For the Wolf

Book Title: For the Wolf

Author: Hannah Whitten

Series: For the Wolf #1

Date Started: October 3rd 2022

Date Completed: October 15th 2022

Genres: Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Quality Rating: Three Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Three Stars

Review:

◆ Thank you to NetGalley for this ebook for review ◆

For the Wolf starts off slow, predictable and frankly eye-rollingly cliche, but somehow I have to admit that the second half was really compelling and went in new directions. The main crux is a typical YA romance (and, honestly, the first half is the same scene of the Wolf reluctantly saving Red six times over); it's the outside threads that make it worthwhile. And the sickly unfaltering dedication from certain characters remains, but the plot finally grows into something really quite interesting, beckoning whatever's ahead while still resolving this novel's story well enough to be satisfying for now.

A bit more time spent at the novel's beginning establishing three-dimensional characters could've also turned around the opening acts. I ended up liking many of them by the final act, and I want to know what happens to them next, but they were paper archetypes at the start more from a desire for the angst than an initial equilibrium. I wonder if the desire to echo the fairy tale (which seems more Beauty and the Beast/Snow White and Rose Red than Red Riding Hood) was a bit distracting to begin with, before the story took its own roots.

I'm actually really looking forward to this novel's follow-up (which is already in my library), as I trust the story has come into its own now and can continue in this new and exciting direction, fleshing out the side characters even more as they become more integral to the story.

While I Live

Book Title: While I Live

Author: John Marsden

Series: The Ellie Chronicles #1

Date Started: September 4th 2022

Date Completed: October 3rd 2022

Genres: Adventure, Thriller

Quality Rating: Four Stars

Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four Stars

Review:

For once, I'm so happy there's a sequel series to an original. The Tomorrow series was incredibly influential to me as a teenager, and remains one of the best explorations of war, survival, friendship and bravery I've ever come across. It's such a shame it isn't as well known outside of its native Australia. The Ellie Chronicles, taking place (spoiler) after the end of the war that fractured the protaginst's existence over the course of seven books, follows the endlessly conflicted and clever Ellie trying to work out what to do with her life next. 

I'm always a bit mystified how Marsden can make the everyday, however grim the circumstances, compelling and immersive. Ellie spends most of this book at home trying to work out how to balance her finances while looking after her cattle and getting into arguments with people trying to help. It's so far removed from my usual preferences, but it felt like visiting dear friends.

Ellie is one of the few protagonists that's ever felt truly real to me - and that goes for all of Marsden's characters. She's written to be so human, to the point where she's really vindictive sometimes and the narrative doesn't lay any judgement on her at all. She's constantly pissed of and tired and trying and that's the closest thing I've ever related to with fictional characters. Don't get me wrong, we don't have to feel like we are a character to relate and love them - but it's something special when it does happen.

I think part of this comes from the fact that Ellie is only as strong as her relationships, and the other people in her life are so influential and important to her growth. The familiar faces from the original series are so naturally featured, without being shoehorned in for a quick reference. The friendships are so tactile and precious; characters don't have to be joined at the hip and speak every day to be close, as I think the representation often becomes. Months go past without Ellie speaking to dear friends, and when she does see them it can be awkward and hesitant. But they're still so close, and that's something that so many struggle to translate to the page.