Title: Wild
Author: Alex Mallory
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Contemporary, Retelling
Format: Hardcover, 448 pages
Release Date: July 8th 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: eARC provided from publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review

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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?


Retelling a classic story can go one of two ways. It can be amazing and mind blowing for the reader, or it can be ok and a little disappointing for the reader. When I went into Wild I knew I would be in one of these two categories and honestly I am sad to say that this book did not blow my mind.

I will say that I really enjoyed the first half of the book. I loved Cade and his way of life. I thought he was a refreshing character to read because he had no sense of the real world. He only knew the world his mother and father taught him, and that was the wilderness of the national park. I think Cade was my favorite character because of how different he was from everyone else. He was just himself and he never tried to really change in order to serve someone else ideals, even when the police threatened him.

Dara was another story altogether. I loved that we got to see her not only through her own voice but through Cade's eyes as well. The only thing that drove me nuts about Dara was the fact that she could not make up her mind on many things. What she wanted out of her own life, what she wanted out of love and most of all, what she wanted out of her Boyfriend. I didn't like that although you could see her feelings growing for Cade, she never really admitted it, even to her boyfriend who she strung along for way too long in my opinion.

The story itself was quite interesting but I ultimately felt like it dragged for most of the book. I found myself wondering when something was going to happen, when the story was actually going to start. But that never really happened. The love story between Dara and Cade was forced at times and I honestly didn't understand it thoroughly. I thought it was more of a distraction for Dara to not pay attention to the issues she was having with her boyfriend.

My favourite part of this entire book was the subplot that I think gets overlooked because if Cade and Dara's relationship. And that is the fact that the Police and Media take over Cade's life and turn it upside down. I found this aspect of the story to be the most interesting part because we not only saw the effect of the police and media on Cade and his way of life, but also to the community. It was interesting to read and seemed extremely real.