I liked this but it feels like it took forever for me to finish it.

The strange adventures of a 9 year old girl, kidnapped (willingly) by her older brother who is an animal rights activist and their crime spree across America. Meanwhile her sister tries to locate them.

Reminded me a little of a book I read years ago where a chimp was raised as member of the family (We are All Completely Beside Ourselves) and also a little bit of Fierce Kingdom.

( )

Comment parler d'un livre quand il vous a assommé, quand sa lecture vous a mis KO ? Zoomania est avant tout une claque littéraire, un de ces livres que vous ne voulez pas finir pour prolonger le plaisir...
C'est l'histoire d'une famille de l'Oklahoma qui, après le passage d'une tornade, perd tout. Le père mort, les quatre enfants se retrouvent seuls sous la protection de la sœur ainée. Ils ne seront bientôt plus que trois, quand Tucker, le grand frère, quittera la caravane.
C'est l'histoire d'une folie sur fond d'écologie, une croisade pour lutter contre la maltraitance envers les animaux.
C'est aussi, surtout, une histoire d'amour entre un frère et sa petite sœur. Une histoire d'amour qui conduira la petite Cora a devenir, malgré elle, une éco-terroriste.
C'est enfin une prouesse narrative. Abbi Geni prend le partie de la double narration. La moitié du récit est du point de vue de la petite Cora qui du haut de ses 9 ans raconte 4 mois d'aventure aux côtés de ce frère qu'elle admire et dont elle ne peut analyser toutes les motivations.
Zoomania est un exceptionnel roman qui sur "fond d’urgence écologique et de défense de la cause animale, entre thriller et méditation sur la nature, nous invite à un apprentissage de l’absolu aussi violent qu’enivrant." ( )

I started this book after takeoff from Sydney headed for San Francisco. I finished an hour after we passed over Hawaii. It’s not a page turner in the sense that you have to keep reading to find out what happens next – it is simply an engrossing, compelling, compassionate story that is hard to put down.

Three years before the story begins a deadly tornado rips through Mercy, Oklahoma, The four McCloud children, Darlene, Tucker, Jane and Cora are orphaned. Nineteen year old Darlene has to give up her plans for college so she can keep the family together, with help from 17 year old Tucker. But three months later, after an argument with Darlene, Tucker runs away.

When he returns three years later, he is an eco-terrorist on a mission. He persuades his youngest sister Cora to join him. The story is told with an alternating point of view: the adult Cora, looking back on “that summer when she disappeared,” and Darlene as she struggles to rescue her sister and stop her brother from doing any more damage.

Tucker believes that man is destroying the world. He’s all for the animals. He’s a zealot. And he does a lot of bad things, not the least of which is putting his innocent younger sister at great risk. It’s not easy to empathize with a character like Tucker or his cause. But Geni, to her great credit, allows us to see beyond the surface of Tucker’s madness. We get an appreciation for his cause, even if we don't totally support it, or agree with his methods.

The true hero of this story is Darlene. She sacrifices the future she had planned to keep her siblings together.

THE WILDLANDS is a story of survival on many levels. Geni manages to impart a ton of information on the relationship between man and animals. The knowledge isn’t force-fed, this is not a polemic, but I came away feeling like I had learned something. The story moved me and it made me think. Can’t ask for more than that. Highly recommended. ( )

I was sent this book from the publisher/publicity team. My ratings and reviews will be my own personal opinions and are in no way influenced by publishers or authors who may have sent me books to review.

I have picked this one up more times than I can even count. It was a little slow to start, but once I pushed through, I was hooked. This is not a fast paced story, but it still kept my interest.

This story is heartbreaking as you learn more about the family and the struggles they have faced. Little Cora will keep you turning the pages to find out what happens to her. You really learn more around the siblings and their relationships and how they have tried to survive after losing everything (and I mean everything) from a Tornado.

Overall, I enjoyed this one much more than I expected. ( )

Darlene and Cora are such amazing heroines, so brave and so strong that you wouldn't be able to help but love them.

Darlene is initially unlikable for me but I starting lover her character as she grows with the story. I like how she lives, I like her righteousness, her faults, her worries and her choices. I like how she manages to find breathe room in Roy which makes me love Darlene and Roy. Darlene is just so full of life even in such disastrous situation like hers. It's really delightful to find a character like her in a story like this.

Tucker, oh Tucker... being someone who shares the same sentient as him, I'm horrified by what he became. He knows so much and while his vision is undeniably true, his mission and the steps he takes are horribly in the wrong direction. With what he does to those poor animals, I couldn't call him a misled hero with genuine intention. He's just a terrible, horrible person who doesn't think of the poor animals who he claims he's saving but only see his own judgment.

Little Cora, being so young and impressionable, she could only be swayed by the big brother who she loved and looked up to as a kid. Despite her age, she is equally brave as her sister and not influenced by her brother's craziness. She takes Tucker's vision and works on her own mission which is almost like a fairy tale.

All in all, reading this was an amazing experience. I recommend to brace for some ugly truth, horrible events and animal harm as well as a perfect writing that sucks you right into the story. I went into the story anticipating it to be depressing but ended up loving it thanks to the sisters. ( )