Published by: HarperTeen, August 26th 2014
Genre: YA, Mystery, Psychological thriller
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Source: HarperTeen, via Edelweiss
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.
I went into this book with no expectations whatsoever. I don't usually read books of this genre, and when I do I'm always disappointed - but always hoping the next one is better. Also it had been a while since I read the blurb. So I was completely in the dark, and I'm pretty sure I enjoyed this book a lot more because of that.
The first chapter hooked me with its gritty, raw storytelling, and Claire's story only reeled me further in. I loved the way Claire's and Serena's different stories were linked together, through coincidence more than any real link, and I actually really liked the characters. Much of them were cookie cutter characters, but Claire certainly wasn't and neither was Rich - those two were my favourites. I liked their friendship a lot, even if I did fear he'd be the killer because awful things usually happen to my faves.
I enjoyed a lot of Feral. I liked how it lived up to being a psychological thriller by completely screwing with my head. I hated how it leaned towards the paranormal with the ghosts and the Cat Possession, but I clocked on to the reality of the situation after long. I was fascinated by Claire's steady downward spiral, how even to the reader she seems grasping at straws and less sound of mind as you get closer to the end. I also loved the metaphors - so lovely to read.
I'm also thrilled that this is a stand alone. I get so tired of series, of getting attached to stories and characters and their lives being left hanging at the end, thus being strongarmed into buying the next book. It's so nice to have a conclusion.
The bottom line: Feral is a psychological thriller that certainly thrills, unexpectedly scares, and warps your view of reality until everything and nothing is real.
The first chapter hooked me with its gritty, raw storytelling, and Claire's story only reeled me further in. I loved the way Claire's and Serena's different stories were linked together, through coincidence more than any real link, and I actually really liked the characters. Much of them were cookie cutter characters, but Claire certainly wasn't and neither was Rich - those two were my favourites. I liked their friendship a lot, even if I did fear he'd be the killer because awful things usually happen to my faves.
I enjoyed a lot of Feral. I liked how it lived up to being a psychological thriller by completely screwing with my head. I hated how it leaned towards the paranormal with the ghosts and the Cat Possession, but I clocked on to the reality of the situation after long. I was fascinated by Claire's steady downward spiral, how even to the reader she seems grasping at straws and less sound of mind as you get closer to the end. I also loved the metaphors - so lovely to read.
I'm also thrilled that this is a stand alone. I get so tired of series, of getting attached to stories and characters and their lives being left hanging at the end, thus being strongarmed into buying the next book. It's so nice to have a conclusion.
The bottom line: Feral is a psychological thriller that certainly thrills, unexpectedly scares, and warps your view of reality until everything and nothing is real.
Characters ★★★☆☆
Setting/world building ★★★☆☆
Writing Style ★★★★☆
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(from galley:)
"But there was nothing simple about her current state. Or maybe, it was the simplest state of all: a past tense. Dead."
