Review: Wild

Wild
Author: Alex Mallory
Publication Date: July 8th 2014        
Publisher: HarperTeen
~A copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review~ 

In this action-packed and timely "Tarzan for the digital age," Cade, a teen raised in the wilderness, is brought into modern civilization.

The forest is full of secrets, and no one understands that better than Cade. Foraging, hunting, surviving-that's all he knows. Alone for years, Cade believes he's the sole survivor. At least, until he catches a glimpse of a beautiful stranger...

Dara expected to find natural wonders when she set off for a spring break camping trip. Instead, she discovers a primitive boy-he's stealthy and handsome and he might be following her. Intrigued, Dara seeks him out and sets a catastrophe in motion.

Thrust into society, Cade struggles with the realization that the life he knew was a lie. But he's not the only one. Trying to explain life in a normal town leaves Dara questioning it.

As the media swarm and the police close in, Dara and Cade risk everything to get closer. But will the truth about Cade's past tear them apart?

Wild was...well, wild. It wasn't as clichéd or cheesy as I thought it was going to be. I mean, we've all seen Tarzan, right? It wasn't like it at all, it must be hard to try and write an integrating wild  character into the world of our own, without hindering on believability. The interactions between Cade and our other characters were done well, particularly with Dara, and when it came to explaining to Cade about the world we live in, to certain objects and machines he wasn't told about by his mother, I didn't roll my eyes or anything. I know.

 WIld starts off in the woods, in Cade's element and it was interesting to see how he lived and how he adapted to what he's always known. That this is life now, that humans have become (almost) extinct through a virus that took over the world from person to person until it infected everyone. So when he comes upon two humans setting up came right in his district, he doesn't necessarily push aside what he's known, but proceeds with caution because it's likely their infected. He's intrigued more so, mainly when it comes to Dara and her shiny blond hair (yeah, I didn't even roll my eyes at that, go me!)  It's very descriptive and visual, and methodical in what Cade has done every year. His time goes by in seasons, he has rituals and precisions and knows his world like the back of his hand.

Got to admit though, those chapters in  Daniel Boone National Forest were a little creepy. The way Cade acted and  what he did. If it wasn't for the fact he's you know, the Primitive Boy that hadn't been raised with you know, normal behaviour than animalistic behaviour, he would've been an obsessive stalker with weird fetishes... Sometimes it was cute, more so later on in the story than then, because most of the beginning was just creepy. It got better though, and that's where the fun seeing the world through new eyes comes into it, and makes you appreciate what you have in your life. Family. Friends. Electricity. Clean water. Hot water. Starbucks. No seriously, if I didn't have coffee I'd be the bear. What bear you ask? You'll know when you read it.

Wild is written in third person and is structured with multiple perspectives, our main characters Cade and Dara, and then some from Josh and Dara's father, the Sheriff, that gives us a wider view of what's going on than we would have with just Cade and Dara's. Have to say though, whilst it is written in third, all characters reside with their own voice, usually it gets lost, and it's one reason that I have a love and hate relationship with third person. Because, while it does give us a better view of the overall story, it also leaves you a little cut off from the characters, but I didn't feel that with this, so that was a nice surprise.

Wild isn't what I thought it would be, it was fun and although a little slow in the beginning it picks up, it's a light read and a little view of what it would be like to live out in the wild.

Rating: 3.5-4/5