13 Nov 2018

Blog Tour: Wilder by Andrew Simonet – Review and Giveaway!

Posted in Blog Tour, Giveaways |

Wilder

Author: Andrew Simonet

Pub. Date: November 13, 2018

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Formats: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook

Pages: 320

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, iBooks, TBD

Synopsis: I met Melissa in the rubber room, a.k.a. in-school suspension. And that’s not her real name.

She had secrets, I had enemies.

“People are either useful or dangerous,” she said. “One or the other.”

“Which one am I?” I said.

“You’re both.”

Meili was right. (That’s her real name.)

You can solve a lot of problems if you don’t mind getting hurt.

Jason Wilder is in permanent in-school suspension for fighting. Meili Wen gets there by breaking a girl’s finger. Jason and Meili don’t just connect; they collide. Two people who would never cross paths―outsiders from radically different backgrounds―they form an exhiliarating, unpredictable bond. When circumstances push, they push back. There’s no plan. And there’s no stopping.

“I am so crap. How can you stand being with me? Don’t answer that or I will crash this thing with both of us on it, swear to god, are you ready?”

Yes. No. Didn’t matter.

I reached both arms around Meili’s waist as we zoomed down the hill.

Wilder is one of those books that sound interesting without really revealing too much of the plot, and when you start reading it, it really draws you in and keeps you interested throughout the entire thing.

When I started reading Wilder, I had no idea what to expect. The synopsis is a bit vague, but I love when I go into a book not knowing what to expect, because it’s always a surprise and that can make reading a lot more fun. It was a real treat with Wilder, and I was super happy about it.

I thought there were a lot of parts about Wilder that were kind of emotional and heartfelt, and that was my favorite aspect of the book. I love when a book really makes me think, really makes me feel the emotions that the characters are feeling, and with Wilder, that’s exactly what you get. I really enjoyed that about the book.

Because of how well the book was written, and I was able to relate to and love the characters in it. I thought they were fantastically created, with personalities that shone through and made them all the more interesting. This is a character driven novel, and it really shows that the author put so much time into creating the perfect characters for the story.

The story itself is an interesting one. I don’t want to spoil much, but it was exciting and laid back at the same time. There is a lot here that I didn’t expect, and it made for an incredible read.

There is a sequel in the works for Wilder, and I have to say that I’m incredibly excited about that. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store for the characters in the sequel, because I loved them so much throughout the first book.

This is the kind of book that I didn’t want to end, because it had me hooked. It was the kind of book that would be perfect for a rainy day when you just want to sit inside with a cup of tea and read all day long. It’s engaging and exciting, breathtaking and sweet, and I think that it should have a place on everyone’s bookshelf!

Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I am a writer and choreographer in Philadelphia. I am interested in messy, complex humans colliding with rigid systems. I am interested in how unequal everything is, and the stories we tell ourselves about that. I am interested in the stories men tell ourselves about everything. I am interested in what bodies know that brains don’t. I think pretty is the enemy of beautiful.

My debut young adult novel, Wilder, will be published by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux in November 2018. I am currently writing a sequel.

I was a founding Co-Director of Philadelphia’s Headlong Dance Theater from 1993-2013. We made raucous performance works.

I am an activist and organizer for artists having sustainable lives. I founded Artists U (programs in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and South Carolina) and wrote Making Your Life as an Artist.

Career stuff: my creative work has been supported by the Creative Capital Foundation, The NEA, The Rockefeller Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, The New England Foundation for the Arts, Yaddo, and Ucross. I received a Pew Fellowship in the Arts, an Independence Fellowship in the Arts, and a Bessie for Choreography at the New York Dance and Performance Awards.

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