Wake the Wild Creatures is a unique and gripping YA audiobook. The cover is stunning and the story will hook readers immediately! Recommended for all YA collections!

Floored.

I saw Nina LaCour recommend WAKE THE WILD CREATURES and was beyond excited when I was approved for the audiobook ARC.
And damn, this book DELIVERED.
I won't spoil anything, so this review is gonna be mostly vibes. And let me tell you, the vibes were excellent. A captivating tale of eeriness, a raging teen, community, pains of being AFAB. (Definitely check out the content warnings for this book, though!)
As a nature lover, I particularly enjoyed Talia's connection with/respect for the wilderness. The story is filled with messy, complicated characters. I found the relationship between Talia and her cousin super compelling, realistic, beautiful, nuanced. Incredible storytelling all around. I couldn't stop listening. The narration by Helen Laser was perfect.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First and foremost, thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! I really, really enjoyed this book, and I'm thrilled to have had the chance to read and review it.

Now, onto the actual review. (Mild to medium spoilers ahead. You have been warned.)

This was my first Nova Ren Suma book. I was not familiar with the author and requested this book based on the plot description alone. It did not disappoint. "Wake the Wild Creatures" is a beautiful, haunting story of a teenager taken from the only life she's ever known (in what outsiders would call a "cult" situation) and thrust into "the real world."

The story is told in two waves -- present day and flashbacks of the character's childhood.

It's a little bit YA (according to the description -- it doesn't necessarily READ like a YA book), a little bit mystery/suspense, and a little bit urban fantasy. The primary themes are female empowerment, survival, and how our pasts shape and determine our futures. There's also a strong prevailing dance with the idea of captivity vs. sanctuary -- what defines each? can the lines ever be blurred? is it captivity if the whole world says it is but it feels like home instead?

In short, it's a very complex story for something marketed as "YA."

A little background info:

Our MC, Talia, spent her entire childhood living wild in the Catskill Mountains with her mother and other women trying to escape the horrors of the outside world. They live in an abandoned hotel that doesn't appear on any maps or show up on aerial searches. Many of the women who live there, including Talia's mother, are -- by definition -- criminals. But they're criminals who murdered rapists, child abusers, and other not-so-great people. Others aren't criminals but ARE escaping those same situations in their own private lives.

When Talia turns 13 (the book's opening), outsiders find her, and her mother (a murderer) surrenders herself rather than let Talia be taken into the system. In turn, she arranges for Talia to live with her sister (Talia's aunt) in the outside world.

Growing up wild in a place that she believes to be magical has not necessarily equipped Talia for the modern world of money, high school dances, and other modern conveniences. It's also left her with an understandably skewed view of "men." She fears and distrusts them but is also incredibly naive about their motivations and actions.

The flashback scenes are incredible -- almost enchanting -- and allow the story of Talia's past to unfold at just the right pace. The modern-day scenes are heartbreaking and emotional. Talia's only goal is to get back to the Neves (the hotel), but along the way, she becomes close with someone in "the real world," too.

The events that unfold leave Talia with more questions than answers. Was it her fault that her mother was taken? Is her community in the Neves still there? Did someone betray them? Was "the magic" real? Or was it just a lie she and the other women told themselves to feel safe?

As far as plot goes, that's as much as I will say.

What I WILL explain is why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5, and that was due to the "magical" elements. (The medium spoilers happen here, so read on at your own risk.)

For 90-95% of the book, the reader is led to believe that there is no real magic. It's just a story created to make the community feel more secure and self-contained. However, at the end, things happen that can only be explained through the use of actual magic. Coming so late in the book, it didn't seem realistic, nor did it seem to fit with the rest of the story.

I didn't hate it, and I understand why it had to happen the way it did. But I felt like it took some of the story's credibility away.

Still, it was a great book with absolutely gorgeous prose, and the hotel was so vividly and beautifully described as to become a character in and of itself -- and one I'd very much love to visit.

Despite my irritations with the magical elements, I'd still highly recommend this to readers of all ages.

this was an arc in the form of an audiobook advance copy. thank you to netgalley, author, nova ren suma, and the publisher, hatchette audio/little,brown young readers.

coming off yellowjackets this gave me some of the same sort of vibes in storytelling, it it’s YA, and isn’t the show but i drew some parallels. it also reminded me much of some pieces of the hunger games, i was finding so much joy and excitement in this read as i discovered more in the story and felt parallels to joy in favorite pieces. it had a softness but a deep bitterness with impeccable writing.

Wake the Wild Creatures instantly grabbed my attention with its stunning green cover, the ominous title and the enticing blurb by Nina LaCour … I’m so glad I picked this atmospheric YA novel by author Nova Ren Suma a first for me and I’m excited to check out her backlist!

Talia grew up the ruins of Neves an abandon hotel in the mountains of the Catskills with her mother Pola and a group of other women who seeked safety within the fog covered woods. Until one day when they were found… now Talia has been living with her Aunt on the Flatlands for three years waiting for a sign from Pola that it’s safe to return to Neve.

A book to add to your Girlhood TBR. Jumping back from present to past you get a full experience of the mysterious land that feels like a fever dream. This book was timely and thought-provoking. With themes of found family and belonging it will be one I will be thinking about for some time.

Thank you Little, Brown Young Readers/ Hachette Audio
Releases 5/6

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