Wanted

Wanted

by
3.92 of 5 stars 3.92  ·  rating details  ·  88 ratings  ·  21 reviews
Sanctuary.

A one-word text message: That's all Michal "Mike" Garcia needs to gather a crowd. Mike is a seventeen-year-old bookie, and Sanctuary is where she takes bets for anyone at Carson City High with enough cash. Her only rule: Never participate, never place a bet for herself.

Then Josh Ellison moves to town. He pushes Mike to live her life, to feel a rush of something--...more
Hardcover, 400 pages
Published May 1st 2012 by Balzer + Bray
more details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. SmithMy Life Next Door by Huntley FitzpatrickGraffiti Moon by Cath CrowleyThe Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
2012 YA Contemporary Challenge!
109th out of 254 books — 997 voters
The Fault in Our Stars by John GreenThe Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. SmithThe Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa JensenThis is Not a Test by Courtney SummersThe Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
2012 Young Adult Standalone Challenge
189th out of 232 books — 728 voters


More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 998)
filter  |  sort: default (?)  |  rating details
Angela (Reading Angels)
Find more of my reviews at www.readingangel.com

I read somewhere on the publishers website that Wanted was like a modern day Robin Hood and Bonnie and Clyde. As soon as I saw that I knew I was going to have to read it as soon as I possibly could. Let me just say, they did not get it wrong. Michal (aka Mike) and Josh definitely form their own two-person Robin Hood team stealing from the rich and giving to the needy, and when that all goes bad it escalates in to one final ride that would make Bonni...more
Renae M.
Wanted is a book completely different from anything I’ve read before. It’s as if Bonnie and Clyde got fed up with anti-Hispanic racism, developed a Robin Hood complex, and were transformed into high school students. Heidi Ayarbe tackled a lot of tough subjects in this book, some of which I wasn’t expecting. As per usual, the jacket blurb completely forgot to mention the most important part: Michal is Hispanic, and there’s a white supremacist gang called Garbage Disposal that’s attempting to “tak...more
Amanda
See My Full Review Here: http://www.hippiesbeautyandbooksohmy....

First Impressions: I really had no idea what to expect when I picked up my copy of Wanted. The book synopsis is kind of vague and the cover art is nondescript. I’ve never read any other books written by this author, but I loved how the publisher stated that Wanted is “A modern-day Bonnie and Clyde with a Robin Hood twist..”, which means that I needed to read it because who doesn’t like a good contemporary Robin Hood story? I know I...more
Jessica
Let me start by saying that Wanted turned out to be so different from everything else that I've read this year, that I was simply blown away from the start. As soon as I was introduced to Michal, a young girl turned bookie, there was no turning back. I'm not very familiar with the betting world, but Ayarbe makes it easy to understand the life that Michal has placed herself in. Her honest voice sucked me in, and her inability to see how important she was kept me coming back for more. I was rootin...more
Kelly
Ayarbe calls this an "unconventional western" in her acknowledgments and I think that's a great description. This is a little bit like Robin Hood meets Bonnie and Clyde.

Michal's a bookie, and she's a tough girl because of it. It's how she makes her money and earns her reputation. Her own rule is never to play the game herself. Always be the one watching, not betting. But then Josh moves to town and he convinces her to try her hand at the game and when things don't go well, they really don't go...more
Joy (joyous reads)
Bonnie and Clyde meets Robinhood – the premise couldn’t have sound any more interesting and unique as that. Come to think of it, there have been books written within the parameters of either work but never both. Such an ambitious undertaking, if I may say so myself.

Seventeen year-old Michal is a bookie who had never known what it’s like to live the life of a person of her occupation. And although the temptation to gamble was severe, she’d never once given in…until Josh Ellison moved to town and...more
Kris
What I love about Heidi Ayarbe's writing is that she delves into the human psyche in her books. She poses a question to the readers and explores it. Wanted is a brilliantly crafted novel delving into the psyche of a girl who breaks the rules once and loses. If I were in Mike's position, I would want to stay on the sidelines. She lives in a bad neighborhood and wants to get out of there; she can't afford any major losses. Being a bookie with a close following, she makes a fair amount of safe mone...more
Vanessa
Mar 16, 2013 Vanessa rated it 5 of 5 stars
Recommended to Vanessa by: won it on goodreads giveaways autographed =)
Looking forward to reading this book. It sounds great!
Update: just got my autographed copy in the mail today, so excited to finish it. Didn't have time to read much but I finished the first chapter.
Ok. So the book starts out with Michal (pronounced mee-kal) and Josh locked down, maybe in a store or something. But cops are surrounding the building and she feels she may be dead soon.
Then the first chapter describes how she takes bets and how she works her system. She meets Josh and takes his bet...more
Vanessa
4.5 stars.

I was so excited to read Wanted once I heard about its release. Heidi Ayarbe is one of my favorite writers and she really impressed me with her previous books, Freeze Frame and Compromised. This one didn't fail to impress me, either. Her writing is superb and filled with honest realism. It isn't a happy feel good story because unfortunately, life isn't always upbeat and positive.

There are a lot of things I admire about this novel and one of them is the topic of illegal immigration. So...more
Page (One Book At A Time)
One thing I loved about the previous book I read by Heidi Ayarbe is how real the whole thing feels. While you are reading, you think that this could happen to anyone and anywhere. I was curious how a female teenage bookie might fit into this theory.

From beginning to end I just had a hard time wrapping my mind around the bookie part of the story. I guess I just don't see it in the high school setting. Is this something new? Is it common? I guess maybe it's a new kind of rush for teenagers, but i...more
Tara
Review originally posted http://hobbitsies.net/2012/05/wanted-...

Wanted by Heidi Ayarbe was nothing like I thought it would be and everything that I wanted it to be. Wanted had interesting characters, a quick paced storyline, and was much deeper than I expected.

The initial summary of Wanted led me to believe it would be a little bit like Robin Hood. I definitely didn’t expect Wanted to be a portrayal of current issues facing all of us today – immigration, racism, poverty, etc. – in a high school...more
Shannan/GirlsInTheStacks.com
In typical Heidi Ayarbe style, she takes a subject I know little about and makes me feel like I should be the voice for all the people who can’t or won’t speak up. I feel love for the characters whether you agree with their actions or not. I want to adopt every character in her books and cook them a home cooked meal (does picking up Boston Market or Chick-Fil-A count?). Ayarbe makes me feel for a character even when, as I generalize about that group, and in this case, bookies, I tend to disregar...more
Savannah (Books With Bite)
What I loved most about this book is the great plot line. I have yet to read an interesting plot line about a teen who is a bookie and gambles. This alone is intriguing. Let me tell you that I don't know much about gambling. I mean, I don;t know much about running a book. You taking bets, collecting, etc. Ms. Ayarbe, made it is for the reader to fall in the plot really fast as well as understand it. The reader wasn't confused and instead I found myself really enjoying it.

The love interest in the...more
Foxwolf22
I applaud you, Heidi Ayarbe. You have guts.

This was a very interesting book from the beginning. High school "book" club. This modern day Robin Hood has its own twist.

Mike(dear God, I love that) is a strong, likeable character. She bet, she lost, but dear Gandhi she was awesome.

And the ENDING!

I lost my mind. The prologue was the last page?!?!?!

And she died?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

My mind has exploded.
Claire
Apr 09, 2012 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: ya, rev
Powerful and complicated and provocative and heartbreaking. Wish the end was a bit more end-y, but I can appreciate the power of the sudden semi-ambiguous fade-out.
Kim Baccellia
Amazing read.

YA Books Central Review coming soon!
Dutchbaby
Sep 12, 2012 Dutchbaby marked it as to-read
Shelves: selling-it-2013
realistic, action
John
It would have been a 4.5, but THAT ENDING. Not a good first reaction to it. I need to formulate my thoughts on some things, but I loved the writing, the tone, the way it tackled the teen crime thing (as opposed to Pretty Crooked, which was more light fun to read but felt like it was a bit more unreal), and the way it showed the main character and her relationships. The discussion of race and being Mexican-American was well done, although it could have been related back to the MC more.
Gabrielle Carolina
LOVED! I want to write a big, thoughtful review but I still need to process it all.

In a nutshell, WANTED is devastating, unique, realistic, hard-hitting, asks all the right questions and encompasses major literary and modern lifestyle issues with poise and edge.

Let WANTED make an Ayarbe fan out of you.
Lauren (365 Days of Reading)
4.5 stars
Heidi Ayarbe has done it again! A wonderful, dark contemporary read.
H.D. Tolson
Oh.
My.
Gosh.

This book.
That ending.
Oh my gosh.

Amazing.
Simply amazing.

Full review to come.
Emme
May 19, 2013 Emme marked it as to-read
Meagan
May 18, 2013 Meagan marked it as to-read
Ashfiya Naftali
May 17, 2013 Ashfiya Naftali marked it as to-read
Danielle
May 11, 2013 Danielle marked it as to-read
Scarlett
May 10, 2013 Scarlett marked it as to-read
Madison Salem
May 09, 2013 Madison Salem marked it as to-read
« previous 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 33 34 next »
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
Wanted (Kindle Edition)
Wanted (ebook)
1611276
From: Carson City, NV (born in Carson Tahoe Hospital, went to Gleason, Bray, Bordewich, Carson Junior High, Carson High). My first grade teacher's name was Mrs. Cronenberger and my favorite ever teacher was Mr. Glanzmann (High School algebra and trigonometry). But I went ALL the way to Reno, Nevada (a whole 45 minutes away) to college. (Ha! And you thought I was a homebody. Yes, I moved back in wi...more
More about Heidi Ayarbe...
Freeze Frame Compulsion Compromised Dulces Suenos/ Sweets Dreams (Spanish Edition)

Share This Book

Your website

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »