Wildefireby Karsten KnightPages: 400
Grade: 9+ (aimed at a more mature teen, lots of violence, some sex)
Description: (from Goodreads) Every flame begins with a spark.
Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.
Thoughts: I'll say one thing about Wildefire, it doesn't hold back. The first chapter is explosive and it doesn't ever really calm down. Wildefire delivers punch after punch of surprises and action.
Ashline is a strong and savvy lead character, very passionate and trying so hard to be a good girl. Her sister is the polar opposite. The contrast between the two was very startling, but worked well in this book overall. Her sister's behavior was sometimes off putting and a little over the top - it wasn't particularly realistic, though nothing about this book really is.
The "surprise" that Ash and co. are actually reincarnated Polynesian Gods/Goddess sort of came out of nowhere. It was definitely interesting though. I don't know much about mythology and I know even less about Polynesian mythology, so I felt a tad lost at times, though I never felt like it really mattered that I didn't know anything. It's a very interesting concept for a book and there was so much action and suspense that the reader never really gets a chance to ponder the weaker plot points.
The romance in the book fell flat for me and the twist at the end made me feel like I had been hit over the head with a rock. I enjoy a surprise ending but I prefer it when I can look back and see the hints leading up to it, this literally came out of nowhere, at least for me.
Wildfire is a wild roller-coaster of a book though with solid writing and interesting characters. Though not my favorite debut, it's definitely worth picking up.
Overall a great read. It's a wild ride and full of surprises.Wildefire is part of the Debut Author Challenge.
