Compare and Contrast: Wildlife by Fiona Wood and Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer


Welcome to Compare and Contrast, a periodic blog feature in which I jointly review two books that share a similar element.  Today's books feature characters whose boyfriends have tragically died -- and who have been sent to rusticate in the outdoors. What interested me most about comparing these two books is that, despite this common thread, they were not the slightest bit similar. One is a down-to-earth contemporary, the other more measured, with elements of magical realism. Both were good, each was completely different.





Wildlife
by Fiona Wood
Published in the U.S. on September 16, 2014
by Little, Brown

Source: e-ARC via NetGalley


Synopsis from Goodreads: During a semester in the wilderness, sixteen-year-old Sib expects the tough outdoor education program and the horrors of dorm life, but friendship drama and an unexpected romance with popular Ben Capaldi? That will take some navigating. New girl Lou has zero interest in fitting in, or joining in. Still reeling from a loss that occurred almost a year ago, she just wants to be left alone. But as she witnesses a betrayal unfolding around Sib and her best friend Holly, Lou can't help but be drawn back into the land of the living.
My take: First off, Australian readers have already had the pleasure of discovering both Wildlife and its 2010 companion book, Six Impossible Things. That's lucky for them, because I had to wait until now to discover Fiona Wood, a talented new Aussie author.

As always, I read the synopsis weeks before starting the actual book, and it took me a while to realize that this book did not feature an unreliable narrator, but was in fact told from the point of view of two different girls. (Dumb, right? But in my defense, the chapters in the e-ARC aren't headed with the girls' names or anything. However, I finally figured out that the chapters with the dates are journal entries written by Lou. Problem solved.)

Wildlife is a brash, funny, earthy book that, to me, really reflected the way the teenage years feel: exhilarating, confusing, mortifying, painful. Sibylla is unsure of herself, and allows herself to be guided by the sometimes dubious wisdom of her best friend, Holly. Lou, who's attending the same outdoor eduction program, is prickly and standoffish, still mourning the loss of her boyfriend in an accident (this isn't revealed in the synopsis but it is revealed in the beginning of the book.) The way the two girls' stories intertwined felt both artful and natural.

Wildlife touches on so many teen issues: first love, sex, friends and frenemies, feeling lost and beginning to find yourself. If you love contemporary YA, Wildlife is a must-read.

Belzhar
by Meg Wolitzer
To be published by Dutton
on September 30, 2014

Source: ARC sent from publisher for review

Synopsis: If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be  at home in New Jersey with her sweet British  boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching  old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing  him in the library stacks. She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English. But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead. Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.
My take: Belzhar would have been exactly the kind of story I'd have adored as a teenager.  It has so many elements of my favorite books. First, it's a boarding school story, and I love those. The story features a life-changing (and somewhat mysterious) teacher, and who doesn't wish for those? The life-changing teacher has the students in her class read Sylvia Plath's Bell Jar, a book about a gifted, troubled young woman. Even the magical realism -- something I'm not always wholeheartedly a fan of -- worked for me in this book.

What didn't entirely work for me was (click for BIG spoiler)



Still, I do recommend this one if you are a fan of classic YA like A Separate Peace, as I think that Belzhar has that same sort of timeless, poignant feel.

Comments

  1. I've always thought that Wildwood IS Six Impossible Things. I thought wrong. I didn't know it was a sequel of sorts. Those Aussie authors know how to write words directly on to the surface of a reader's heart. Seriously.

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    1. I think they are companion books with crossover characters, but what with the different publication dates and the fact that books are sometimes re-titled when they release in different countries, I hope I have that right. If not, someone let me know!!

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  2. I haven't read any of them but I do want to read Belzhar.

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  3. Wildlife sounds great. I'll have to check that one out.

    I've read conflicting things about Belzhar. I normally wouldn't' bother but I kind of like how the twist left you so conflicted. For some reason I'm reading & enjoying books like that these days.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I can see how it would provoke mixed opinions -- it's not typical 2014 YA. But I thought it was interesting!

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  4. Oh Aussie writer you say! They somehow always manage to get to my fave list so I'm super excited about that one and I really want to read it. Belzhar sounds so good to me and it seems like something I might enjoy. Great reviews, Jen :)

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    1. Yes! What is in the water down there that makes the writers so genius??

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  5. A funny and earthy book sounds interesting

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  6. Oh thank you THANK YOU for saying that about Belzhar!! I was so worried I would be the only one thinking the twist was a massive let down. :( I feel like I was maybe too critical? But I was absolutely gobsmacked that that's what the reveal was. o.O I thought exactly what you did: compared to everyone else, Jam just felt...whiny? I don't even know. It just ruined the story for me.

    I had the same probably with Wildlife realising there were actually two narrators! I WISH they'd marked it better.

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    1. Yeah, I do love a good twist, and I wish it had been a slightly different one :(
      And thanks to you for making me feel better about the two narrators. I felt a little stupid when I figured that out...

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  7. I have even heard of these so thank you!

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  8. Interesting Post. I haven't heard of these two either, so thanks for sharing, Jen!

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  9. I absolutely loved Wildlife and have Belzhar coming up from me. I have read mixed reviews for it so I'll lower my expectations--I'm rather curious about the magical realism! It's always either I love it or I hate it.

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