Wreck
Fleur Ferris
It’s impossible to write only positive news articles. But Tamara is determined to do so, believing that life needs more good news in it. However when she finds a piece of evidence that could be her breakthrough piece, she finds herself being hunted down for what she knows.
Aw, Tamara, you’re so naive! Tamara is so ‘lucky’ that her parents aren’t there! Otherwise none of the story would have happened, or they would have all been killed in a home invasion. She’s plucky and a little bit stupid, and willing to stand up even at great expense to herself. Amazing, really. A protagonist that you can’t exactly empathise with, but can understand.
This novel moves very, very quickly in the last couple of chapters. Almost too quickly. I wonder for example why Zel hasn’t approached Carrington before. I think that Ferris captures the aftermath of an accident like this one beautifully, with a range of reactions from the parties involved.
This novel reminded me of The Successor where there is also a scavenger hunt where you can’t trust anyone and everything is a danger. I have to wonder where the original note went… Tamara doesn’t have it, and the bad guys keep hunting her, so maybe they didn’t find it on her colleagues either.
I really enjoyed Ferris’ first novel, Black, and I was so excited to see this one come my way. I was not disappointed. I reread Wreck in order to write this review and enjoyed it almost as much the second time around. 4 stars from me.
Penguin Random House | 3rd July 2017 | AU$19.99 | paperback
This is a lighthearted romance with a spot of dog-loving thrown in! Cora’s a likable enough character who creates laughter with her descriptions of dogs-gone-wrong. There are sad parts to the novel too, but nothing particularly cry worthy. If you’re looking for a beach-side read, this novel could be it. This novel is decidedly chaste, so don’t go looking for sex scenes.
Despite the somewhat gory descriptions of Rhino poaching, this book is definitely suitable for younger readers interested in animals. I’m going to try it for a 9.5 year old girl who is passionate about reading and David Attenborough films. It’s a great primer about both the glory and the boredom of being a vet in practice.
Tris seems to lack a survival instinct, as well as an ability to actually communicate with people! So much drama could have been avoided by ‘using her words’. The same goes for the rest of the characters – talking is a good thing, people! This frustrated me at times because it meant that the perspective was very limited from Tris and I thought there was so much more about this world that I could have enjoyed if I had been given a chance.
Noah’s perspective is interspersed with his mentor’s and a potential love interest. This gives the reader a bit of variety, and also makes them feel Noah’s growing sense of horror as he realises what he and others have done in the name of safety. I wanted to be horrified when Noah tortured people, but I just wasn’t. I felt as numb as he did.
This novel put the creepy factor up high right from the beginning and it only got worse (or better?)! This is a true psychological thriller that caused me to shiver and make sure I had a good grip on myself (and my stomach). Some of the passages when Naomi were alone almost took my breath away.
It’s very difficult to review a book that is filled with images – you just need to see them for yourself. For example, there is an Escher tattoo and some visual puzzles that if the artist had gotten a tiny bit wrong, it would have been wreaked. There’s a kitten and a dinosaur, and you better believe every hair on that kitten is visible.
I’m not sure if I have commented on this before, but I’m not sure how I felt about the interspersed writings of the Archivist and his lackeys. Did I really learn anything new? What was their effect on the novel’s progress? (maybe these questions are left over from marking literature reviews…) Nevertheless the rest of the writing is fine and you barely realise that you are turning pages at a rapid rate.