***Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected release date August 4, 2020.***


I loved the premise of this book – creepy atmosphere, characters that you both love and hate depending on the situation, typical small-town mentality, and the like.

However, as much as I tried, I never *got* into the story. Similar to a previous reviewer’s statement, I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story or series and didn’t understand what was going on because I had missed the background.

I tried. It just didn’t work. I finished it but more out of a sense of duty than anything else. The characters just felt flat and 2 dimensional.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jolene spends her nights running through the woods with her twin sister, Lee. Lee, clad in Jo's ratty old dress, lives amongst the fauna, munching on animals. From what the reader can see, Lee is a figment of Jo's imagination. Abandoned by her 15 year-old mentally ill mother, Jo suffers from delusions,isolation, instability, and a barrage of school and family problems.

Working at her aunt's bar, Jo can't ait to be a legal adult, make enough money to move to another town. Despite her cosistent instability, Jo's relationships with Lee and her close friend Savannah are really nice to witness, and feel raw in this setting.

This is an atmospheric, dark debut. The voice of this story is very rhythmic, and though it has a lot of realnss, I'm still not 100% sure if Lee is real or a figment of her imagination!!

This is surprising, unconventional, interesting, haunting supernatural thriller. But it also repetitive, nonsensical, awkward reading!

At some parts you question the author’s motives to write this book because I definitely had some hard time to connect with the characters and twin sister in the woods part of the story, well so sorry but I didn’t buy it and ending is also haphazard, not quite satisfying with so many unanswered or not so well answered questions, too many blank spots. But I still acknowledge the efforts of the author build something from scratch and telling us something unique, dazzling and twisty. And writing style, pacing was also good. Problematic parts are story’s direction and irritating characters you may not connect with their stories or you may have no reason to care for them.

This is story of Jolene, whose mother disappeared into thin air fourteen years ago, suffering from sleep deprivation, barely keeping her eyes open at her classes, feeling the burden of secret she carries. She has a twin living in the woods, running wild and free (Hmmm really?) and Jolene starts to meet with her at the nigh time. And then twin attacks to town’s boy and all suspicious eyes turn to Joe. Yes things start to get more complicated than before.

At some parts I wondered maybe Jolene is delusional and she created her sister on her mind kind of explanation will be presented to save the story’s sake but spoiler free: it didn’t happen.

So I’m stopping right now not to give more clues or spilling more beans. I could be snappy, irritating reviewer who gives more clues and ruins the spirit of the book.

Overall: I didn’t like the progression of the story but I appreciate the author’s trying and some parts of the book picked my curiosity as well. I wanted to learn more. So 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 for these moments!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for sharing this original ARC in exchange my honest review.

**My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this ARC in exchange for an honest review**

Jolene(Jo) is an unhappy fifteen-year-old girl, haunted by the ghosts of her parent's sins and the agonizing reality of not knowing the truth of where she came from. She also holds another secret: Her sister, Lee. A feral child who runs the woods at night. When Jo's responsibilities force her to choose between her nightly runs with Lee and being able to grow into a position where she can finally provide for them both, Jo chooses to only see her sister once a week so that she can get her life back in order. Lee, however, does not agree with this. When she attacks a boy, the town thinks Jo is the culprit, and the secrets the girls have tried to desperately to keep start to unravel as new discoveries are made about their pasts and each other.

This book started out really well. Taut, edgy prose, and a protagonist with all the emotional turmoil of any young girl. I enjoyed the tight, choppy structure, the way it built tension and made the read quick and easy. The first third set itself up to lead into an eerie thriller and I was excited to continue, but unfortunately, it fell a bit flat and never quite recovered. Jo is obviously in need of help, but is not in an environment where she is going to get it. Often brushed off as plain rebellious or insane like her mother.

She is possessive of her best friend Savannah, obviously in love with her and unable to understand those feelings amongst the madness that is her life. The unrequited feelings are often there and brushed off and unexplored, and did not seem to fit into the story other than an afterthought. Lee is ruthless and fascinating; entirely more intelligent than one would be led to believe considering her upbringing. Every scene with her was enjoyable, if heartbreaking.

There were elements that took me out of the story entirely; odd descriptions that didn't seem to fit and left me staring blankly at the screen for a moment before moving on. Some instances were entirely unbelieveable, particularly as we limped our way into the finale. By that point the ending was, I'm assuming, supposed to be hopeful, but all I could think was that there was no way they would get away with that. No way that they wouldn't be found and separated in the end regardless.

Some Kind of Animal was a bizarre, twisty thing and if you enjoy ambiguity in your endings as well as tales of devotion between siblings — this one might interest you. But know that it is not really a happy tale.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Some Kind of Animal was an okay book for me. At first, I didn't really have any expectations for this thing.. I just wanted to like it. Which I di.. I just wanted to like it more than I actually did. Ya know?

No idea if that makes sense, but when you meet Jolene you feel bad for her. Not going to lie, her life was completely messed up. Yet, she ends up meeting her twin during the book. Again, it was interesting but it was also really weird at the same time. I just feel like I wasn't truly connecting with the characters in this book.

Heck, even the entire plot of this book was hard to understand. Or maybe it was the lack of coffee/sleep for me? Don't really know but it was just a weird book overall.

First I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

While I was intrigued by the story, it still took me awhile to read it. I guess none of the characters really spoke to me. It was definitely an interesting story that kept me coming back for more. But I was certainly glad when it was over and I could move on. I would still recommend it to readers, and I look for growth from the author.

This was a very different style of book that I'm not really accustomed to. The MC had kind of a hard life and a rough start, and at points I thought that maybe she was having delusions and maybe made up the feral twin sister. I liked the atmosphere but I'm not sure what the author had envisioned.

So, I don’t really know what I just read. Am I okay what that? Sure. This follows a fifteen-year-old girl named Jolene who has had a seriously messed up life so far. Her mother went missing when she was born and her grandmother and aunt have been raising her all her life. Jolene sees a girl one night out by the woods and realizes this girl looks just like her. She goes out and realizes it’s her feral, wild twin sister. Ever since that night, Jo goes out and runs with her sister at night in the woods.

I really didn’t get the point of this story and the characters all fell flat for me, not to mention it was very unbelievable. Jo just sees this girl out in the woods and is like oh okay that must be my twin sister? Some Kind of Animal was a wild ride because I literally had no idea where the storyline was going. I thought it would be focused on mental health and maybe Jo was making up this “twin sister”, but I was wrong. I just felt as though it was kind of all over the place, so many things happened with no consequences as well. Maybe, it’s just me and I didn’t get what the author was trying to do when writing this, but for me it just was very out there and kind of weird.

This book was awful - I couldn't finish it. As a high school librarian, I am used to reading all sorts of YA books, but this was unrealistic, confusing, and absolutely not engaging. I apologize for the harsh review, but this didn't seem plausible at all.

This book had me hooked! I read it within 24 hours of recieving it. I really felt like I was right in the book running through the forest. I was caught up in Jo's story, what was real, what was a lie, and what the actual truth was. Great vivid imagery throughout the book made the experience that much more fulfilling. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book by this author!

What an odd, captivating YA!

Jo's parents have never been in her life, gone by suspected gruesome, mysterious circumstances. She has a twin sister (Lee) who lives in the woods that no one, not even her aunt and grandmother, knows exist. After Lee attacks a local boy, Jo's own life is turned upside down, and she embarks on an epic journey that changes everything.

I really, really liked this book. There are so many interesting, strange characters in this small town without its own grocery store. I did have to suspend my disbelief a bit about Lee, but the story of why she ended up in the woods was really interesting. Jo was a strong, conflicted main character, struggling to find herself in the grim legacies of her parents. And oh, how I loved the ending!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

What a strange and unexpected gem of a book! When I was in high school sociology many moons ago, I remember being fascinated by accounts of children that grew up wild in the woods. In Some Kind of Animal, the main character's twin sister has lived such a life. Jo grows up with her aunt, going to school and doing things you'd expect of other teenage girls. Lee grows up wild in the woods, doing what she has to in order to survive. (Some of the depictions of her behavior are not for the faint of heart.) Despite Jo trying to tell her closest friend and family members about Lee's existence numerous times over the course of her childhood and adolescence, no one will believe her... until an act of violence occurs that changes everything.

Engrossing plot, fast pacing, and high stakes. I could suspend my disbelief for a girl growing up wild in the woods, but there were certain things that made me raise my eyebrows at the end (re: Jo's friendship with her best friend Savannah and how much Savannah was willing to forgive).

First of all, I want to say that I got a clear feeling for the setting in this book - FINALLY! I'm getting tired of these books saying they're set in some specific area and then giving me no feel for that area whatsoever. I did get a good sense in this book.

Automatically 5/5* for readability. I blew through this one and was very eager to know if this "twin sister" was real or a figment of Jo's imagination. I also wanted to know what happened to Jo's mom??? Thankfully both of these questions are answered to my satisfaction. That's the plot so I won't bother to recap it in my review.

This book had strong writing and relatable characters.

The familial relationships are very well done. I sympathized with Jo when no one believed her and when she kept having to sneak out or betray trust to do what she thought was the right thing. I wanted to know more about Jo's mom and more about her and Aggie's relationship with Margaret.

I pulled back a star because I had a hard time believing everything involving the twin. Yes, a lot of it is explained. But just because you can explain it doesn't mean it's realistic. I also didn't buy ANY of the romantic relationships/feelings - not one. I would go so far as it say they were unnecessary and didn't add anything to the story. The plotline with the pastor was also...strange? Hard to pick a word for that. He was bad, he was good, he was bad again...he kept cropping up and I didn't need him as a filler character. I definitely thought he was ____ (don't want to give spoilers), but that didn't end up being the case. Once I found that out, he was useless.

The ending was resolved too quickly for my taste. Everyone just drives off into the sunset even though there are TWO dead people?? I don't consider that a spoiler since it's out of context.

Bottom line: an excellent read, might even reread, and I look forward to Moore's next.

Some Kind of Animal is a psychological drama about a girl named Jo who was raised without a mother. Rumors are her mother was wild, maybe murdered. When Jo was 5, a girl who looks just like herself walks out of the woods and into her backyard. Jo names the girl Lee and sneaks out at night to run and play. No one believes Jo has a sister in the woods. The first half of the book is interesting in that the reader really doesn't know whether to believe Jo either. Is Lee real? Then, Lee attacks someone and Jo gets blamed. Jo needs to clear her name while making sure Lee is safe too. Lots of secrets come out, and Jo gets some answers about her mother. The last part of the book takes a wild turn as the girls try to be free. With lots of surprises, this book is about family, friendship, and loyalty.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Jo has lived with her aunt since her mother disappeared when she was a baby. Living without a mom is hard enough, but worse when you have a twin sister no one else knows about that lives in the woods. Jo runs with Lee at night, trying to get to know her and learn more about her mother's mysterious disappearance.

This book was weird. It was long, and at times really dragged on. None of the characters were particularly likeable, and the longer the book lasted, the more outlandish things got. There are lies, murder, betrayals, and it all happens to fifteen year old girls, on an ever growing scale.

Honestly, I don't know if I liked this book or not. More than anything, I'm really confused about it.

This book was not what I thought it would be, and not in a good way. If it was fantasy, or allegory, or just an unreliable narrator (which is the expectation that the blurb and the whole first half build up) that would be one thing, but instead it's all meant to be taken literally, which is just too silly. I guess it's true that children can have some very unrealistic ideas about things, but the range of horrible things the main character allows to happen and the horrible things she causes to happen are wildly out of proportion with their consequences, and not even in an interesting way, just in a way that makes the reader scoff. The ending for these characters is undeserved.

**I received a copy of via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Maria Romasco Moore does an excellent job introducing the characters and showing us this dysfunctional family Jo is apart of. The forest and atmosphere that’s created is really fun to read. I liked the relationship Jo had with her strange sister Lee. Jo has a pretty typical teenage relationship with her aunt Aggie, lots of tension. I liked the character that ended up telling Jo the truth about her mother.

There were a few things that didn’t make sense in the second half. The first was, Jo kisses a certain character (to piss her grandma off) and after that things got less believable. Savannah (Jo’s best friend) interacts with a character towards the end and it doesn’t make sense at all. Lastly there are zero consequences for a death that happens, it’s barely talked about and again, doesn’t make sense.

3 stars for me, the first part was a solid 4.5 stars but the second was 2 stars.

I would recommend this book

This book is wild from beginning to end. The characters put you on one wild ride from beginning to end and at times I didn't know what to believe was real. At times heartbreaking, but also relatable as I grew up in a town similar to where the story began.

"They are writing their own stories. They think they know me, but they don't. They think they are going to save me, but they can't. I don't need saving."

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House/Delacorte Press. Jolene has a secret she keeps from everyone in town: she has a twin sister, Lee, who lives in the woods. As a child, she tried to tell people about her, but no one believed her, and she gradually stopped trying. But Lee is as real as it gets. When her twin sister attacks a boy from town, everyone assumes that Jo did it, and she's suddenly forced to choose between outing her sister and letting people think the worst of her. Trigger warnings: death, parent death, animal death, guns, underage drug/alcohol use, addiction, overdose, severe injury, violence, some gore, blood, sexism, slut-shaming.

This pretty much does what it says on the tin, though I might hesitate to call it overtly feminist. Most of the main characters are female, but they spend at least as much time tearing each other down (both in the plot and in Jo's internal monologue) as they do supporting each other. The book does spend a good deal of time interrogating the false assumptions people make about wayward girls, the ones who drink and party, sleep around, and come to a bad end just as everyone expected they would. I don't know how much the story does to overturn that narrative by making its girls near-feral beings who retreat from civilization to live in the woods, but it tries. If intentions count, then it gets points for that.

Probably my biggest issue with the book is how inconsistent Jo is as a main character, which extends a little to her aunt, Aggie, as well. I never felt that I understood them, and most of the time, Jo's actions made absolutely no sense. It seems like an effort to align her with her wilder twin and mother. I'm strongly reminded of Kaye in Holly Black's Modern Faerie Tales series, where characters do random things just to make them seem quirky and wild, and all the while I'm thinking, "Why are you making this worse for yourself?" Jo is a difficult character to like, regardless, and I'm not sure we're supposed to like her. She's hugely critical of Aggie and Savannah for having boyfriends (or wanting them), and her allegiance changes depending on who's paying her the most attention. Really, she demonizes pretty much every other character at some point.

In terms of plot, it's a fun change from the usual thriller. Jo's twin sister, Lee, is a fascinating character of the "raised by wolves" persuasion, and the mystery of how she's managed to survive in the woods on her own is enough to keep at least half the novel spinning. Midway through, it seems to lose the plot though, and I didn't have the slightest idea where the characters would go from there. Neither do they, come to that, and there's a weird and misguided attempt to live in a forest preserve (because people can actually do that?). It's entertaining, but whatever Some Kind of Animal was trying to do, I don't think it quite pulled it off.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.