Claire has suffered a violent attack in her home town of Chicago that has left her scarred -- both emotionally and physically. Her father gets a semester sabbatical in Peculiar, Missouri, so Claire is going with him. They arrive during a freak ice storm and things just get weirder from there.
The book opens with the narrative voice of Serena, who is dead and being dragged across a field behind the school during the ice storm. She is left there, under a broken tree branch.
Claire discovers the body a few days later being chewed on by the town's many feral cats. Claire believes there's more to Serena's death, which has been categorized as an accident.
On the surface, Feral is an interesting story, but the way Claire finds out what happens is just weird. It's supernatural, but because Claire is the only one experiencing the supernatural events, it doesn't feel authentic. Some of the decisions made by Claire and those around her benefit the plot, but don't really make sense. Some of the reactions by the characters didn't feel authentic. I can't really be specific, but I just didn't like the way the whole thing played out.
The writing is great, the story moves along at a pace that keeps you interested. I couldn't connect with the characters, but that's because I didn't buy into what was happening. There are some creepy and gory descriptions that are well done too.
Here's a couple of reviews that liked Feral a bit more than I did:
Obsession With Books
My Guilty Obsession
For me, Feral was underwhelming. I never wanted to not finish -- I had to see if what I thought happened really happened. And I was mostly right, but had some of the details wrong. If you like murder mysteries that are more mysterious than just who committed the crime, you may be interested in Feral.
Published by HarperTeen, August 26, 2014
eARC obtained from Edelweiss
432 pages
Rating: 2.5/5
Hmmm not sure about this book. I think I know where you are coming from on the supernatural not feeling authentic. Its hard to see it only happening to one person. I have been really interested in this book. I think I have shied away from it because of the page numbers. I have been into short books lately. Its seems all I can get time to read. I think I may still read this one in the future.... not anytime soon. Its a shame you didn't enjoy it more.
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