As I slipped into a quiet house, I thought hard at the kitchen. I dared it to give me a turkey dinner, to put Levi in the chair across from mine." -- Willa

- p. 156 of ARC

I know it's cheating to include two teasers, but I thought it best since there are two points of view in this novel.  (I didn't know that going into it.)  Anyway, so far, I'm not in love with this one, but I'm enjoying the story nevertheless.  I am just getting to the good stuff, though.  =)

What are you teasing this week?  Share it in the comments or leave a link so I can visit!

Read More

Labels: houghton mifflin harcourt, mistwalker, paranormal, saundra mitchell, souls, teaser tuesday, urban legends

Waiting on Wednesday: The Elementals by Saundra Mitchell

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's WoW selection is...

Title: The Elementals
Author: Saundra Mitchell
Series: The Vespertine, book #3
Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books
Publication Date: June 4, 2013

In 1917, war spells the death of one age in Europe; the rise of motion pictures heralds the birth of a new one in America. Caught between both are two extraordinary souls, bound by destiny.

Kate Witherspoon has lived a bohemian life with her artist parents, and she’s infused with their wanton disregard for social norms. She’s determined to become a film director, and she doesn’t intend to do that in a corset.

Meanwhile, midwestern farm boy Julian Birch has inherited the tenacity and wanderlust that fueled his parents’ adventures. War calls, yet not for him—but he refuses to let his disability define him.

Strangers driven by a shared vision, Kate and Julian set out separately for Los Angeles, the city of dreams. There, they each struggle to find their independence. When they finally meet, the teenage runaways realize their true legacy: the ability to triumph over death, over time. But as their powerful parents before them learned, all magic comes with a price. In this sweeping companion to The Vespertine and The Springsweet, the teenage children of the heroes of the previous novels confront a decades-old tragedy still unfolding. At the crucial moment, will Kate and Julian have the courage to embrace their gifts?

Why I'm waiting:  Eeek!  I just knew a meeting of the kindred spirits from the previous novels was due, but I had no idea this book would be about their offspring, who apparently inherited supernatural powers of their own.  I love how each companion novel in this series has had a different setting, a different backdrop, resulting in a completely different story for each book.  I loved both of the previous books and I can't wait to see how this story develops!

What are you waiting on this week?  Feel free to share it in the comments or leave a link so I can stop by!

Read More

Labels: favorites, historical fiction, houghton mifflin harcourt, saundra mitchell, superpowers, the vespertine series, waiting on wednesday (wow)