Lucy-my-control read and liked The Library Lady's review of Wild Things:

"It's far harder to explain why you LIKE a book than why you DON'T.
And I really like this one.

I could pick holes in some of the plot--some of it just doesn't work the way it should. I could find several of the plot twists a bit too m...more It's far harder to explain why you LIKE a book than why you DON'T.
And I really like this one.

I could pick holes in some of the plot--some of it just doesn't work the way it should. I could find several of the plot twists a bit too much and a few of the characters less than believable.

And I could wonder if my 10 year old or my 14 year old would read this and delight in it the way their mother does. And I do.

But Zoe pulled me into her story from page 1. The sections from "Mr C'Mere" did too--as a cat lover myself, I liked Carmichael's attempt to get as far inside a cat's head as a human can, and I think it enhanced the story.

So 4 stars it gets. And I hope that it finds the audience that it deserves.
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Lucy-my-control read and liked Brenda's review of Wild Things:

"Zoe is a young girl who has had to grow up fast. Her mom was in and out of hospitals battling her own demons leaving Zoe to fend for herself for the most part. When Zoe's mother dies unexpectantly, she moves in with a half-uncle named Henry and qui...more Zoe is a young girl who has had to grow up fast. Her mom was in and out of hospitals battling her own demons leaving Zoe to fend for herself for the most part. When Zoe's mother dies unexpectantly, she moves in with a half-uncle named Henry and quickly realizes that not only do they both have flaming red-hair but they also share a very quick temper. Uncle Henry use to be a heart surgeon but has decided instead to focus on his art by creating giant metal sculptures in the small-town where he grew up. Zoe is instantly drawn to her new house and especially the woods that surround it. She "senses" an old tom-cat who hides nearby and gently tries to coax it into her life just as Uncle Henry is trying to coax Zoe into his. One day, Zoe is wondering around the woods when she comes across an abandoned log cabin and discovers a "wild boy", who can not read or write, living in the woods. And that is where the adventure really begins.

This story started out strong and I really liked the two main characters of Zoe and Uncle Henry. However, half-way through the book, the story vered away from reality a little too much for my taste. I could see how Zoe would be able to basically raise herself with the help of her mother's many boyfriends but it is hard for me to believe that a young boy at the age of 5 or 6 could raise himself in the woods to the point where he could not only speak good English but also have a friendly relationship with Zoe. I liked how the author used the cat as an analogy to Zoe and it is from the cat's point of view that we learn the story of the young boy from birth to the age of abandonment. But the story expects the a lot of the reader in just accepting the story line. The other part that bothered me was how the characters of Fred and Bessie where just too unreal to me with their open arms to all strangers and good nature. I liked the characters but I just found them to be too good to be plausible. In fact, the entire ending was just too unbelievable for me.(less) "