Jessica Taylor (1)

I love when a book can show me a whole new world, and WANDERING WILD did just that with it’s story of Talia, or “Tal” to those who know her, and her brother Wen. Tal and Wen are Wanderers – Gypsies – and the book begins with them arriving in a new place and starting a con on the unsuspecting (and really cute) Spencer Sway.

Tal is a teen who has never known anything but the road, and she thinks she loves it. Wen has also lived on the road his whole life, but he dreams of stability show more and school and books and a “normal” life. WANDERING WILD follows the two of them and centers itself as they and their band of Wanderers end up camping outside of Cedar Falls, South Carolina.

I don’t know anything about wanderers/grifters/gypsies/travelers/rovers, but the lifestyle portrayed in WANDERING WILD rings true. One of the things I liked about the book was that it made me want to learn more about them.

The book is contemporary YA, and the relationship between Tal and Spencer takes center stage. Although she’s definitely a strong female character, it’s a tad disconcerting that Tal doesn’t realize the lack of freedom she has leading the Wanderer life until a boy comes along to show her how things COULD be. However, many people need to see themselves reflected in the eyes of others before seeing their true potential, and eye-rolling gender stereotypes aside, Tal’s romance with Spencer Sway feels real. What really tugged at my heart though is Wen’s romance with books … that’s what really made me sigh.

The Spirit of the Falconer, the religion that drives the Wanderers, is a bit of a distraction throughout the book. Owls, both real and symbolic, arrive on the scene at random intervals and I was never really sure what they meant. The characters in the book were equally confused, so I don’t feel too awful about being mystified by them.

One of the real highlights of WANDERING WILD is the language. The descriptions are gorgeous at times, like when Spencer says to Tal, “Because when I’m with you, I see colors that don’t exist.” I confess that I melted a little bit inside with that one.

All in all, WANDERING WILD was fun and interesting, and the setting and characters were different enough to keep me engaged and reading. I really liked Tal, and I adored Wen. Maybe it’s too much to hope that he gets a story of his own down the line …

My thanks to the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. show less

Henri and Emma are sisters and have always been close, dreaming of a future by themselves in a beachside house with cats. Henri's behavior becomes more and more erratic with excessive drinking at parties. Emma is pretty straight edge, but becomes enraged when Henri seduces Emma's crush and strings him along, clearly planning to drop him soon. Emma acts rashly and simultaneously obliterates her relationship with Henri. Then, they get stranded on a deserted island with a boy named Alex. How show more long will they stay there? How will they survive? Will Henri let her anger win out over survival?

A Map for Wrecked Girls is a bit of a frustrating read overall. It sounds out fine with establishing Henri and Emma's relationship. Henri has always been the leader while Emma has always followed faithfully. Now that Henri seems to be spiralling out of control with risky behavior, Emma starts to be more assertive. She does something that is portrayed as unforgiveably horrible which really isn't. It's motivated by jealousy and anger, but it wasn't the wrong thing to do. The novel is told starting with the island and then going back in time to show what happened with all of this. It served to hold the audience in suspense as to what happened, but other aspects of the novel made this not work for me.

Henri and Emma are stranded on a desert island with a boy named Alex. From page 1, Henri holds on to her grudge like it's a flotation device. Even the death of Alex's cousin and the explosion of their boat didn't distract her from making Emma (and by extension Alex) as miserable as possible. I hated Henri for most of the novel because she kept valuable information that would lead to an easier life on the island and even sabotaged attempts to leave. It's incredibly and unforgiveably petty to keep up this act when their lives are in danger. Henri's personality and actions grew stale fast and she doesn't change all that much. Emma changes a little, but still lets Henri have so much power over her. The whole situation was frustrating to read and I wanted Henri to suffer from the consequences of her idiotic behavior.

I didn't enjoy A Map for Wrecked Girls. The toxic sister relationship had Henri being mean and dangerous all the time while Emma continually gave excuse after excuse to dismiss the behavior. The only thing that kept me reading was Emma's huge faux pas and it didn't deserve the weight it was given. It took me over a week to read this even though it should have taken me a couple of days because I hated Henri that much. This was supposed to be an uplifting story of sisterly love, but it falls very short of that. I understand having a rough relationship with a sister, but there comes a time when you need to say enough of their bad behavior and abuse. Not recommended. show less

* I got this book from ALA and this is my honest thoughts*

I really liked this book. It was fun read. The multiple time periods was a blessing and curse in this novel because I was much more invested in the present storyline and Emma and Alex relationship and that is what kept me reading. I felt like the sister relationship was very uniquely done and not a type of relationship I have seen in the novel. It had some very fascinating relationship drama between them. I loved the survival aspects show more of this story and that is what motivated me to keep reading. It was a bot heartbreaking novel but also dealt with survival and that is what kept me reading. It is a cute summer read but also dealt with harder topics that kept me engaged as well. show less

* I got this book from ALA and this is my honest thoughts*

I really liked this book. It was fun read. The multiple time periods was a blessing and curse in this novel because I was much more invested in the present storyline and Emma and Alex relationship and that is what kept me reading. I felt like the sister relationship was very uniquely done and not a type of relationship I have seen in the novel. It had some very fascinating relationship drama between them. I loved the survival aspects show more of this story and that is what motivated me to keep reading. It was a bot heartbreaking novel but also dealt with survival and that is what kept me reading. It is a cute summer read but also dealt with harder topics that kept me engaged as well. show less