The Girl Savage

Rundell is rapidly becoming one of my favorite writers. I'm kind of surprised I haven't heard more about her books, because Adventure tends to be a subject that kids love.

Will has grown up on a Zimbabwean farm where she was pretty much left to do whatever she wanted which mostly involved casual gymnastics and camping out in the bush, and just messing about with the other kids on the farm. She enjoys reading, too, but it's clear that her life is devoid of most of what a Western child would expect: no regular schooling, no after school lessons or play dates arranged for her. She is almost feral and happy with it.

And then she ends up being sent to a London boarding school and it is ghastly. She doesn't know any of what her peers take for show more granted: the way schools operate with bells, the subjects covered in class: she is the hick to end all hicks and the mean girls are brutal.

It's refreshing to read about a character who does not fit in, and who is shunned by her peers, and the author makes it clear that most readers would shun her too: Will is too out of her depth to be ingratiating or subservient. She is no Little Princess.

Colonialism and racism are never broached because Will doesn't see them. It isn't a good authorial stance, but it is an appropriate one: Will is totally self-absorbed. There are a lot of tomboys in literature, but few of them get to be truly awful. It's still a delightful change. All the women in this book are fierce, all in different ways, but they're intimidating as hell.

Library copy show less

I have now written this review twice and lost it both times. The universe does not want me to post a review of this book. Suffice to say, it is some of the most gorgeous prose I have read in years. Read it, read it, read it.

It also has some of the most perfect descriptions of how hard school can be when you're different, and how worthwhile it is to persevere. Not because it gets easier, or because the bullies are secretly good kids with problems of their own and you'll be friends someday, but because the struggle itself makes you the strongest, freest version of yourself you can possibly be for your future adventures. It's a tough message, I imagine, for families who want to shelter their kids from pain, but it will resonate at the core show more of many of those "weird" kids. (And former weird kids.) show less

Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms is a novel of joy and love and freedom. Young Will is passionately in love with her life in Zimbabwe, South Africa and with her father. Her joy cartwheels across the page in vibrant escapades with best friend, Simon. The two wildlings race across the fields while hanging upside down from their horse's necks; roast bananas spiked with sugar in outdoor fires; punch boys who are cruel to monkeys. Will hurls herself into her father's arms upon his return from days away, and irons every piece of his clothing to be sure parasites don't harm him. Then the unthinkable occurs and wildcat Will is sent to a gray English boarding school filled with a pack of girls worse than hyenas. The loss of freedom and sun and all show more she loves drives Will to extremes, yet she retains her courage and earthy intelligence as she navigates London's strangeness. I loved Will for her fierce joy and goodness and I loved Daniel's grandmother for her wisdom. Read Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms for the sheer joy of it. show less

Astonishingly beautiful in a way most American children don't usually get to see. I love Will fiercely and she will continue to inspire me and will number among the many important friend I have who happen to live on bookshelves.

Wilhelmina Silver’s world is golden. Living half-wild on an African farm with her horse, her monkey, and her best friend, every day is beautiful. But when her home is sold and Will is sent away to boarding school in England, the world becomes impossibly difficult. Lions and hyenas are nothing compared to packs of vicious schoolgirls. Where can a girl run to in London? And will she have the courage to survive?

Wilhelmina Silver has always been allowed to run a little bit wild. She lives on the farm where her father is the overseer, and she has her best friend Simon, her horse and her monkey, fruit ripe for the picking, and the freedom to go wherever she wants and spend her days however she chooses. When disaster strikes and Will is shipped off to boarding school, she might as well have been sent to another planet. Grief-stricken and claustrophobic, Will decides to run away . . . but London is not like Africa. Where can she go to find the wide-open spaces she craves?

This book reminded me strongly of Listening for Lions by Gloria Whelan, as the main characters in both books had the same strong affection for Africa. All in all, though, I'd say show more this book is not quite as strong. The characterization is good, but the pacing is problematic -- so much time is spent setting up Will's idyllic existence at the beginning of the book, that the reader (at least, any reader who has read the jacket copy) is left waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak, and for Will to be sent away to London. In comparison with the leisurely beginning, the London parts of the story feel a bit rushed, and the ending wraps up a little too neatly. I did enjoy reading this story despite its issues, but I'm not sure who I would recommend it to. show less

Interesting pacing. The description of life in Africa is wonderful and I kinda wish the whole book were about that. But eventually Will was sent to London, and managed to have some very fast-paced adventures there, before figuring out (with some help) how to take some control over her own young life.

Lots of clues indicate that this is actually inspired by the author's own childhood experiences. Especially the idealistic interpretation of the health of the community of wildlife and the r'ships between white and black, farmer and hands, on the farms in Zimbabwe. And don't be fooled, this isn't old history, turns out that there are computers....

Anyway, there's lots to love here. It didn't work quite well enough for me to recommend, or even show more to feel fully satisfied, but if you love it, then more power to you. show less