Review: Feral by Holly Schindler

Book Title: Feral

Author: Holly Schindler

Published Date: August 26th, 2014

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Thriller

Standalone

Book Link: Goodreads

Purchase Link: Amazon

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. 

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

Disclaimer: I received this book from HarperTeen via Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Review:

What a mind blowing, confusing, twisty book this turned out to be. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started it and even now that I finished it I am still unsure of exactly what I read.

But I’m unsure in the best way possible. Because this book was confusing and I kept having a million and one questions and theories. It took me awhile to really get into the book and a couple times I contemplated not finishing it because it was taking so long for me to get into it. If I hadn’t been looking forward to this book so much, i probably would have decided not to finish it.

But I’m so glad I stuck through it because it was totally worth it. The way Schindler used the cats in this story added an extra level of creepiness in it. Bonus being that I love cats so to see them featured so prominently in this book was an awesome treat. 

Claire Cain was a great main character. She was dealing with her attack in Chicago as best a person can deal with it. I loved that she had a father who was so present in her life. Usually in YA books, the father is AWOL or he’s a total douche-canoe, so yay for good fathers. An added bonus was that he was a single dad. Those are featured even less often in YA, so kudos to Schindler for that. 

I really loved that Claire wanted to go into journalism and that he desire to work on certain projects wasn’t hindered by a guy. She stayed focused on what she was trying to accomplish.

The only secondary character I really liked was Rich. Becca, Chas and Owen were overall pretty bland characters. I didn’t feel like I got to know Becca, Chas or Owen very well throughout the story. There was definitely some lackluster character development here.

The ending was my favorite part. It was fast paced and totally creepy. It kept me guessing all the way to the end. Even when I thought things would end one way, I was wrong and things ended a completely different way. I give this book 4 stars. It did take me awhile to get into it and there was lackluster character development for the secondary characters. But definitely read this book if you like creepy stories that keep you guessing.

Blog Tour: Feral by Holly Schindler

The Lovely Bones meets Black Swan in this haunting psychological thriller with twists and turns that will make you question everything you think you know.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened.

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

FERAL Trailer:

//player.vimeo.com/video/90169956?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

FERAL AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER:

FERAL falls squarely into the realm of the classic psychological thriller.  While the book features mystery, horror, and paranormal elements, the emphasis is on the “psychological” rather than thriller / action.  The novel features a Hitchcockian pace and focus on character development (here, we’re exploring the inner workings of the main character, Claire Cain).  Essentially, every aspect of FERAL is used to explore Claire’s inner workings—that even includes the wintry Ozarks setting.  The water metaphor is employed frequently in psychological thrillers to represent the subconscious, and here is incorporated in the form of a brutal ice storm (that represents Claire’s “frozen” inner state).  The attempt to untangle what is real from what is unreal (another frequently-used aspect of the psychological thriller) also begins to highlight the extent to which Claire was hurt in that Chicago alley.  Even the explanation of the odd occurrences in the town of Peculiar offers an exploration into and portrait of Claire’s psyche.  Ultimately, FERAL is a book about recovering from violence—that’s not just a lengthy or hard process; it’s a terrifying process, too.  The classic psychological thriller allowed me to explore that frightening process in detail. 

What are your top 10 favorite books of all time?

I’m a lifelong reader.  I had to have a new Little Golden Book every time I went to the supermarket with my mom, back when I was still little enough to fit in the cart.  When I graduated to novels, I was usually reading them with a flashlight under the covers until all hours.  I was literature major in college, too—and while I dearly love contemporary reads, there’s just something about a classic.  Something sort of…soothing or delicious about a book written hundreds of years ago.  So my all-time favorites run the gamut.  These are my favorites from childhood, from my “classics” shelf, from more recent years:

   1.      IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote – I discovered this one in college.  One of my profs asked me to proctor a final exam for him; I brought it on a whim to have something to do (I was finished with my own tests).  I was completely mesmerized by the quiet, chilling portrait of murder in a small town—so much so, I wished I had another test or two left to oversee!

   2.      FALL INTO DARKNESS by Christopher Pike – I grew up on contemporary, realistic fiction.  When I found Christopher Pike in junior high, I discovered books that were more adventure-driven, felt cinematic.  I loved that.

   3.      THE PAIN AND THE GREAT ONE – Judy Blume’s picture book about a couple of siblings.  Her descriptions of the brother and sister could have been me and my younger brother.  It was the first time I saw myself in a book I was reading—and that was a big part, I think, of hooking me as a young reader.

   4.      JANE EYRE by Charlotte Brontë – I must’ve read this one three or four different times in college.  It just kept getting assigned—in Victorian Lit, Women’s Lit, etc.  I remember one of my friends asking me why I was taking the time to read it again when I’d read it for a class the semester before.  I had to admit it was for pure pleasure. 

   5.      THE CATCHER IN THE RYE by JD Salinger – As someone who writes in the YA category, I’ve just got to love this one.  Its impact on YA lit is still being felt today.

   6.      TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD by Harper Lee – My favorite of all the books assigned in high school (isn’t it everyone’s)?

   7.      EMILY DICKINSON’S COLLECTED WORKS – I love Dickinson.  And when you read her poems all together, one after another, they begin to read like a novel in verse.

   8.      MYSTIC RIVER by Dennis Lehane – A contemporary classic.  A mystery that reads like a literary novel.

   9.      FIELD OF DREAMS by W. P. Kinsella – Also one of my all-time favorite movies.  Just a great fantasy story.

   10.  Laura Ingalls Wilder – I’m a Missouri girl, so I had to put a classic Missouri writer on the list.  I think Wilder’s work tends to trend younger now—her LITTLE HOUSE books are generally considered children’s literature—and I read them as a girl, too.  So you can also say Wilder’s one of my favorite MG authors as well.

Author Bio:

Holly Schindler is the author of the critically acclaimed A BLUE SO DARK (Booklist starred review, ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year silver medal recipient, IPPY Awards gold medal recipient) as well as PLAYING HURT (both YAs). 

Her debut MG, THE JUNCTION OF SUNSHINE AND LUCKY, also released in ’14, and became a favorite of teachers and librarians, who used the book as a read-aloud.  Kirkus Reviews called THE JUNCTION “…a heartwarming and uplifting story…[that] shines…with vibrant themes of community, self-empowerment and artistic vision delivered with a satisfying verve.” 

FERAL is Schindler’s third YA and first psychological thriller.  Publishers Weekly gave FERAL a starred review, stating, “Opening with back-to-back scenes of exquisitely imagined yet very real horror, Schindler’s third YA novel hearkens to the uncompromising demands of her debut, A BLUE SO DARK…This time, the focus is on women’s voices and the consequences they suffer for speaking…This is a story about reclaiming and healing, a process that is scary, imperfect, and carries no guarantees.”

Schindler encourages readers to get in touch.  Booksellers, teen librarians, and teachers can also contact her directly regarding Skype visits.  She can be reached at hollyschindlerbooks (at) gmail (dot) com, and can also be found at hollyschindler.com, hollyschindler.blogspot.com, @holly_schindler, Facebook.com/HollySchindlerAuthor, and hollyschindler.tumblr.com. 

Giveaway of a Signed Copy of FERAL

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Sneak Peek of Feral by Holly Schindler

Hello all you awesome people. Today I’m talking about Feral by Holly Schindler. I’ll also be giving you guys a sneak peek of the book.

Releases August 26th, 2014

Synopsis from Goodreads:

It’s too late for you. You’re dead. Those words continue to haunt Claire Cain months after she barely survived a brutal beating in Chicago. So when her father is offered a job in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out will offer her a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire feels an overwhelming sense of danger, and her fears are confirmed when she discovers the body of a popular high school student in the icy woods behind the school, surrounded by the town’s feral cats. While everyone is quick to say it was an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it, and vows to learn the truth about what happened. 

But the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to realizing a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley….

Holly Schindler’s gripping story is filled with heart-stopping twists and turns that will keep readers guessing until the very last page.

If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, play the video below for a sneak peek.

//player.vimeo.com/video/95024582?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0

If you liked what you heard, then head on over to the author’s blog to find out where you can pre-order this book from.

Pre-Order Information
Author’s Blog

If you still aren’t sure and you are a book blogger, head on over to Edelweiss and request an e-ARC of it.

Edelweiss Link:
Feral

If you want to wait until you see some reviews for it, keep an eye out for my review. It’ll be posted July 26th.