Natalie C. Parker’s Beware the Wild is a dark and creepy gothic fairytale. It lures you into its mysterious swamp, makes you forget about your life, and captures you in the pages of its story.
Have you ever heard of Sticks, Louisiana? Nobody has. It’s a secluded small town with secrets, and the biggest one of them – is the swamp. Nobody knows why it is fenced or why everyone is scared of it, but they know one thing for sure: You better stay the hell away from it. Don’t mind the swamp, and it won’t mind you.
That is what everybody in Sticks does… until one girl loses her brother.
Sterling Saucier is our main protagonist. In the beginning we see her as a girl who was always under the protection of her slightly aggressive brother, Phin. Their father was a cruel, abusive man, and Phin was the only person who tried to protect Sterling and her mother. But after an explosive fight over his moving to college, Phin leaves his home and disappears into the swamp. Sterling waits and waits for him to return, but to no avail.
Nobody remembers him anymore… Nobody believes that he ever existed… except for Heath, the boy at school with whom she had a brief romance and who has experienced the same situation. What is more important is that he believes her. He remembers.
Now, the romance Sterling has with Heath is probably what interested me the least about this book. He’s a good guy with a dark, swamp-related past and all, but I really don’t have too much to say about him. Throughout the course of the novel, Sterling became strong because of her burden while Heath became weak. I much prefer it when the main heroes are equal.
What I really liked was the development of Sterling’s character. At the beginning she was just a scared girl with an eating disorder and a fear of losing her brother – her only protector. But now it is he who needs her help, and, as it turns out, Sterling has the courage of a lion. She is strong, smart, and desperate to save her beloved brother.
It’s important to note that this book is not about the love between a boy and a girl. It’s about brother and sister relationships — that our love for someone and the need to protect them can be twisted into something else entirely. We must learn to stand up for ourselves and to stop depending on other people because everything has a price.
The plot and the writing were incredibly good. It made me want to go to the swamp because the description of it was so vivid — with its lights that are always leading people into its depths and with its magical cherry trees and monsters waiting for you in the dark. I also loved the secondary characters and the main villain. It’s not easy to guess here who is good and who is evil. Everyone has their reasons, and somebody can surprise you.
Overall, this book is a must-read for fans of gothic romances. I read it a couple of days ago, and its atmosphere still haunts me. And I love it!
