Member Reviews

Typical coming-of-age novels include a protagonist who forced to confront their sexuality, question their faith or religion, testing boundaries and rebelling, a journey, etc. Well, this isn't your typical coming-of-age story! It is so much more. Jo's story is raw, bloody, dangerous, scary, even feral. Therefore, all those typical coming-of-age characteristics are explored so much more honestly! Side characters are mostly really odd, in such a strong way, that they really just become metaphors for the unstable and frightening process of losing childhood innocence. These characters are really more about the sometimes painful acceptance humans must realize as they confront the past and scenarios in which they are created and the threats of the uncertain future.

Each night Jo, an orphan raised by an aunt and "owned" by a grandmother, sneaks out to run the wild forest that lines her town. She goes to the woods to meet her "sister". The intriguing suspense of who or what Jo's sister is exactly draws the character into the story fast. This review will not share any more than that, because the story is just too good and should not be ruined with spoilers.

This book should be purchased by libraries, teachers, and any reader. It would be an excellent choice for book clubs and will interesting to all genders.

I was given an early release copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This was really disappointing for me, which I hate to say because the cover and synopsis are both so intriguing that the second I saw that it was available to request, I jumped at the chance. Unfortunately, the plot and pacing seem to struggle with any sort of device that would compel the reader forward. The characters are all pretty flat, things happen for seemingly no reason - with little to no repercussions or explanation most of the time -, and the ending didn't provide the payoff I was hoping to get after slogging through the rest.

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This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

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I wanted to like this book, but it went too far from reality or somewhat believable and though it was well written and I really enjoyed it at first. I found myself struggling to finish it halfway through. Well developed characters, unique story, there truly was a lot to love about this book, but I was hoping for a thriller that might be plausible in real life. Thank you net galley for the opportunity to read this!!

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Seeing this recommended for fans of Sadie, I was extremely excited to pick up this book. The cast of characters are weird and definitely leave you with questions. Unfortunately there is an excessive use of language that doesmt seem necessary and this book seems to require a certain suspension of disbelief. I think the use of paranormal in descriptors is also misleading. Overall, not the book for me.

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This was a rather interesting read. I have to admit I do think it was rather long and didn’t need to be almost 400 pages, but it was a gripping read. I wanted to keep reading once I got about 30% into it.

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The concept for this book is intriguing, but it didn't deliver, for me at least.
It's painstakingly unrealistic and I couldn't get over that.

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The covered intrigued me right away. I was creeped out just from reading the synopsis and decided this would be a book to read during the day and not night. I loved the small town setting.

Jo is a teenage girl living with her aunt, who has a secret twin sister that lives in the woods. No one knows that Jo has a twin sister, so when she attacks someone, everyone thinks it's Jo. I had guessed that this book would have the plot twist that has been done so many times before: that Jo's sister was just imaginary. I think this plot twist is over done, so I'm glad that it wasn't done here. This book was pretty weird, but interesting.

**Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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Some Kind of Animal
by Maria Romasco-Moore
Pub Date 04 Aug 2020
read courtesy of Netgalley.com

I so so SO want to give this book 5 stars, but one thing keeps me from doing it: I'm not a prude by any means, but when a pastor curses like a sailor in front of a 9th grader, the story loses a star. ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ I really regret it; it's a fantastic book, but the gratuitous extreme foul language is shock value and not characterization.

Regardless, I loved this book. It was so fresh; it told a new story and kept me engaged the whole way through. Part bildungsroman, part adventure, part suspense, part horror, it tells the story of a multi-generational dysfunctional family. The main character, Jo, is one of the most believable, age-appropriate characterizations I've ever read. Hearing the story from her point-of-view adds to the vividly impaired and maladaptive family life that moves the story forward.

There's something about the book that reminds me of The Bad Seed by William March. The reader doesn't know who is trustworthy, and that creates a lovely tension. The twist at the end was so well set up that I didn't expect it; does that make sense? It was hidden in plain sight.

I'm going to quote something from the book that doesn't give anything away but demonstrates the skillful characterization:

Savannah would absolutely lose her shit if I told her that I'd slept over at some guy's place. That he was offering me coffee now. It seems like a very grown-up thing. To be offered coffee in the morning by a stranger.

That resonated with me as something a 9th grader would absolutely feel.

The title itself is worthy of an entire discussion. Bravo. But $%FYU^^%F.

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Starting off, I really wanted to like this book. I read it in its entirety and I had some problems with it. Aside from the fact that it is completely unrealistic, I feel that we don't get to know or understand any of the characters in the book. Jo's thoughts are given to us as she is dealing with the situation with her sister, but her actions don't seem to always line up with what we know about Jo. I also believe that this book would've been much better if we could've gotten Lee's point of view about their mother and about growing up in the forest.

I wanted to like it, it had some good potential, but the ending was a disappointment and felt even more unrealistic than the rest of the book.

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Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy!

Did not finish - I could not connect with the plot or writing so I decided to put it down.

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After Jo’s forest-raised twin sister attacks a boy, everything in Jo’s life changes. She is thrown into having to make a decision that no one, let alone a 15-year old, should have to make: reveal her secret sister to the world or take the heat for the attack.

I found that I was unable to connect with the characters. So many times I felt like I understood Jo, then she would do something so odd that I’d just think, ‘nope, guess not!’

This book is very different than anything else I have read. I found it enjoyable but it dragged at times. In multiple places I kept wondering where the story could go from here and thinking the author had written herself into a corner, but there was a way out each time!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC to me in exchange for an honest review

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First of all, this book shouldn't be marketed as being like “Sadie” as it is NOTHING like that and ultimately not as thrilling as that book was. I really wanted to love this book cause it had a very eerie atmosphere. But a creepy setting doesn't make up for lackluster characters or just very unbelievable plot lines. Wasn't a huge fan of this book at all. I wish I could say something more positive as it's the author's debut novel. But the story overall just wasn't that interesting. The writing wasn't bad though, just wish the execution and pacing had been better.

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**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own**

Cover Art: The cover is neither bad nor great. It does let the reader know that this will be a story about a girl in the woods.

Characters: They were interesting and the author did a decent job of giving their backgrounds as well as showing how they are all connected. Many of the characters could have used more character development.

World Building/Setting: The author did a good job of creating this small town setting. It felt realistic as if it were a place anyone could drive to or through.

Pacing: The story is from the main character's perspective and most of it is internal thought. A lot of the thoughts did very little to help propel the story forward.

Overall Plot: Dull. I was expecting this to he suspenseful and even creepy, but it wasn't. It all fell very flat. It all seemed predictable.

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This book was a sit on the edge of your seat book with twists and turns. I found myself somewhat losing momentum throughout the book however, and almost wanted the story to slow down and look into character development and theme more.

I appreciated the secrets and friendships and bonds that were explored. I found the book somewhat unbelievable that Jo would just happen to wander in the woods and meet a girl who was her twin..... not so sure about that.

I had high hopes for this book, but it left me hoping it would finish early.

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Thank you to the publisher for offering me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After careful thought, I have decided to give this story 2.5 out of 5 stars, but which I rounded up to 3 in solidarity of the idea of the story.

Although I don't find it necessary to like a story and a character based on whether they're considered "good" or "bad", I felt like almost all of these characters were really... meh. The ones that weren't partially fleshed out felt like caricatures or stereotypes of personalities and characteristics. In the beginning, I was hoping Jo would be smart for her age, seeing as she's been living (mostly) on her own for a large amount of her life. But she was consistently getting herself into trouble she could've easily avoided if she wasn't perpetually in the mindset of "everyone is out to get me" and "nobody understands me".

I thought the plot could've definitely had gone somewhere if the author stuck to one or two paths, instead of trying to tick all the genre 'boxes'. In conclusion, I could definitely see where the idea of this story could really shine, but unfortunately, it feels lost amongst thousands similar in mediocrity.

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This book was very interesting in a dark and mysterious kind of way. Our main character Jo lives with her aunt in a small town after her mother went missing fifteen years earlier. While Jo lives a comfortable life with her aunt her twin sister Lee is living hidden in the woods. What I didn't understand however was how Jo's aunt or anyone else didn't know that there was another twin. It was like she never existed in their world. Things take
a turn for the worst when Jo is with a boy in the middle of the woods. Jealous and angry Lee attacks the boy much to her sisters surprise and kills him quickly. That wouldn't even be the worst of it since no one knows that Lee exists everyone believes that the girl they saw murder him was Jo herself. I found this book to be quite interesting, since I've never read anything like this before. I was left wondering the whole time how a young girl can be left in the woods for as long as she was without anyone seeing her or even noticing that Jo's twin was missing, surely someone would have known. So that part was a little far fetched for me. Very interesting read that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. This book will grab you and you will never want to put it down. I fell in love with the characters and couldn't wait to see what happened to them and why they were raised the way they were. This book will definitely put Maria Moore on any avid readers watch list after a stunning read like this one I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us fans.

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So this wasn't a bad story but it was an odd one. I was interested on how it was going to play out. It did feel a little repetitive. Overall though, I liked the story.

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<b><I>”I’m not going to chase you if you run.”</I></b>

Books that take place in any kind of dark, creepy woods are an automatic read for me. This author totally nailed the heck out of the setting. The first twenty percent gave me chills.

I had high hopes for ________ but what really happened was ______. When starting the story, you’re unsure of *how* this could possibly be? You think, oh, maybe our main character here is ____. But then you read on to the rest of the story and what is revealed is just slightly disappointing. I’d have much rather had it the way I imagined it in the beginning. Not so... literal.

I realize that is all very vague and weird sounding but I’m trying to be as spoiler free as possible. Once you read it you’ll see exactly what I mean.

I think this book would have been a total hit had it stayed the path of the first little bit. After the nose dive it just went too willy nillie. (And I can’t believe I’m even saying that.)

Two stars for the setting, the creeps I got in the beginning, and the cover.

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The book started out with an interesting concept: Jo lives in a small town where her mother went missing 15 years ago. No one knows what happened to her mother, but everyone knows everyone else's business. What people don't know, though, is that Jo has a twin sister who lives in the woods named Lee. One night, Lee attacks a boy from town, and everyone thinks that it was Jo who did it.

I found myself not really liking any of the characters in the book. The story goes in a direction that is ridiculous and overall not very realistic. The ending is very silly and I feel like it would never happen in real life. Overall this story wasn't very thrilling and mysterious--it just ended up being boring and unlikeable.

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