Review of Racing the Wild

[Annie Sanford]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Racing the Wild" by Rosanna Andrea Feeken.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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‘Racing the Wild’ by Rosanna Andrea Feeken is a book that grabs the reader within the first few sentences. A boy with a difficult home life starts at a new school and is right away judged for his past. As the story progresses, the boy must learn how to face his struggles and decide how those struggles will shape him. It is something that everyone can relate to, not just young adults. Along with the writing, each chapter starts with a drawing, intended to have been done by the main character. These pencil drawings give an artistically emotional overview of the chapter. These drawings immediately pull the reader in. There is a lot of offensive language in the book, spoken by adolescents and adults. Phrases such as ‘dickhead’, ‘sh*t talker’, and ‘f****g’ are used all within the first chapter by adolescent characters. The author sets the story in Australia, so some spelling is different, as well as the use of words such as ‘the bush’ ‘kilometers’, and ‘brumby’ may be unfamiliar to some readers. And there are kangaroos! Sadly, this book does include physical and verbal abuse of children and adults by an authoritative figure. There are also many instances of teenage characters bullying each other and getting away with it, as well as teens experimenting with drugs. An adult character has an affair that results in a pregnancy. One character studies Buddhism and explains the practices to another character. Parents and guardians should be aware, and consider having a conversation with their young adult readers before giving the book to them. A lot of the story centers around horses and basketball. Two boys discuss ‘sexual attraction’ towards female characters, but it is done in a sweet way of boys entering puberty and developing their first love. Later, there is a scene between a boy and a girl trying to express their feelings towards each other. Again, it is very sweet, and not sexual at all. The author keeps the story moving with several plot twists. It is a very emotional story that will have readers deep in their feelings the whole way through!

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Racing the Wild
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