When Stirling's brother disappears in a swamp, he is almost immediately replaced by a girl who everyone claims is her sister (and no one remembers her brother)! Fast paced, incredibly intriguing YA Southern Gothic. Couldn't put it down. ( )

This was on my list of rereads, so during the covid quaratine, I picked it up again. Neither the title nor the author stirred anything for me, although the cover seemed familiar and lovely. I opened to the first page and wham, remembered seemingly everything all at once. It's the novel about the haunted small-town Louisiana swamp! The one where people put beads on the railings. Where the siblings go missing and are replaced but not really! I was delighted to remember such a wonderful book so suddenly, and eagerly read. The slow dread and serious unsettling feelings start immediately. If I'd reviewed this right after the first time I read it, I would have spent a paragraph on how chilling this story was. But the book had me so scared then, that all I could do was return it to the library. Now, it's still unsettling. The dread is immediate and peters out pretty quickly, but not because I knew how it would end. I still enjoyed the descriptions of things, the plot, and general writing choices the author made. I thought the variety of social commentaries, whether intentional or not, were--interesting. Certainly interesting how they were all raised and approached repeatedly in the story. I understand them differently, too, and nodded at them when I recognized them, this time. The social topics inform the story. There didn't seem to be any "if you experience this, you must do this!" underscoring the text. It was all used for the story.

Less than halfway through the story, a clever attempt to defeat the ostensibly villainous not-sibling is made. I both hoped it would work and knew it wouldn't because the book was less than half over. It was still a tense, exciting moment though. I still enjoyed the ending, but had remembered it differently. This book wasn't scary on second read. I paid attention all over again to the atmospheric details and lush descriptions. I'm glad I read it again. ( )

it's been far too long since a book sucked me right in and i sat down and devoured it in one sitting.

thank fuck for this book. i needed it. i needed it so badly. it gets five stars and a hug because of how badly I needed this book. (it's probably more of a 4/4.5-ish star, because I'm always hesitant to give out fivers for some reason, but fuck it, it gets 5 because it hit me when I needed it.)

it has all sorts of elements meant to entice me: southern setting, sibling relationships, fairy-tale feelings/atmosphere, realistic friendships (female at that) interesting, strong, well written female characters that don't feel unrealistic or have everything line up just so for them. and a romance that is sweet and doesn't cloud the actual story. young adult fantasy novels are so saturated with boy/girl romance it drives me up the wall, but I enjoyed this one. it's really not the forefront of this story. it's sweet.

this book feels like a ghost story you'd tell your friends over a campfire, or in your bedroom, trying to scare everyone with all the lights off.

it's about a girl, her brother, and a swamp.

it's about a girl finally finding the strength in herself to take care of herself.

it's about a girl finding her sister/making her own family.

it's about small towns, and how adults just seem to decide to agree upon things as truths, never questioning them.

it's about the wild, and how it can eat you up if you let it.

goddamn, i thoroughly enjoyed this. the writing was simple yet beautiful in places and felt realistic for a sixteen year old girl. the characters all felt fleshed out enough (some more than others) but there were great moments between nearly all of them. i'll definitely be on the lookout for more from this author in the future, if this is what she can crank out as a first novel, i can't wait to see what she delivers for a second.
( )

There's a young woman who says she's your sister, and you have memories of growing up with her, running from your abusive father with her, laughing and fighting and living with her - but she's not your sister. You've never had a sister. Who is she - and who did she replace to get there?

There's a whole history of her inside my head, but it's flimsy and thin. It's not real. She's not real.

I don't make a habit out of reading Southern fantasy/horror stories, stories about small towns with big secrets and mysterious swamps and dangerous spirits who take the place of human beings and can rewrite local history to fit their unnatural presence. But now, with BEYOND THE WILD, I just might end up looking for them more often.

"I don't mean to scare you, but this swamp listens. You must be careful what you say."

Natalie C. Parker has weaved together a near-perfect tale of Southern fantasy, in which the swamp is alive and real and as much a character as its main protagonist, Sterling.

I was impressed by the utmost depth and complexity of Sterling: she is stubborn and single-minded about her quest to retrieve her brother Phin from the swamp, although she is plagued with guilt thinking she drove him into it. She often barrels through a problem to get to the end of it, even though her stress leads her to abandon her good health (and the author did a good job portraying her grief-induced eating problems, handling the issue of ED with a learned and sensitive hand).

She falls in love but she doesn't let it completely cloud her vision - but that doesn't mean she won't panic when her new boyfriend is hurt. The Sterling/Heath couple is a bumpy one but they have a shared history that keeps them together and a growing love and respect for each other that makes it stay that way. Not much time is spent on Sterling mooning over Heath before they officially hook up, and I'm glad for it.

I loved Sterling's friends, from her handsome troubled boyfriend Heath, who gets to have issues without falling into the stereotypical trap of the rebellious boy figure in YA lit, to her clever, storybook obsessed best friend Candy who solves problems with studying and booze (aka my kind of lady).

This book excels at representation of characters and traits not commonly found in mainstream YA. Abigail is a lesbian and not a tragic one, the town is filled with characters of color while still subtly addressing the issue of racism in a small Southern community, and the narrative deals with EDs and mental health without being crass or lecturing. There are positive female friendships, healthy boyfriend/girlfriend relationships, and a complicated sibling relationship that drives the entire novel. I feel like Sticks could very well be a real Louisiana town, that I could hop on the bus right now and be within its limits by day's end.

With howls and groans and pleading, dear,
The swamp will call you near,
Beware the songs it sings to you,
Beware the things you hear.

One of the best things that BEWARE THE WILD does is mess with your perception of what's real and what's a lie. In a story where the swamp bewitches and befuddles its local residents on a regular basis, to the point of rewriting memories, it's no wonder that some people are less reliable than others. Read this book with a vigilant, suspicious mind; be like Sterling and question everything, even the facts. And don't let the swamp get into your mind...

BEWARE THE WILD is gorgeously written and has a compelling story. I had a hard time putting it down once I started; I finished the book in several marathon binge reads before bed, which meant a few sleepless nights, but it was worth it. I'm looking forward to whatever story Natalie C. Parker tells next.

Note: This book is an advance reading copy (ARC) and was given to me through HarperTeen and the Goodreads' First Reads program. I received no monetary compensation for the writing of this review. All quotes are from the uncorrected proof and are liable to be changed in the official version. ( )

Fantastic characters populate this entertaining and unsettling story. I was looking forward to the horror aspect of this book but it fell flat. The creepy southern gothic atmosphere was great but it wasn't scary. That being said, I definitely enjoyed this book and it had many great twists and turns. An enjoyable read; just not a horror. ( )