This is a fascinating tale of a mother's love for her daughter and the coming of age and into leadership of that child. Bea's four year old daughter Agnes was dying in the dying city (it's never clear what's gone wrong) so she joins her lover Glen to become part of a 20 person group which will live in the Wilderness. They live without assistance by hunting and gathering their good, making their clothes, and moving constantly. Agnes is 7 when the book opens but she's far older than that, largely because of all she has seen and experienced, not least of which is her mother giving birth to a premature stillborn child. Imagine living in the wilderness, moving across mountains and deserts om foot. Sounds doable, right? Well, it's much harder than it sounds and Cook brings that, as well as the conflict the group must face into focus. No spoilers from me on how Bea and Agnes come apart and why Agnes becomes a leader but know that there is a critical event. There's brutality here but there's also real tenderness, especially between Glen and Bea. The arrival of outsiders, not just the Rangers who govern what the group can do but also new members of the group, upsets the delicate balance they have achieved. Cook has done a terrific job of describing the landscape and the effort of living in it (there's also a joyful scene in a lake). Although this is a dystopian novel of sorts, it's focused not on politics or climate change or so on but on the people. You'll have mixed feelings about Bea (I did) but not about Agnes. This was a great read. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. It's been long listed for the Booker Prize and is well deserving of that honor.

Thank you so much to Harper (Harper Collins) for providing me an early e-copy of this novel through Netgalley. The New Wilderness is out August 11.

What a thought-provoking, strange dystopian novel. I fear that parts of the larger thematic discussion may have gone over my head and, similarly to Severance by Ling Ma, I feel The New Wilderness would work well in a group reading or classroom setting, as there is a lot to unpack here. Much like Severance, many of the logistical aspects of this dystopian world—such as the purpose of the “Administration,” the reason behind the increasingly sinister presence of the “Rangers,” and what exactly is being studied in the “Study”—are not given an explanation. Instead, Diane Cook uses this stressful, uncertain, and primitive (in all senses of the word) backdrop to examine the ways in which we prioritize ourselves over others, the complexity of power dynamics, the stages of growing up, and the ever-evolving relationship between mothers and daughters.

Finally, congratulations to the author for being long-listed for the Man Booker Prize!

A novel of mothers and daughters, living in nature, that has an Orwellian undercurrent. Reminded me of the movie Leave No Trace as well as a number of other excellent novels. The City sounds unpleasant.

This book is a bit dystopian. It's brutal and wild, and it was so weird and good. I talked about it quite a bit while I was reading it, because there was a lot to take in. The idea that humans are animals at their base, that if you leave the city and comforts of modern life, you could hone your primitive skills. That you could become wild. Fascinating. That wasn't the only theme explored. Diane Cook also explores the love of a mother and the lengths you will go to save yourself and the lengths you will go to save the ones you love. 4 stars for me!

Intriguing, suspenseful a very dark read that will take you to many crazy scenarios that you won't see them coming.

The new wilderness is a story that reminds me of the hunger games or movies that the characters spend time trying to survive in crazy circumstances that are making their life impossible to live.

Many tests will be put in place to make these characters afraid to continue their journey, but they know everything is about surviving, they will have to even sacrifice things and people they love and make many decisions that will make them feel uncomfortable at times but knowing this is the only way to survive.

I haven't read any book like this one before, the angst is present at all times, you always feel like something is going to happen, like something will show up or like whatever the characters are expecting will be worst. so there is always that anxious feeling that something is going to drop.

Basically what I felt while reading this book was so much sadness and as if the characters didn't have any hope at all and they were just trying to survive but without any goal on the horizon. every day it felt like a burden or like a constant fight, they couldn't even trust each other because all of them had something to hide or something to fight.

Overall, it wasn't an easy ride or an easy book, this story was challenging and it will test you a lot of times but also will make you want to know more and keep reading until the end.

This book was great! It was so easy to lose yourself in the story, and kept you turning pages to see what happened next! Will definitely be recommending!

This was just an ok book for me although the plot and characterization reminded me of the dystopian Divergent trilogy by Veronica Roth. The premise sounded interesting but the whole book was just flat and boring to me, sorry but just my opinion. Was quite underwhelmed by this book after coming off a few thrillers and some engaging non-fiction. Next, please!

Thanks to NEtgalley, author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 8/11/20

The main plot here is about survival in the wilderness by a select group brought in to conduct a mysterious study, while those remaining in the city suffer undescribed (but easily imaginable, in 2020) hardship and misery. But the theme running through all the adventure, faction-building and violence is about parenting and the mother-daughter bond. Bea is the mom and Agnes is the daughter, there is a grandmother too who moves the plot and yet is kept obscured. Glen is the father figure, and then there are a bunch of members of the originalist tribe, rangers, subsequent newcomers, and random interlopers; a lot to try to keep track of. For me there was a little too much play by play on all the action, where what I was really wanting was to know what was happening in the city, and what Bea did there for the whole year she was gone.

As we readers are stuck in a world weighing science-based best practices of sheltering in place and flattening the curve, against business-positive initiatives like herd immunity and reopening safely, I found the vague yet crazy politics of The New Wilderness interesting. I liked the scrappiness and leadership qualities to Agnes and her mother.

I’ve heard a lot of hype for this one and was excited to try it. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me, I didn’t jive with the style and found it fell a little flat.

I will never forget “The New Wilderness” by Diane Cook. First of all it is a beautifully rendered novel, compelling in every way. In addition, I read it during the depths of despair of Covid-19. Every time that someone in my circle said, “It couldn’t get worse”, I just looked at them and said, “Sure, it could”.

It’s hard to explain quite what Ms. Cook’s debut novel is. Yes, it’s a dystopian adventure novel set in the not-so-distant future when cities have become uninhabitable and national and world-leaders appear helpless to find any solutions. It subtly describes a civilization that has let climate change get way too much of hold, where respiratory disease is common and untreatable. It describes a world that has reverted to primal times, overlaid with an enforcement structure that is cruel and unjust.

But readers who are just looking for another apocalyptic novel to add to their pile will likely be disappointed because “The New Wilderness” is a whole lot more. It is about love, betrayal and abandonment, leadership by bullying and grace. It is about the responsibility that parents have for children and that individual group members have for the whole. It is about the strength, resiliency, and wisdom of young people that we need to respect much more than we presently do. Cook’s novel is deep and profound and worthy of a careful read rather than a romp.

Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the eARC.

This is dark, wild, earth shattering, mind spinning, WTH I just read, I need a big break to gather my feelings kind of book! This is quiet dazzling, thought provoking, unique, depressing, apocalyptic, soul crushing dystopian read is not for everyone! I feel like my head can explode at any second after too much pressure, high tension, after reading dark portrait of future with painful mother-daughter’s survival story.

Impressive and emotional mother-daughter bounding and heart-wrenching journey they find themselves to test their devoted relationship during the climate change, living in the Wilderness and witnessing the human’s mental and physical struggles to survive. Welcome to Wilderness! As the smog and pollution covers the metropolis and destroys its citizens’ lungs, 20 people become volunteers for the study including Bea, her husband Glen, an important academician and their daughter Agnes. The rules are defined strictly by the Rangers: they have to play nice, do what they’re told. Unless… You don’t want to think it through.

They called themselves community and learned how to use arrow and bow to hunt, achieve struggling tasks to adapt their lives in environment, sharpen their negotiation skills to survive. Rules are obvious: You shouldn’t stay at the same place more than seven days and you shouldn’t leave trace. But as the environment and the circumstances surrounded them bring out the caged animals hid inside the human nature, Bea realizes she has to do something to save her daughter. She cannot live with these conditions.

The changing of community volunteers become so threatening at each day and so many waitlisted refugees called Newcomers start to arrive the city, Bea notices the time is ticking. The city people turn into savages who may do whatever it takes to earn their freedom.

Overall: This is original, well-written, disturbing journey I mostly enjoyed but I have to emphasize: this journey is not for everyone. You need to prepare yourself to be challenged psychologically. It’s consuming, intense story for the true lovers of bleak future dystopian stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins Publishers for sharing this remarkable ARC in exchange my honest review.

What a strange and otherworldly book, Oregon trail meets dystopia. Loved the prose but plot was mainly dialogue.