Starred Review from Publishers Weekly

I was delighted and honored by this news late last week: Wake the Wild Creatures received a starred review… from Publishers Weekly!

I’ll share the whole review in this post, if you’re curious. I don’t tend to read reviews—instead I cover my eyes and ask the person I most trust to share relevant pull-quotes with me—but I did read this one, and I felt so beautifully understood by it. I’m honored and grateful.

Find the review here.

⭐️ Wake the Wild Creatures
Nova Ren Suma. Little, Brown, $18.99 (384p) ISBN 978-1-61620-672-7
A teen recovered from an off-grid Catskills commune of female fugitives struggles to adapt to society in this evocative and empowering novel from Suma (A Room Away from the Wolves). After committing murder and arson to avenge her own rape, Pola Lasker takes her infant Talia and decamps to the Neves, an abandoned mountaintop hotel that she transforms into a secret haven for those seeking to escape cruel men. There, Talia thrives in the care of found family, believing the forested refuge offers mystical protection from outside harm. When Talia turns 13, authorities apprehend Pola and send Talia to live in the Hudson Valley with Pola’s estranged sister. Having received instructions from a Neves resident to stay put until further notice, a forlorn Talia spends three years awaiting a signal. But when it finally comes, the road home isn’t what she expected. Suma’s fiercely feminist offering unfolds from Talia’s somewhat alien-feeling perspective, her first-person narrative snaking along a nonlinear timeline to add context and resonance. Intersectionally diverse, insightfully rendered characters and their complex, continuously evolving relationships ground the tale, while a surreal setting and sensate prose impart an otherworldly air. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (May)