Wild Children

author: Richard Roberts

name: Wayne

average rating: 4.00

book published: 2011

rating: 4

read at: 2013/04/06

date added: 2013/04/06

shelves:

review:

A young girl is lured by a wolfboy into staying out late on Walpurgis night and her life is changed forever. This is just one of the linked stories in 'Wild Children,' a book reminiscent of the darkness of classic fairy tales, but these are consequences without action. No curse was due or punishment needed.



Young children are turned into a variety of different animals in the book. It never happens to anyone over 15 (at least, not without disastrous effect). The wild children receive long lives and don't appear to age, but are told to forget their names and their lives before they changed. Most adults look on these children as slaves or pets. The wild children are told they are this way because of sin, but it's never quite clear what their sin was to make them turn this way. Gothic sadness makes up most of these characters, forced to live life as something other, never celebrating the wonders of strength or flight.



At the center of it all is Hind, a young girl, who is treated like a doll. Although her existence is better than most, there is a great deal of sadness in her life, and she is still forced to wear a collar, even if it is only for show. She sees her friends suffer and leave her, while she lives in her perfect dollhouse of a room.



An interesting series of stories that looks at who we are, and who we think others are. Themes of prejudice and injustice are prevalent. It's a quirky fantasy with some unforgettable characters.





via Wayne's bookshelf: read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/509352659?utm_medium=api&utm_source=rss