Genre: YA Paranormal
Published: October 21, 2014 by HarperTeen
Length: 336 pages
Source: HarperTeen (ARC)
“It’s an oppressively hot and sticky morning in June when Sterling and her brother, Phin, have an argument that compels him to run into the town swamp — the one that strikes fear in all the residents of Sticks, Louisiana. Phin doesn’t return. Instead, a girl named Lenora May climbs out, and now Sterling is the only person in Sticks who remembers her brother ever existed.
Sterling needs to figure out what the swamp’s done with her beloved brother and how Lenora May is connected to his disappearance — and loner boy Heath Durham might be the only one who can help her. “
What a creepy book! Beware the Wild is split up into three sections and told in first person point of view by our main character Sterling. What I really enjoyed about this book is the creepy and mysterious tone and atmosphere due to the author’s writing style. I felt like I was with Sterling in the swamp because of the way the author writes. I also like verses that the author wrote when she introduced the new section of the book. Throughout the novel, I have been guessing how Sterling will be reunited with her brother, but when I got to the second part, it sort of got predictable from there. Even though it was a bit predictable, it was still a good read.
Although it was a good and different read, I still think the author could have elaborated on the world building of the swamp. It’s been repeatedly told in the book that there are different stories and unusual happenings in the swamp, but the author did not elaborate on what those were. I wish she included a few stories to creep out the readers more. I also did not like the romance. There weren’t a lot of romantic scenes, and it definitely wasn’t the focus of the story (good thing) but it would have been better if the romance was completely taken out from the story because it was sort of insta-lovey.
I thought the characters were okay. They each had unique qualities so I feel a little bit attached to them. I admire how Sterling was brave to rescue her brother from the swamp. She’s used to having her brother rescue her etc. but now it’s time for her to do the same even if it’s out of her comfort zone. Lenora May, Sterling’s “sister”, was super creepy when she first came up in the story! I hated her because she was greedy, but as the story continued, I felt sympathy for her. I think readers would’ve been able to relate to these characters more if they had character development. I think the author was trying to do that, but did it too quickly; there’s a quick turnover on how the characters acted which kind of made it unbelievable. Overall it’s a great read if you like mystery, and books with a creepy setting.
