HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael
Loading...

Wild Things (edition 2009)

by Clay Carmichael

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
24322109,465 (3.97)2
Stubborn, self-reliant, eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, moves to the country to live with her prickly half-uncle, a famous doctor and sculptor, and together they learn about trust and the strength of family.
Member:ysjreading
Title:Wild Things
Authors:Clay Carmichael
Info:Front Street Press (2009), Hardcover, 241 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:*****
Tags:orphans, artists, strong female characters, cats, interesting perspective, friendship, family

Work Information

Wild Things by Clay Carmichael

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 2 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
Zoe is just 11 years old, but she's had to take care of herself most of her life because her father is dead and her mother is mentally ill. When her mother commits suicide, Zoe is sent to live with her artist/doctor Uncle Henry. There she becomes involved with lots of fellow wild things: an old tomcat (who is also like a co-narrator; there are several chapters told from his perspective), a mysterious figure from the woods, a white deer, a couple of feisty old ladies, and Henry himself.

There are lots of stories about willful, intelligent kids who, through the course of a book's events, learn to love and let themselves be loved. Wild Things is a nice contribution to this genre. I liked it a lot, though it was a little clunky in places and didn't completely satisfy me. My frustration was that parts of the book were truly witty and inspired, which only highlighted the lameness of its weaker aspects (mostly I think the author had too many balls in the air, too many of mom's boyfriends, too many plot lines to wrap up, too many unlikely coincidences).

Still, overall, really enjoyable book, great characters, both funny and poignant. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
I very much enjoyed this book which focused on a spunky, very much impacted by issues of abandonment and mental health of her parents young adult girl.

Zoe was accustomed to forging ahead by her self. Since early years, her mother left her alone. When her mother committed suicide, she then lived with an Uncle she never knew. Her took her to live with him and very stable, warm and caring friends.
Henry was the first stable person she had in her life. Not accustomed to love, accountable to others, and waiting at any minute to be abandoned at any point, Zoe wants very much to trust Henry, his assisstant Franklin, and Franklin's wife Bessie.

This is a warm, fuzzy book that focuses more on Zoe's travels to stability than her previous life of abandoment and unstability.

While it may sound too good to be true, Henry is a very stable person. A previous cardiologist, he left that behind to become quite a talented artist.

There are twists and turns as strong-willed Zoe finds an abandoned shack in the woods surrounding Henry's house, and claims it as her own. In addition, she discovers an abandoned, ferel cat that she gradually cultivates safety and he then follows her and becomes her pet. This part of the book is very precious. ( )
  Whisper1 | Aug 20, 2023 |
I loved this book. In many ways it's like so many other orphan stories that I'm not sure exactly what made me love it so much - I guess it was the characters, and the fact that it sounded like a place I wouldn't mind visiting and hanging out with the people for a while. There are some weird unwritten rules that happen in rural places, and I think this story brought a lot of that extremely small town culture to life. ( )
  kamlibrarian | Dec 23, 2022 |
I really enjoyed this book, and was hoping there was a sequel. Clay has another book, and it has dogs instead of a cat... but I was hoping for more about Zoey, WIll and Henry....
  LeonaL | Jul 26, 2016 |
2 ILL no CC - read by Children's Book group before I was involved.
  Cheryl_in_CC_NV | Jun 5, 2016 |
Showing 1-5 of 22 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English

None

Stubborn, self-reliant, eleven-year-old Zoe, recently orphaned, moves to the country to live with her prickly half-uncle, a famous doctor and sculptor, and together they learn about trust and the strength of family.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.97)
0.5
1
1.5
2 2
2.5 1
3 10
3.5 6
4 27
4.5 1
5 16

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

Recorded Books

An edition of this book was published by Recorded Books.

» Publisher information page

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,235,198 books! | Top bar: Always visible