A Review: THE WILD ONES by Nafiza Azad

Every so often I come back to this blog to post a review of a book that changed my life. This is one of those books.

THE WILD ONES
By: Nafiza Azad
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication Date: August 3, 2021

Synopsis: Meet the Wild Ones: girls who have been hurt, abandoned, and betrayed all their lives. It all began with Paheli, who was once betrayed by her mother and sold to a man in exchange for a favor. When Paheli escapes, she runs headlong into a boy with stars in his eyes. This boy, as battered as she is, tosses Paheli a box of stars before disappearing.

With the stars, Paheli gains access to the Between, a place of pure magic and mystery. Now, Paheli collects girls like herself and these Wild Ones use their magic to travel the world, helping the hopeless and saving others from the fates they suffered.

Then Paheli and the Wild Ones learn that the boy who gave them the stars, Taraana, is in danger. He’s on the run from powerful forces within the world of magic. But if Taraana is no longer safe and free, neither are the Wild Ones. And that…is a fate the Wild Ones refuse to accept. Ever again.

***

How do I write a review for a book that captured the pain, betrayal, and anger I feel on an everyday basis? How do I come up with words to express how much this book means to me? I love this book so much it hurts.

The writing style is breathtaking. I am in awe at Nafiza’s talent. I truly believe there is no one out there in the world who could have written this story as well as she did. The words, the imagery, the emotion…I could feel the anger and the pain through the page. It made me feel alive. It gave me hope. It put words to all the thoughts that have whirled around in my head for years. I love the mix of Paheli’s POV and the other Wild Ones. It didn’t bother me that we couldn’t tell who’s perspective the chapter was from. It fit with the story. These girls, their stories are so similar, yet so different. They are each their own individual, yet they’ve bonded because of the trauma and betrayal they’ve experienced. And I think having the book written like this was very unique, but also perfect for the story Nafiza was trying to tell.

Paheli’s POV was fun. That’s the best way I can describe it. And I think the reason I liked it so much was because her inner narrative fits so much with my own. It fits with her as a character too. We see how the trauma Paheli has gone through hasn’t disappeared completely. Trauma never completely does. You learn to move on, soften it a bit, squish it into a small ball and surround it with happier memories. But it never disappears completely. And we see that so well in her relationships with Taraana, Eulalie, and the other girls. Ngl I almost cried when Paheli tells Eulalie that she does love her, she just has trouble expressing her emotions because she’s constantly on alert for betrayal. When she is separated from the others, her first thought is “what if they realize they don’t need me/what if they don’t love me.” And even with Taraana…the relationship is kind of instalove, but also not. You guys know how picky I am when it comes to romance, but this was done so well. It didn’t feel rushed, and Paheli’s hesitancy and fears made complete sense with her past. I really appreciated how much time we got to spend with Paheli and Taraana as they get to know each other. I loved how they actually communicated (even if it took some pushing from Taraana lol), because that’s the one thing I find lacking in a lot of books with romance. The romance definitely didn’t overtake the plot and even when it was the centre of a scene, it didn’t make me cringe or feel awkward. I really liked the two of them together.

My favourite part of this book, besides for everything else I’ve mentioned, was seeing so many different cities and experiencing the culture and food. I read this book while on vacation in Italy, and I could actually imagine Paheli and her girls wandering the streets of Rome, wearing flowy dresses in the sweltering heat, and eating gelato. For a lot of us, I think this book can be a perfect escape from our current world and allow us to travel to other cities and countries in our minds, since it’s still not easy to travel right now.

Another thing I’ll mention…I love me a “weak, scared” male love interest. How rare is it to see this in books? The men are always brave and strong, nothing ever terrifies them or if it does they don’t show it. The women are always described as more emotional and scared and weak. But in this book we have a lovely switch in gender portrayal. The Wild Ones are strong, they are undefeatable. The very cry that is expected from a woman cowering in fear can be used in defence. And maybe it is the trauma and hard lives that have made them this way, but isn’t that the way of male characters too? Aren’t they also brave and rash and angry because of their past? So why can’t women be shaped by their past also? This book ajakskdkd is just so empowering. If you’re a woman or identify as a woman, this book will make you feel seen, it will give you hope and strength to get you through whatever you’re going through. It will make you angry, but in a good way.

The last lines of this book sum up everything so well.

”Embrace this anger. Let if fuel your everydays. Defy everyone who tells you that you can’t. Be wild.”

Also sharing this one because I love it so much: 

”Some days we are so sad, we want to drown the world. Some days we are so angry, we want to set it on fire.”

Overall, 5/5 stars. I need to buy this book immediately.