Wildlife
Life is made up of so many issues; were you fit inside all these issues and exactly where you want to be sometimes does not depend on you, it depends on where you are in life. Lou and Sib are discovering that as they spend a term at an outdoor experience program at school where the girls gain more than just an educational experience. It’s the candidness and sincerity that I loved so much about this book. The girls spoke from their hearts bringing their true feelings and emotions to the surface as they adjusted to their new surroundings and their new colleagues. Sib is housed with her best friend Holly, friends for years, Sib lives with the knowledge that she is inferior to Holly. Holly has always taken center stage, always acted superior and Sib has lived this knowledge and has just accepted it. Things are moving fast as Sib gets her first boyfriend and I start to wonder whose boyfriend it really is as Holly stays on top of the situation more closely than Sib. Being her first relationship, Sib is learning how to handle this romance but Holly is all over it from the get go. Sib’s mind is constantly engaged, always taking in what is happening around her and I loved it, she had me laughing and smiling as her attention wanders from topic to topic. She’s finally becoming aware of the world around her and her eyes are seeing the big picture. She’s stepping out of the shadows and Lou was there watching it. Lou doesn’t want a major role in the drama that is unfolding but sometimes you can’t help where you end up. I really liked Lou. She was hurting and she just wanted to be left alone. Trying to blend in, Lou slaps on a put-together image, she’s really good at hiding yet she was the only one who saw everything. She saw the teens for what they really were. She witnessed them with their deceit, their friendships and their fears as they tried to maneuver their way amongst one another. Its Lou’s heartache that had me compelled to reach out to her, she needed someone, someone special to help her. Her fear of forgetting, for what would happen should she forget? Can you ever let someone who was a huge part of your life go?
I was provided a copy of this book from NetGalley and Little Brown Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest opinion.
