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The Wanderers #1
The Wanderers
Flo lives an eccentric life—she travels with a popular circus in which the main acts star orphaned children with secret shape-shifting abilities. Once Flo turns sixteen, she must perform, but she’s not ready. While practicing jumping a flaming hurdle in a clearing beside the circus, she spots a dark figure in the trees and fears he saw her shift. The news sends the circus into a panic.
In Flo’s world, shifters are unknown to humans with the exception of a secret organization—the EOS, referred to as “hunters.” Hunters capture and kill. They send some shifters to labs for observation and testing—testing they don’t often survive—and deem others useless, a danger to society, and eliminate them. To avoid discovery, shifters travel in packs, constantly moving and keeping themselves hidden. Up until now, the circus was the perfect disguise.
Believing she has brought attention to the group, Flo feels dread and anxiety, causing her to make a mistake during her performance in front of the audience—a mistake that triggers a violent attack from the hunters.
Flo manages to flee the torched circus grounds with Jett, the bear shifter who loves her; the annoying elephant triplets; and a bratty tiger named Pru. Together they begin a new journey, alone in a world they don’t understand and don’t know how to navigate. On the run, they unravel secrets and lies that surround the circus and their lives—secrets and lies that all point to the unthinkable: Have they been betrayed by the people they trusted most?
In Flo’s world, shifters are unknown to humans with the exception of a secret organization—the EOS, referred to as “hunters.” Hunters capture and kill. They send some shifters to labs for observation and testing—testing they don’t often survive—and deem others useless, a danger to society, and eliminate them. To avoid discovery, shifters travel in packs, constantly moving and keeping themselves hidden. Up until now, the circus was the perfect disguise.
Believing she has brought attention to the group, Flo feels dread and anxiety, causing her to make a mistake during her performance in front of the audience—a mistake that triggers a violent attack from the hunters.
Flo manages to flee the torched circus grounds with Jett, the bear shifter who loves her; the annoying elephant triplets; and a bratty tiger named Pru. Together they begin a new journey, alone in a world they don’t understand and don’t know how to navigate. On the run, they unravel secrets and lies that surround the circus and their lives—secrets and lies that all point to the unthinkable: Have they been betrayed by the people they trusted most?
320 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2015
27 people are currently reading
2760 people want to read
About the author
Kate Ormand
9 books272 followersKate Ormand is YA author of Dark Days and shape-shifter circus series, The Wanderers (winner of the USA Best Book Awards in the young adult fiction category) and The Pack. Kate lives in the UK and graduated from university with a degree in Fine Art Painting. It was during this course that Kate discovered her love of reading YA books, prompting her to try a new creative angle and experiment with writing.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 reviews
September 4, 2015
The Wanderers isn't really what I expected and surprisingly, that's a good thing. What I didn't read was not I was expecting especially because it was Paranormal, a genre I usually don't read. I love that it was not heavy on the paranormal-y side and maybe that's just me but because of that, I enjoyed the book even more.
Kate Ormand's words slays!!!! Honestly, the way she writes is just pure stunning! Ormand never failed to transport me wherever her book was set. I can really feel the atmosphere from the moment I read the first page and I really appreciate books who can make me sit and stick through the story until I finished it. That's exactly what happened with me and The Wanderers.
Ormand's characters are colorful and vibrant. Other than the atmosphere and the book's creepy atmosphere, another thing to be admired are the characters. I admit, I had a problem with Flo for a bit because she had this thing where she always have to be a damsel-in-distress. And she's not doing anything about it! She did show some back bone by the end and even though I think its too late, I still admired her for that. And Jett.., Jett melts my heart. God, this guy is perfect. He doesn't show that he's all macho, but that effect just come off easily from him. Ahhhh, what a guy. I love him, bear or not.
Overall, The Wanderers is such a huge success! I haven't heard of Kate Ormand before but because of this book, she just appeared on my top favorite list. I highly recommend it for readers looking for a magical paranormal story with a creepy factor you'll love!
September 3, 2015
DNF @ 25%
So I tried I really did and I'm not sure if I'm just not in the right place and time for this or what but every time I picked this up my mind wandered off somewhere else. I just couldn't get into it at all.
I found Flo to be tedious. Maybe she gets better later but she is a Pony-Shifter in a traveling circus that in the first 20% of the book completely frets over jumping over flames in her first show.
I never really connected with her. She has a friend/boyfriend Jett and he spends the entire time so far consoling her or trying to protect her from comments from his friends.
So maybe it gets a lot more interesting once this happens...
But it is taking far too long to get there and while I know there is some danger from the 'hunters' I'm not getting the why of it enough to care yet.
Maybe a prologue with the Hunters actually hunting a shifter would have made me stick around a little longer for the potential danger of it. So far all I have is an anxiety driven teen with performance issues.
Not really for me.
So I tried I really did and I'm not sure if I'm just not in the right place and time for this or what but every time I picked this up my mind wandered off somewhere else. I just couldn't get into it at all.
I found Flo to be tedious. Maybe she gets better later but she is a Pony-Shifter in a traveling circus that in the first 20% of the book completely frets over jumping over flames in her first show.
A. Shifter so speed Healing right, who cares if you get burned???
B. Really??? You are scared to jump over flames and you grew up in the circus???
I never really connected with her. She has a friend/boyfriend Jett and he spends the entire time so far consoling her or trying to protect her from comments from his friends.
So maybe it gets a lot more interesting once this happens...
Flo manages to flee the torched circus grounds with Jett, the bear shifter who loves her; the annoying elephant triplets; and a bratty tiger named Pru.
But it is taking far too long to get there and while I know there is some danger from the 'hunters' I'm not getting the why of it enough to care yet.
Maybe a prologue with the Hunters actually hunting a shifter would have made me stick around a little longer for the potential danger of it. So far all I have is an anxiety driven teen with performance issues.
Not really for me.
December 8, 2015
Really, really enjoyed this one! I love circuses and carnivals so this was just right up my alley. More thoughts to come. :)
September 4, 2015
Buddy read with Jessica & Robin (although neither of them actually finished the book which probably tells you as much as my review will!)
I had such incredibly high hopes for The Wanderers, first of all I loved the idea of a circus setting and then you add in that the circus performers are all shapeshifting children who are travelling the country while trying to avoid the Hunters who want to kill them and I was sure we were going to be in for an exciting adventure! Honestly this book should have hit all the right notes for me and I was sure I was going to love it but unfortunately that really wasn't the case and I ended up feeling incredibly disappointed.
First let's start with our main character Flo, she shifts into a pony and her boyfriend is an bear, pretty cool right? Unfortunately not. I didn't immediately hate Flo but it wasn't long before her constant whining and complaining really started to get on my nerves, she just didn't stop and it got old very quickly. I actually felt sorry for her boyfriend Jett and really couldn't understand why he put up with her. Most of the other characters were cardboard cut outs and I was disappointed by the lack of characterisation, even Jett was pretty bland and he was supposed to be the love interest.
I was excited to read this book because it was set in the circus but the setting was never fully fleshed out, I should have been able to vividly picture the big top, smell the saw dust and popcorn on the air and feel like I was in a ringside seat watching the show but apart from Flo's two performances the rest of the acts just didn't seem important enough to warrant more than a passing mention. It was all about how scared Flo was about her first performance and the day to day drudgery of her life as she was forced to wash her own dishes and do chores. It didn't help that I had major questions about how the circus was supposed to work as a way of hiding in plain sight. They travel from town to town in a bunch of cars and a couple of trailers yet they're supposed to be a circus that has 3 performing elephants, tigers, lions, seals, monkeys, a pony and a bear (those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure there were others too). Doesn't anyone wonder how a circus with that many animals doesn't have any way of transporting them or housing them when they arrive? Don't they question why the circus needs so many tents and has so many people running around during the day when hardly any of them are actually part of the show since nobody is supposed to know they're performing as animals?
When something goes horribly wrong at one of their shows and brings the Hunters to their doorstep I thought that the story would start to get interesting but instead the main characters make mistake after mistake after mistake and it's a wonder any of them survived to the end of the book. The pace goes from slow and boring to so fast you could get whiplash but in spite of that nothing really had any impact on me as a reader. There were a few twists but I'd guessed most of them long before they happened and I was feeling so ambivalent about the characters that I just didn't care how things turned out.
I don't take pleasure in writing bad reviews, it's one of the worst things about being a reviewer, but I always try to be honest about my feelings towards any of the books I read and unfortunately I think The Wanderers was one of my biggest disappointments of the year. What's worse is that it had the potential to be amazing and it ended up falling completely flat.
I had such incredibly high hopes for The Wanderers, first of all I loved the idea of a circus setting and then you add in that the circus performers are all shapeshifting children who are travelling the country while trying to avoid the Hunters who want to kill them and I was sure we were going to be in for an exciting adventure! Honestly this book should have hit all the right notes for me and I was sure I was going to love it but unfortunately that really wasn't the case and I ended up feeling incredibly disappointed.
First let's start with our main character Flo, she shifts into a pony and her boyfriend is an bear, pretty cool right? Unfortunately not. I didn't immediately hate Flo but it wasn't long before her constant whining and complaining really started to get on my nerves, she just didn't stop and it got old very quickly. I actually felt sorry for her boyfriend Jett and really couldn't understand why he put up with her. Most of the other characters were cardboard cut outs and I was disappointed by the lack of characterisation, even Jett was pretty bland and he was supposed to be the love interest.
I was excited to read this book because it was set in the circus but the setting was never fully fleshed out, I should have been able to vividly picture the big top, smell the saw dust and popcorn on the air and feel like I was in a ringside seat watching the show but apart from Flo's two performances the rest of the acts just didn't seem important enough to warrant more than a passing mention. It was all about how scared Flo was about her first performance and the day to day drudgery of her life as she was forced to wash her own dishes and do chores. It didn't help that I had major questions about how the circus was supposed to work as a way of hiding in plain sight. They travel from town to town in a bunch of cars and a couple of trailers yet they're supposed to be a circus that has 3 performing elephants, tigers, lions, seals, monkeys, a pony and a bear (those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head, I'm sure there were others too). Doesn't anyone wonder how a circus with that many animals doesn't have any way of transporting them or housing them when they arrive? Don't they question why the circus needs so many tents and has so many people running around during the day when hardly any of them are actually part of the show since nobody is supposed to know they're performing as animals?
When something goes horribly wrong at one of their shows and brings the Hunters to their doorstep I thought that the story would start to get interesting but instead the main characters make mistake after mistake after mistake and it's a wonder any of them survived to the end of the book. The pace goes from slow and boring to so fast you could get whiplash but in spite of that nothing really had any impact on me as a reader. There were a few twists but I'd guessed most of them long before they happened and I was feeling so ambivalent about the characters that I just didn't care how things turned out.
I don't take pleasure in writing bad reviews, it's one of the worst things about being a reviewer, but I always try to be honest about my feelings towards any of the books I read and unfortunately I think The Wanderers was one of my biggest disappointments of the year. What's worse is that it had the potential to be amazing and it ended up falling completely flat.
August 31, 2015
For a while now, I've been starving for some good YA circus fiction, so I imagine my excitement when I stumbled upon this one and that gorgeous cover. The blurb made me wary, though, because it seemed like the book would take a more paranormal romance kind of path, not to mention that it feels like someone should've reined in whoever wrote it because it gave far too much away from the plot. I was write on both accounts.
My biggest gripe with this novel is that the circus is only a plot device that barely figures into the story. It could've been a school or an academy, and it wouldn't have made a difference in terms of the setting's importance, so I felt a bit cheated. Admittedly, close to the first hundred pages take place in the circus, but that's only until the actual story starts. And once it did, it went from zero to a million in .05 seconds flat.
To say this novel has a breakneck speed is an understatement, but that’s not necessarily something good for me in this case. The story jumps into hyperspeed seemingly out of nowhere, starting with a very passive beginning and speeding away into a dangerous race for survival that gave the story a very disjointed feel to it. Moreover, I can’t very well say that the fast pace of the novel made for an interesting or exciting read. These characters were just running around, scattered like ants, waiting for something to happen and having very petty and repetitive conversations with each other until someone swooped in and forced the story to move along.
The simple and basic plot structure of the novel contributed even more strongly to that, as well. The plot is too loose, which gave ample space for repetition and boring and flat introspection, instead of sorely-needed world-building and characterization. The characters, including the “heroine”, never grew up from semi-stereotyped sketches, remaining static all throughout the novel. They were predictable and shallow to the point where you could pretty much guess what they would say or do in every single scene, not only because they did it time and time again, but also because there wasn’t much to them besides that particular attitude reserved uniquely to them. You could tell Jett would always say something supportive and loving and Pru would say something “bitchy”. These characters were given absolutely no room to grow, and then they were used shamelessly like props to satisfy some emotional need of Flo’s, the main character.
I liked that the author had no problem with multiplying the body count. Most authors these days contain themselves when it comes to killing characters, and more often than not, that affects the narrative. But the deaths in this story were done in a very callous manner than was aimed directly to playing with Flo’s emotions. The story would kill off someone she didn’t like, just so that she could rise above it all and show herself to be so sad about someone who was generally horrible to her. Then the climax of the story rolled along and dealt a pretty awful death to manipulate both Flo and the reader, immediately followed by a twist that left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Flo was a pretty generic main character, the sort of blank slate heroine we are supposed to empathize with and root for because she experiences some generic insecurities, is generically bullied by some generic mean girls who are jealous of her specialness and the attention she receives from some generic nice and “gorgeous” guy, and who’s just such a good person in her thoughts, even though she never actually does anything good or heroic. I hated the way the story kept shoving in my face how great Flo was, how brave and good and kind, when in the story itself, she was none of those things. And then you had this dull guy after her for no reason whatsoever, brought together because the author deemed it so and not because there was any chemistry or noticeable bond between them.
There was little to no world-building in this novel, and as a result, the plot feels forced and full of holes. Things never quite made sense to me, and the “bad guys” were so prosaic and unimaginative, their actions and their mission so banal, it was hard to care at all about their trite contribution to the novel. There was barely an explanation for their existence, and the one that was offered was so patently absurd, it was exceedingly hard to take seriously any aspect of this story. And I won’t even mention how preposterous the idea of shifters is within the context of this world, as nothing is said about them or the whole point of their existence, and no aspect of it is explored aside from some generic “getting carried away by the animal instincts” BS.
The potential was there all along and Ormond seemed like a talented enough author to take this story further, but the novel remained static and banal all the way through. All in all, the novel is just generic, not terrible on any account, but definitely mediocre. Perhaps with more tailored expectations, the fast-pace and high stakes will be enjoyable and provide the necessary excitement to make this a worthwhile reading experience, but that was not the case for me.
My biggest gripe with this novel is that the circus is only a plot device that barely figures into the story. It could've been a school or an academy, and it wouldn't have made a difference in terms of the setting's importance, so I felt a bit cheated. Admittedly, close to the first hundred pages take place in the circus, but that's only until the actual story starts. And once it did, it went from zero to a million in .05 seconds flat.
To say this novel has a breakneck speed is an understatement, but that’s not necessarily something good for me in this case. The story jumps into hyperspeed seemingly out of nowhere, starting with a very passive beginning and speeding away into a dangerous race for survival that gave the story a very disjointed feel to it. Moreover, I can’t very well say that the fast pace of the novel made for an interesting or exciting read. These characters were just running around, scattered like ants, waiting for something to happen and having very petty and repetitive conversations with each other until someone swooped in and forced the story to move along.
The simple and basic plot structure of the novel contributed even more strongly to that, as well. The plot is too loose, which gave ample space for repetition and boring and flat introspection, instead of sorely-needed world-building and characterization. The characters, including the “heroine”, never grew up from semi-stereotyped sketches, remaining static all throughout the novel. They were predictable and shallow to the point where you could pretty much guess what they would say or do in every single scene, not only because they did it time and time again, but also because there wasn’t much to them besides that particular attitude reserved uniquely to them. You could tell Jett would always say something supportive and loving and Pru would say something “bitchy”. These characters were given absolutely no room to grow, and then they were used shamelessly like props to satisfy some emotional need of Flo’s, the main character.
I liked that the author had no problem with multiplying the body count. Most authors these days contain themselves when it comes to killing characters, and more often than not, that affects the narrative. But the deaths in this story were done in a very callous manner than was aimed directly to playing with Flo’s emotions. The story would kill off someone she didn’t like, just so that she could rise above it all and show herself to be so sad about someone who was generally horrible to her. Then the climax of the story rolled along and dealt a pretty awful death to manipulate both Flo and the reader, immediately followed by a twist that left a very sour taste in my mouth.
Flo was a pretty generic main character, the sort of blank slate heroine we are supposed to empathize with and root for because she experiences some generic insecurities, is generically bullied by some generic mean girls who are jealous of her specialness and the attention she receives from some generic nice and “gorgeous” guy, and who’s just such a good person in her thoughts, even though she never actually does anything good or heroic. I hated the way the story kept shoving in my face how great Flo was, how brave and good and kind, when in the story itself, she was none of those things. And then you had this dull guy after her for no reason whatsoever, brought together because the author deemed it so and not because there was any chemistry or noticeable bond between them.
There was little to no world-building in this novel, and as a result, the plot feels forced and full of holes. Things never quite made sense to me, and the “bad guys” were so prosaic and unimaginative, their actions and their mission so banal, it was hard to care at all about their trite contribution to the novel. There was barely an explanation for their existence, and the one that was offered was so patently absurd, it was exceedingly hard to take seriously any aspect of this story. And I won’t even mention how preposterous the idea of shifters is within the context of this world, as nothing is said about them or the whole point of their existence, and no aspect of it is explored aside from some generic “getting carried away by the animal instincts” BS.
The potential was there all along and Ormond seemed like a talented enough author to take this story further, but the novel remained static and banal all the way through. All in all, the novel is just generic, not terrible on any account, but definitely mediocre. Perhaps with more tailored expectations, the fast-pace and high stakes will be enjoyable and provide the necessary excitement to make this a worthwhile reading experience, but that was not the case for me.
September 14, 2015
~ I received an arc of this book from Edelweiss, in exchange for a honest review ~
Actual rating: 2.6 stars
The synopsis of this book immediately caught me.
Circus + shapeshifters? This is more or less the picture that came to my mind:
However, The Wanderers is not as I imagined it to be. It has such potential and could have been a stunning reading. It can't make the most of the two powerful themes it is expected to blend, though.
You can't feel the vibrating, magical circus atmosphere, nor the complexities of the shapeshifters' world.
The world-building and characters are not deeply developed - shapeshiters' animal part seems to be just a different shape they can wear, not affecting their personality or their way of thinking at all.
The plot itself develops around the not-being-catched-by-the-cruel-hunters theme that somewhat reminds me of
The Darkest Minds (with a striking higher body count).
That said, if you're prepared and and don't have incorrect expectations, I think you can even enjoy this book: despite its flaws, it's an entertaining, fast reading.
Actual rating: 2.6 stars
The synopsis of this book immediately caught me.
Circus + shapeshifters? This is more or less the picture that came to my mind:
However, The Wanderers is not as I imagined it to be. It has such potential and could have been a stunning reading. It can't make the most of the two powerful themes it is expected to blend, though.
You can't feel the vibrating, magical circus atmosphere, nor the complexities of the shapeshifters' world.
The world-building and characters are not deeply developed - shapeshiters' animal part seems to be just a different shape they can wear, not affecting their personality or their way of thinking at all.
The plot itself develops around the not-being-catched-by-the-cruel-hunters theme that somewhat reminds me of
The Darkest Minds (with a striking higher body count).
That said, if you're prepared and and don't have incorrect expectations, I think you can even enjoy this book: despite its flaws, it's an entertaining, fast reading.
July 23, 2015
Such a fantastic, gripping book! I loved 'The Wanderers' by Kate Ormand.
With an evocative, majestical circus background and a feisty main female character, this book enchanted me completely. Flo was strong and sassy, yet sweet and kind too, and her friend/love-interest, Jett was irresistibly lovable and dreamy.
The 'magical abilities' of these characters were powerfully handled by Ormand and the pacing was perfect. This book made me smile, clutch it anxiously and melt with the 'feels'.
I would highly recommend this YA fantasy novel and I hope there will be a sequel!
With an evocative, majestical circus background and a feisty main female character, this book enchanted me completely. Flo was strong and sassy, yet sweet and kind too, and her friend/love-interest, Jett was irresistibly lovable and dreamy.
The 'magical abilities' of these characters were powerfully handled by Ormand and the pacing was perfect. This book made me smile, clutch it anxiously and melt with the 'feels'.
I would highly recommend this YA fantasy novel and I hope there will be a sequel!
May 13, 2016
*This review first appeared on Kate Tilton, Connecting Authors & Readers*
When I first heard about The Wanderers by Kate Ormand, I became completely enamored with the storyline. It’s not every day that you get to meet a main character who can shape-shift into a horse (and I LOVE horses–favorite childhood animal!). Then you get the beautiful cover which pretty ups your bookshelf and makes you want to pet it all day (totally did btw).
The Wanderers is the first book in a series about a shape-shifting girl who lives in a circus with other shape-shifters. In order to hide from those who are out to get them, they provide entertainment, hiding in plain sight. So when all shape-shifters reach age 16, they must perform to earn their keep. However, our main character Flo is afraid of messing up her performance. The pressure of being the only shape-shifting horse and being under the watchful eye of hunters, makes her mess up her fire ring performance and shift back to her human form, causing chaos, the hunters to attack, and make a run for her life.
This book is imaginative and harsh. The Wanderers terribly reflects how the life at a circus, especially to animals, is actually like. Each human in this book represents what I believe every animal who’s been subjected to mistreatment and to perform for the sake of living feels like. It’s downright awful and depressing.
The life Flo leads in the circus is not pretty, yet the only life she has ever known. Her world is basically wherever the circus goes. Since the circus is full of orphaned kids, they are her family. When the hunters attack and many are caught up in it, it brings a whole pang of grief to Flo because she is the one who accidentally revealed their disguise.
To make the story a bit lighter, there’s a bit of romance in it between Flo and Jet, a shape-shifting bear. I wasn’t particularly fond of it since the romance already existed, so it didn’t let me fall in love, and that’s what I love the most when reading. However, they are both strong characters and do fit well together.
Final Verdict: From what I thought would be just a cutesy read, The Wanderers ended up being quite the shocking, bloody read. I do recommend!
When I first heard about The Wanderers by Kate Ormand, I became completely enamored with the storyline. It’s not every day that you get to meet a main character who can shape-shift into a horse (and I LOVE horses–favorite childhood animal!). Then you get the beautiful cover which pretty ups your bookshelf and makes you want to pet it all day (totally did btw).
The Wanderers is the first book in a series about a shape-shifting girl who lives in a circus with other shape-shifters. In order to hide from those who are out to get them, they provide entertainment, hiding in plain sight. So when all shape-shifters reach age 16, they must perform to earn their keep. However, our main character Flo is afraid of messing up her performance. The pressure of being the only shape-shifting horse and being under the watchful eye of hunters, makes her mess up her fire ring performance and shift back to her human form, causing chaos, the hunters to attack, and make a run for her life.
This book is imaginative and harsh. The Wanderers terribly reflects how the life at a circus, especially to animals, is actually like. Each human in this book represents what I believe every animal who’s been subjected to mistreatment and to perform for the sake of living feels like. It’s downright awful and depressing.
The life Flo leads in the circus is not pretty, yet the only life she has ever known. Her world is basically wherever the circus goes. Since the circus is full of orphaned kids, they are her family. When the hunters attack and many are caught up in it, it brings a whole pang of grief to Flo because she is the one who accidentally revealed their disguise.
To make the story a bit lighter, there’s a bit of romance in it between Flo and Jet, a shape-shifting bear. I wasn’t particularly fond of it since the romance already existed, so it didn’t let me fall in love, and that’s what I love the most when reading. However, they are both strong characters and do fit well together.
Final Verdict: From what I thought would be just a cutesy read, The Wanderers ended up being quite the shocking, bloody read. I do recommend!
June 24, 2015
Seriously, this book is a work of genius. Kate Ormand is amazing. This story is so beautiful and intricate with such vibrant characters. I'll write up my review tomorrow. SO excited! Definitely add this book to your to-read pile, because it's a masterpiece. Damn, my heart is still racing from the last few chapters! Kate Ormand deserves all of the stars in the cosmos for writing this book.
August 28, 2015
Okay. So. A circus made completely of shape shifters. And when I say shape shifters, I don’t only mean wolves. Beautiful story, complex characters you feel all the things for, and a love interest who is so ungh.
Seriously, people. What’s not to love?
The Wanderers begins with a shape shifter, Flo and her musings as she watches animals perform all kinds of tricks on stage. Unbeknownst to the audience, the “animals” are actually shifters, much smarter than normal animals, able to perform stuff that only humans in an animals body ever could. And this night, the first night of Flo’s performance, she’s nervous and scared and all kinds of worried that she could screw up.
And unfortunately, she thinks she does, especially when she shifts in the presence of a human. The real action of the book begins then—when a huge accident takes place at the circus and Flo and her best friend/lover Jett are left without a circus to hide behind.
I love how Flo started off as the scaredy cat, almost like she was sure she would screw up. That feeling left her insecure and unsure of herself all the time. But later as the book progressed, she found her strength in the most terrible of circumstances. She was one of the bravest, most lovable characters I’ve read in Fantasy YA! You fall in love with her instantly, her fears become your own and when she comes out from a problem braver than before, you will feel proud.
Jett is another character in the book I really found myself loving. He is patient and calm and the ultimate hero, owing to the fact that he isn’t overly possessive of Flo, but lets her make her own mistakes, at her own pace. he’s more of the take-life-as-it-comes kind of a guy and I loved that! he was the perfect counterpart to Flo’s naturally wary nature and he brought true balance to the book. They were perfect for each other—after having been friends since the time they were young, it was heart-warming to see how well they knew each other when they were in love—and their romance was one of the best parts about the book!
I did, however, want to see a bit more of the actual circus in the book. The book has been left open-ended for a sequel (and I’m really hoping for that) but the circus part could have only existed in this book and I’m sad to say that the actual acts and stuff had only been touched upon. Apart from this, I had no real qualms with the book and if you’re looking for a good, unique shape-shifter romance and action book, this is definitely the one :)
*I was provided a free ecopy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This did not in any way, however, influence the content of this review.*
Seriously, people. What’s not to love?
The Wanderers begins with a shape shifter, Flo and her musings as she watches animals perform all kinds of tricks on stage. Unbeknownst to the audience, the “animals” are actually shifters, much smarter than normal animals, able to perform stuff that only humans in an animals body ever could. And this night, the first night of Flo’s performance, she’s nervous and scared and all kinds of worried that she could screw up.
And unfortunately, she thinks she does, especially when she shifts in the presence of a human. The real action of the book begins then—when a huge accident takes place at the circus and Flo and her best friend/lover Jett are left without a circus to hide behind.
I love how Flo started off as the scaredy cat, almost like she was sure she would screw up. That feeling left her insecure and unsure of herself all the time. But later as the book progressed, she found her strength in the most terrible of circumstances. She was one of the bravest, most lovable characters I’ve read in Fantasy YA! You fall in love with her instantly, her fears become your own and when she comes out from a problem braver than before, you will feel proud.
Jett is another character in the book I really found myself loving. He is patient and calm and the ultimate hero, owing to the fact that he isn’t overly possessive of Flo, but lets her make her own mistakes, at her own pace. he’s more of the take-life-as-it-comes kind of a guy and I loved that! he was the perfect counterpart to Flo’s naturally wary nature and he brought true balance to the book. They were perfect for each other—after having been friends since the time they were young, it was heart-warming to see how well they knew each other when they were in love—and their romance was one of the best parts about the book!
I did, however, want to see a bit more of the actual circus in the book. The book has been left open-ended for a sequel (and I’m really hoping for that) but the circus part could have only existed in this book and I’m sad to say that the actual acts and stuff had only been touched upon. Apart from this, I had no real qualms with the book and if you’re looking for a good, unique shape-shifter romance and action book, this is definitely the one :)
*I was provided a free ecopy of this book in exchange of an honest review. This did not in any way, however, influence the content of this review.*
August 28, 2015
Check out this and my other reviews on my blog, Here's to Happy Endings!
Although I’ve never really been a fan of books that involve circuses (I’ve only ever read Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen), I thought the idea for this one sounded pretty interesting (a circus made up of shape-shifters? That’s certainly different), and I instantly wanted to read it.
Turns out, it really is as fantastic as the synopsis makes it sound. It’s completely different, and I had no trouble getting into the story. In fact, I got so into the story, that I didn’t want to put it down at all (and it led to staying up way too late reading). Yes, it was that good.
The book starts off by introducing us to Flo, a shape-shifter who is part of a traveling circus. Once the children in the circus turn sixteen, it is time for them to become an act in the circus and begin performing. It is the night of her first performance, and she is incredibly nervous. Although she has practiced and practiced, she is terrified of having to go out in front of the audience in her animal form (a horse), and jump over the flaming hurdle. So she runs out of the circus and hides. She finally performs the next night, and she finds that she actually enjoyed it – and performs again the next night and the next without trouble. However, during a practice session one day, a “hunter” sees her transform from her horse shape back to human, and things go downhill from there. Flo sees the hunters attend the circus performances, and one night she has an accident that causes the entire circus to endure a horrible tragedy. Will Flo and her boyfriend (also a shape-shifter in the circus) be able to find the rest of their circus family, and fix the damage that the hunters have caused? They have already killed many of the people that Flo knows, and they’re after her next.
The Wanderers is a perfect mixture of fantasy, paranormal, and romance. All of these genres work well together in this book, and it is definitely a treat to read.
The romance between Flo and her boyfriend, Jett, is the kind of love that you just can’t help but enjoy. It’s adorable and sweet, and I can’t help but want the best for them throughout the entire book.
This book is the perfect example of a good reason to pick up a book that might be outside your interest (like I said, I don’t usually read books that are circus-orientated), because you never know when you find something that could end up being one of your favorite books! I absolutely loved this one, and I know I’ll be reading it more than once!
Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Although I’ve never really been a fan of books that involve circuses (I’ve only ever read Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen), I thought the idea for this one sounded pretty interesting (a circus made up of shape-shifters? That’s certainly different), and I instantly wanted to read it.
Turns out, it really is as fantastic as the synopsis makes it sound. It’s completely different, and I had no trouble getting into the story. In fact, I got so into the story, that I didn’t want to put it down at all (and it led to staying up way too late reading). Yes, it was that good.
The book starts off by introducing us to Flo, a shape-shifter who is part of a traveling circus. Once the children in the circus turn sixteen, it is time for them to become an act in the circus and begin performing. It is the night of her first performance, and she is incredibly nervous. Although she has practiced and practiced, she is terrified of having to go out in front of the audience in her animal form (a horse), and jump over the flaming hurdle. So she runs out of the circus and hides. She finally performs the next night, and she finds that she actually enjoyed it – and performs again the next night and the next without trouble. However, during a practice session one day, a “hunter” sees her transform from her horse shape back to human, and things go downhill from there. Flo sees the hunters attend the circus performances, and one night she has an accident that causes the entire circus to endure a horrible tragedy. Will Flo and her boyfriend (also a shape-shifter in the circus) be able to find the rest of their circus family, and fix the damage that the hunters have caused? They have already killed many of the people that Flo knows, and they’re after her next.
The Wanderers is a perfect mixture of fantasy, paranormal, and romance. All of these genres work well together in this book, and it is definitely a treat to read.
The romance between Flo and her boyfriend, Jett, is the kind of love that you just can’t help but enjoy. It’s adorable and sweet, and I can’t help but want the best for them throughout the entire book.
This book is the perfect example of a good reason to pick up a book that might be outside your interest (like I said, I don’t usually read books that are circus-orientated), because you never know when you find something that could end up being one of your favorite books! I absolutely loved this one, and I know I’ll be reading it more than once!
Note: I received an ARC copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 31, 2015
I loved Kate's first book Dark Days and when I heard she had a new book coming out, well it was a no brainer to grab a copy with my eager mitts.
The Wanderers follows a group of circus performers as they barely scrape together a living. They are performers with a difference though, they are shifters.
I have read a lot of books with shifters in them and it is such a novel idea to put them within the confines of a big top!
The story centres around Flo, a young girl just starting her performing career, she shifts to a beautiful horse and her part in the circus involves her jumping over a flaming hurdle.
Nervous at first she soon gets her performing feet but things start to go wrong when a strange group of people show up. Dressed in black they are not the normal "happy family" circus goers - Could they be hunters?
The whole circus camp is advised to be careful but when practising one day, Flo fears she has been seen and soon things go from bad to worse.
Without giving anymore away, Flo and her friends are running, they soon discover that there has been a rat amongst their ranks giving the hunters info on who they are, Can Flo trust anyone?
I really did enjoy The Wanderers, it has a lovely bohemian vibe about it with the circus camp but it also had quite the dark side too, some of the older characters have a definite hidden agenda going on.
It has everything, a great setting, romance, supernatural characters and of course a page-turning storyline. It also has the scope for hearing more from them....maybe another book?
A great addition to your stack!
Thanks to Sky Pony Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review
The Wanderers follows a group of circus performers as they barely scrape together a living. They are performers with a difference though, they are shifters.
I have read a lot of books with shifters in them and it is such a novel idea to put them within the confines of a big top!
The story centres around Flo, a young girl just starting her performing career, she shifts to a beautiful horse and her part in the circus involves her jumping over a flaming hurdle.
Nervous at first she soon gets her performing feet but things start to go wrong when a strange group of people show up. Dressed in black they are not the normal "happy family" circus goers - Could they be hunters?
The whole circus camp is advised to be careful but when practising one day, Flo fears she has been seen and soon things go from bad to worse.
Without giving anymore away, Flo and her friends are running, they soon discover that there has been a rat amongst their ranks giving the hunters info on who they are, Can Flo trust anyone?
I really did enjoy The Wanderers, it has a lovely bohemian vibe about it with the circus camp but it also had quite the dark side too, some of the older characters have a definite hidden agenda going on.
It has everything, a great setting, romance, supernatural characters and of course a page-turning storyline. It also has the scope for hearing more from them....maybe another book?
A great addition to your stack!
Thanks to Sky Pony Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review
September 11, 2015
I've been looking forward to reading The Wanderers ever since I heard the unique title and when I saw the beautiful and suggestive cover I knew that this book would appeal.
There's something magical and secret about a circus, behind the curtains is where I wanted to be as the reader, to find out what really goes on once the face paint has been removed and the lights have gone down and Kate Ormand didn't let me down.
The novel opens as Flo comes of age and has to perform under the big top in front of the less than forgiving crowds but she's scared and nowhere near ready. However Flo doesn't have a choice, she has nowhere to go and if she wants to survive she has to jump through fire. I'll try and avoid spoilers but suffice to say things don't go to plan and Flo's performance places everyone in grave danger.
Flo and her fellow shape shifters are in a vulnerable position if exposed to the humans and hunters, hunters who view the shifters as a danger to society. The circus and the big top had provided the perfect cover, until now.
The descriptions of the shifters and the animals they change into are detailed and filmic, I could clearly visualise Flo as she changed which made that part of the novel come to life. The relationship between Flo and Jett is delicately drawn as is the contrasting tension between Flo and Pru. There's high drama, jeopardy, betrayal and love, all the big themes covered in an unusual and delightfully entertaining and thrilling manner.
Like all good performances The Wanderers leaves you calling for more.
There's something magical and secret about a circus, behind the curtains is where I wanted to be as the reader, to find out what really goes on once the face paint has been removed and the lights have gone down and Kate Ormand didn't let me down.
The novel opens as Flo comes of age and has to perform under the big top in front of the less than forgiving crowds but she's scared and nowhere near ready. However Flo doesn't have a choice, she has nowhere to go and if she wants to survive she has to jump through fire. I'll try and avoid spoilers but suffice to say things don't go to plan and Flo's performance places everyone in grave danger.
Flo and her fellow shape shifters are in a vulnerable position if exposed to the humans and hunters, hunters who view the shifters as a danger to society. The circus and the big top had provided the perfect cover, until now.
The descriptions of the shifters and the animals they change into are detailed and filmic, I could clearly visualise Flo as she changed which made that part of the novel come to life. The relationship between Flo and Jett is delicately drawn as is the contrasting tension between Flo and Pru. There's high drama, jeopardy, betrayal and love, all the big themes covered in an unusual and delightfully entertaining and thrilling manner.
Like all good performances The Wanderers leaves you calling for more.
October 14, 2015
Actually a 3.5 star rating.
Check out my full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Jeg...
I love the circus, I love shape shifters, I love YA. So when I got a message from the publisher asking me if I wanted to get an ARC in exchange for an honest review it of course I said yes. Dark Days, the other YA book by Kate Ormand, was a book that I very much enjoyed so I looked forward to reading this one.
So let's get started with the things that I loved about this book. I loved the circus, I loved the shape shifters and I loved the plot. The circus is such an interesting background for the story to take place, I loved seeing it ''behind the curtain''. It took a bit of time before the event mentioned on the back of the book happened but when it finally happened it was intense and slightly scary! Definitely loved that part.
After that event there was a bit of travelling around and then there was a whole lot more of intense and slightly scary stuff happening. I liked that but at the same time I felt like I was missing some things. Suddenly our main character would start talking about her parents while she hadn't really mentioned them all that much before. And suddenly we would meet these new characters who we didn't really get to know all that well before they left again. It made me feel a bit sad because I'm sure that they have a interesting background story.
Also a last warning: no one is safe in this book. Every character can get hurt and it's one of the reasons why I love Kate Ormand her books!
Check out my full review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9Jeg...
I love the circus, I love shape shifters, I love YA. So when I got a message from the publisher asking me if I wanted to get an ARC in exchange for an honest review it of course I said yes. Dark Days, the other YA book by Kate Ormand, was a book that I very much enjoyed so I looked forward to reading this one.
So let's get started with the things that I loved about this book. I loved the circus, I loved the shape shifters and I loved the plot. The circus is such an interesting background for the story to take place, I loved seeing it ''behind the curtain''. It took a bit of time before the event mentioned on the back of the book happened but when it finally happened it was intense and slightly scary! Definitely loved that part.
After that event there was a bit of travelling around and then there was a whole lot more of intense and slightly scary stuff happening. I liked that but at the same time I felt like I was missing some things. Suddenly our main character would start talking about her parents while she hadn't really mentioned them all that much before. And suddenly we would meet these new characters who we didn't really get to know all that well before they left again. It made me feel a bit sad because I'm sure that they have a interesting background story.
Also a last warning: no one is safe in this book. Every character can get hurt and it's one of the reasons why I love Kate Ormand her books!
September 14, 2015
The concept of the story is definitely strange and new for me, which made me interested to read it in the first place. I have to say I was a bit alienated with the story but it was pretty interesting to read.
The Wanderers tells the story of Flo, a shapeshifter who transforms into a horse. She, along with other shifters, work in a circus where they perform shows every night as their animal counterparts. Their group has always been on the look out for Hunters but what they didn't know was that the Hunters had always been ahead of them.
Flo has a strong spirit and she's admirable. Her bestfriend-turned-romantic partner, Jett, has always been at her side. He's actually adorable but I kind of felt that the romance between them was a bit lacking despite having good chemistry. The other characters were pretty interesting as well.
I have to say that I had a difficulty grasping the whole story. I felt like the start of the story was slow-paced then it picked up really fast and things were happening all of a sudden. It was confusing so I had to take breaks in between reading. I'm a bit disappointed with the book because there wasn't a solid closure, which is why I'm a bit hesitant as to whether to read the next book or not.
Even though the concept was intriguing and interesting, I believe the story wasn't really just for me.
The Wanderers tells the story of Flo, a shapeshifter who transforms into a horse. She, along with other shifters, work in a circus where they perform shows every night as their animal counterparts. Their group has always been on the look out for Hunters but what they didn't know was that the Hunters had always been ahead of them.
Flo has a strong spirit and she's admirable. Her bestfriend-turned-romantic partner, Jett, has always been at her side. He's actually adorable but I kind of felt that the romance between them was a bit lacking despite having good chemistry. The other characters were pretty interesting as well.
I have to say that I had a difficulty grasping the whole story. I felt like the start of the story was slow-paced then it picked up really fast and things were happening all of a sudden. It was confusing so I had to take breaks in between reading. I'm a bit disappointed with the book because there wasn't a solid closure, which is why I'm a bit hesitant as to whether to read the next book or not.
Even though the concept was intriguing and interesting, I believe the story wasn't really just for me.
September 14, 2015
Flo is a shapeshifter, and part of a circus filled with others like her. She has just come of age and started to perform, managing to beat her nerves to take part in the show. But when a performance goes wrong, she uncovers a sinister plot that puts them all in danger. Can she escape and save herself, love interest Jett and the other shifters - the only family she has – or is this the final curtain for all of them?
I was already a big fan of Kate Ormand after her debut, DARK DAYS, was published, but I loved THE WANDERERS even more. The writing is spare and compelling, propelling you through a plot relentlessly packed with action, but also flavoured with atmosphere and just the right amount of romance. The descriptions are evocative and bring Flo's world to life. Kate's writing just continues to get better and better, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
I was already a big fan of Kate Ormand after her debut, DARK DAYS, was published, but I loved THE WANDERERS even more. The writing is spare and compelling, propelling you through a plot relentlessly packed with action, but also flavoured with atmosphere and just the right amount of romance. The descriptions are evocative and bring Flo's world to life. Kate's writing just continues to get better and better, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
October 9, 2015
I was at Uni with Kate and she's a lovely person so I was worried about how I might review this book if I didn't like it. Well I really loved it. I enjoyed the way that the character of Flo developed from her first faltering circus performance to her gathering strength and self-belief. The shape-shifter circus is an original and intriguing idea that could certainly develop into a sequel or even a series. There are some moments of pure magic in this book and the book itself and the cover art are beautiful. Kate is such a young writer. I think she has the potential to become something really special in terms of her work. Also the story has a real authenticity. I see so much of Kate in the character of Flo. I think she really puts her heart into her writing. I can't wait to read all her future books. Congratulations Kate xx
April 8, 2019
First of all I have to say that I didn't like the main character to start with and even towards the end of the book I still didn't like her that much, even though she had progressed a lot.
I just don't identify with characters that need to be saved I guess and that can't help themselves
The story itself was quite interesting, I like the concept of them shifting into animals and how it effects their lives and there was some action and drama there, so not all was lost!
I just don't identify with characters that need to be saved I guess and that can't help themselves
The story itself was quite interesting, I like the concept of them shifting into animals and how it effects their lives and there was some action and drama there, so not all was lost!
July 15, 2015
There's a new crop of werewolf books but, The Wanderers really stands out simply because it has a different perspective. Not all shape shifters are wolves, not all supernatural entities are inherently evil and even if you have special powers, grown-ups often lie to kids, "for their own good". I think this book needs a sequel.
February 25, 2018
So newsflash, I'm a total sucker for moody books in which it rains a lot:)
Is anyone surprised? No? Okay...:)
The Wanderers was a unique take on teen shifters: a gloomy, emotionally raw and evocative world of orphaned/homeless teens striving for a meaningful change and finding strength in community. Flo (the protagonist) and her to-the-point narration was a perfect match for this story. I quite loved it.
Is anyone surprised? No? Okay...:)
The Wanderers was a unique take on teen shifters: a gloomy, emotionally raw and evocative world of orphaned/homeless teens striving for a meaningful change and finding strength in community. Flo (the protagonist) and her to-the-point narration was a perfect match for this story. I quite loved it.
Read
August 15, 2015(Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through Edelweiss.)
On a scale of one to ten, my level of excitement over The Wanderers scored around a seven or eight - not bad for an author I've never read before. So I was pretty bummed to find myself DNF'ing this one at the 41% mark.
I mean, just look at that ridiculous cover: lush and gorgeous and full of mystery! I know what they say about not judging a book, but the lovely circus artwork featured on the cover had me jonesing for a peek inside.
Not to mention, 2015 has seen some amazing novels starring badass lady carnies: Erika Swyler's The Book of Speculation and Leslie Parry's The Church of Marvels, both of which I absolutely adored, spring to mind. There's also The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (want!) and Rachel Vincent's Menagerie (next on my reading list). And that's just off the top of my head.
Also, as an ethical vegan, the idea of an animal circus staffed entirely by consenting human(ish) shapeshifters is really quite intriguing. I love circuses and carnivals, but have only been to one since I was a kid: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas (freaking astounding). Marveling over pachyderms and big cats, without the confinement, torture, and oppression? Sign me up! Bonus points if you can actually watch them shift, because hello? Shapeshifters!
So where did it all go wrong? For starters, the story moves about as fast as molasses. Having just turned sixteen, it's Flo's turn to perform in the circus - but she's terrified. A horse, her act involves jumping over a flaming hurdle; cue daydreams about setting the whole tent ablaze. And yet I can't help but think her fear runs deeper than this; perhaps she's nervous about appearing naked and in her animal form in front of others, particularly those who might not understand? It's as a horse that she's at her most vulnerable - but also her most powerful. But this is just a guess, as Ormand doesn't do a particularly good job of building us a window into Flo's heart and mind.
Which is especially annoying, as Flo spends the first quarter of the book a) fretting over her act and b) mooning over Jett, her best friend/boyfriend. That's literally all that happens. By the time an actual conflict is introduced in the form of possible hunters (40%), I couldn't find a fuck to give. I had lost all interest.
The characters are all pretty blah and one-dimensional, and Flo is absolutely lacking in personality. How on earth do you make shapeshifters so uninteresting, I wonder?
The circus itself gets shortchanged too; it's completely devoid of the expected sense of wonder and magic and showmanship. To be fair, Flo's circus is barely limping along; the show, and everyone involved with it, seems on the constant verge of bankruptcy. The performers own few of their own possessions; after parties, the crew collects uneaten food to reuse later; and sometimes, the shifters pick the pockets of audience members if they didn't earn enough through legitimate means. And this contrast - between the public and private faces of the circus, expectation vs. reality - would have made for a compelling element of the story. Problem is, we're only really treated to the seedy side of the equation.
So many missed opportunities here.
There is an interesting plot line involving protestors, but ultimately it just wasn't enough to hold my interest. Assuming that this animal circus does indeed contain animals, a group of PETA-like protestors descends on the circus, throwing flour (huh?) at the performers after the show. Nora is characteristically ill-tempered about it, and no one refutes her negative view of the nosey activists - even though they'd surely want someone to intervene if they were being held captive and forced to perform against their will. Which is precisely what the protestors believe. What you're actively leading them to believe, as it's preferable to the truth.
Flo wonders if the activists would champion the shifters' cause (e.g., against the hunters) if they knew the truth. As someone who frequently roots for the "monsters" on Supernatural, I'll answer that with an unequivocal "YES!". Every sentient being - whether human, nonhuman, or somewhere twixt the two - deserves to live a life free of exploitation and abuse. Unless you're feasting on human flesh, in which case it's off to shifter jail with you. Social contracts, yo.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/09/07/...
On a scale of one to ten, my level of excitement over The Wanderers scored around a seven or eight - not bad for an author I've never read before. So I was pretty bummed to find myself DNF'ing this one at the 41% mark.
I mean, just look at that ridiculous cover: lush and gorgeous and full of mystery! I know what they say about not judging a book, but the lovely circus artwork featured on the cover had me jonesing for a peek inside.
Not to mention, 2015 has seen some amazing novels starring badass lady carnies: Erika Swyler's The Book of Speculation and Leslie Parry's The Church of Marvels, both of which I absolutely adored, spring to mind. There's also The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore (want!) and Rachel Vincent's Menagerie (next on my reading list). And that's just off the top of my head.
Also, as an ethical vegan, the idea of an animal circus staffed entirely by consenting human(ish) shapeshifters is really quite intriguing. I love circuses and carnivals, but have only been to one since I was a kid: Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas (freaking astounding). Marveling over pachyderms and big cats, without the confinement, torture, and oppression? Sign me up! Bonus points if you can actually watch them shift, because hello? Shapeshifters!
So where did it all go wrong? For starters, the story moves about as fast as molasses. Having just turned sixteen, it's Flo's turn to perform in the circus - but she's terrified. A horse, her act involves jumping over a flaming hurdle; cue daydreams about setting the whole tent ablaze. And yet I can't help but think her fear runs deeper than this; perhaps she's nervous about appearing naked and in her animal form in front of others, particularly those who might not understand? It's as a horse that she's at her most vulnerable - but also her most powerful. But this is just a guess, as Ormand doesn't do a particularly good job of building us a window into Flo's heart and mind.
Which is especially annoying, as Flo spends the first quarter of the book a) fretting over her act and b) mooning over Jett, her best friend/boyfriend. That's literally all that happens. By the time an actual conflict is introduced in the form of possible hunters (40%), I couldn't find a fuck to give. I had lost all interest.
The characters are all pretty blah and one-dimensional, and Flo is absolutely lacking in personality. How on earth do you make shapeshifters so uninteresting, I wonder?
The circus itself gets shortchanged too; it's completely devoid of the expected sense of wonder and magic and showmanship. To be fair, Flo's circus is barely limping along; the show, and everyone involved with it, seems on the constant verge of bankruptcy. The performers own few of their own possessions; after parties, the crew collects uneaten food to reuse later; and sometimes, the shifters pick the pockets of audience members if they didn't earn enough through legitimate means. And this contrast - between the public and private faces of the circus, expectation vs. reality - would have made for a compelling element of the story. Problem is, we're only really treated to the seedy side of the equation.
So many missed opportunities here.
There is an interesting plot line involving protestors, but ultimately it just wasn't enough to hold my interest. Assuming that this animal circus does indeed contain animals, a group of PETA-like protestors descends on the circus, throwing flour (huh?) at the performers after the show. Nora is characteristically ill-tempered about it, and no one refutes her negative view of the nosey activists - even though they'd surely want someone to intervene if they were being held captive and forced to perform against their will. Which is precisely what the protestors believe. What you're actively leading them to believe, as it's preferable to the truth.
Flo wonders if the activists would champion the shifters' cause (e.g., against the hunters) if they knew the truth. As someone who frequently roots for the "monsters" on Supernatural, I'll answer that with an unequivocal "YES!". Every sentient being - whether human, nonhuman, or somewhere twixt the two - deserves to live a life free of exploitation and abuse. Unless you're feasting on human flesh, in which case it's off to shifter jail with you. Social contracts, yo.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2015/09/07/...
March 10, 2018
3.5 stars ⭐️
I was semi-hesitant to pick up this book because I really didn’t know if a book about shape-shifters in a circus would really be my cup of tea but I was pleasantly surprised. Although in the beginning I was worried I would ultimately end up DNFing the book by the halfway point I found myself totally engrossed in the story and didn’t want to put it down until I knew how the story ended!
Not only did I enjoy it but I definitely want to pick up the second book in the series soon and see how Flo’s story continues. If shape-shifter type stories aren’t normally your cup of tea but you think you want to give them a chance I’d recommend trying to pick this one up as it definitely took me by surprise and had me on the end of my seat towards the end of the book.
Special thanks to Sky Pony Press for a change to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.
I was semi-hesitant to pick up this book because I really didn’t know if a book about shape-shifters in a circus would really be my cup of tea but I was pleasantly surprised. Although in the beginning I was worried I would ultimately end up DNFing the book by the halfway point I found myself totally engrossed in the story and didn’t want to put it down until I knew how the story ended!
Not only did I enjoy it but I definitely want to pick up the second book in the series soon and see how Flo’s story continues. If shape-shifter type stories aren’t normally your cup of tea but you think you want to give them a chance I’d recommend trying to pick this one up as it definitely took me by surprise and had me on the end of my seat towards the end of the book.
Special thanks to Sky Pony Press for a change to read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.
November 14, 2018
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Kate Ormand takes a unique twist in The Wanderers, following a group of nomad shapeshifters traveling under the guise of a circus. Flo has been part of the circus ever since she was young but has always thought of what the world would be like if she were not a part of the circus. When she accidentally reveals what the circus really is to the public, shapeshifter hunters attack and take away everything she has ever known.
There aren't a lot of shapeshifter books out there – all the ones I've come across so far typically have characters that shift into wolves (technically werewolves are like shapeshifters. They're interchangeable). The Wanderers, on the other hand, don't really have wolves (I don't think there are any here). Ormand takes the concept and expands the idea of shapeshifter to include all kinds of animals – bears, seals, tigers, horses, etc. It's a breather to have all kinds of animals instead of the usual furry four-legged ones. Have I mentioned there's a shapeshifting parrot? Uber-cool.
Flo (I started imagining her as that Progressive chick) has elements of a good character – she's realistic and brave, even though she's watching her back constantly for hunters. She has a constant inner battle with a desire and curiosity to see the world outside of the circus but has no clue if she wants to take that opportunity when she's old enough to be offered a life outside. But Flo is a bit of a mystery to me, and so are most of the shifters.
The Wanderers feels more like a discovery book – no one aside from the "elders" know how the circus originated in the first place. Flo and the other shifters seem as though they've been there all their lives – they all have a similar past and their way to the circus are all similar. The book becomes more of a survival book after the attack and the remaining shifters work together (albeit the tolerable tension some have towards Flo) to escape the clutches of the hunters going after them. In the midst of it all, Flo discovers a disturbing plot and sets about breaking it before other shifters get hurt as well.
Ormand pulls off an ending similar to Bruchac's in Killer of Enemies – there's a solid ending, but it's very open-ended and lots of things could potentially happen. The ending to The Wanderers feels very fitting with the story considering the title and the concept. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this book, Ormand has certainly left a mark with just the entire idea.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
Kate Ormand takes a unique twist in The Wanderers, following a group of nomad shapeshifters traveling under the guise of a circus. Flo has been part of the circus ever since she was young but has always thought of what the world would be like if she were not a part of the circus. When she accidentally reveals what the circus really is to the public, shapeshifter hunters attack and take away everything she has ever known.
There aren't a lot of shapeshifter books out there – all the ones I've come across so far typically have characters that shift into wolves (technically werewolves are like shapeshifters. They're interchangeable). The Wanderers, on the other hand, don't really have wolves (I don't think there are any here). Ormand takes the concept and expands the idea of shapeshifter to include all kinds of animals – bears, seals, tigers, horses, etc. It's a breather to have all kinds of animals instead of the usual furry four-legged ones. Have I mentioned there's a shapeshifting parrot? Uber-cool.
Flo (I started imagining her as that Progressive chick) has elements of a good character – she's realistic and brave, even though she's watching her back constantly for hunters. She has a constant inner battle with a desire and curiosity to see the world outside of the circus but has no clue if she wants to take that opportunity when she's old enough to be offered a life outside. But Flo is a bit of a mystery to me, and so are most of the shifters.
The Wanderers feels more like a discovery book – no one aside from the "elders" know how the circus originated in the first place. Flo and the other shifters seem as though they've been there all their lives – they all have a similar past and their way to the circus are all similar. The book becomes more of a survival book after the attack and the remaining shifters work together (albeit the tolerable tension some have towards Flo) to escape the clutches of the hunters going after them. In the midst of it all, Flo discovers a disturbing plot and sets about breaking it before other shifters get hurt as well.
Ormand pulls off an ending similar to Bruchac's in Killer of Enemies – there's a solid ending, but it's very open-ended and lots of things could potentially happen. The ending to The Wanderers feels very fitting with the story considering the title and the concept. Even though I'm not a huge fan of this book, Ormand has certainly left a mark with just the entire idea.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
August 24, 2016
This book is YA, but it is written like a Children's chapter book. At first I thought it was slow to start, but it continued to be a tedious read. There were a multitude of continuity problems. For example: in the morning it was summer with people swimming in a lake, but a couple of hours later the MC was putting on a fur-lined parka and by lunch time it was so frigid she had chattering teeth from just standing outside for a few minutes, even still wearing the parka, and they had to crank up the heat in the car full blast. Then after dinner, they were going barefoot again and even after the sun went down the air was described as nicely cool. There seemed to always be a confusion of whether they were inside, or outside, because no matter where they were everything fell to the "floor". Was this not beta-read, I mean by someone else other than family and friends? Very early in the book there was my pet peeve of a big coincidence being used to move the story forward. Also, there was too much romance, even for a YA book, the MC and her beau were constantly nuzzling and breathing on each other. I was approved for this book via Edelweiss in return for an honest review. I will not be reviewing it on my blog because it is less than four stars.
January 30, 2016
I really enjoyed The Wanderers. I dove into it without scrutinising the synopsis — the concept of 'shapeshifter circus' was hook enough — and so the whole story felt like a really fun rollercoaster ride. It went to places I didn't expect, and I loved that.
The Wanderers opens by slowly introducing us to Flo and the circus. Juicy nuggets of world-building, such as the story of 'Lydia and the Wolf', helped immerse me in the story. I enjoyed learning more about the shapeshifters' world alongside Flo—a world which gets increasingly brutal. The opening of The Wanderers definitely lulled me into a false sense of security—I didn't see the action-packed second half coming at all!
This is a book of twists and revelations, and a story of a gentle girl finding out just how strong she can be. Kate Ormand's writing is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next in The Pack.
The Wanderers opens by slowly introducing us to Flo and the circus. Juicy nuggets of world-building, such as the story of 'Lydia and the Wolf', helped immerse me in the story. I enjoyed learning more about the shapeshifters' world alongside Flo—a world which gets increasingly brutal. The opening of The Wanderers definitely lulled me into a false sense of security—I didn't see the action-packed second half coming at all!
This is a book of twists and revelations, and a story of a gentle girl finding out just how strong she can be. Kate Ormand's writing is fantastic, and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next in The Pack.
July 29, 2015
Flo is a shape-shifter - she turns herself into a horse - and travels with a circus of shifters. Now that Flo is sixteen, it is time for her to start performing - but she doesn’t feel ready.
Flo worries so much about the possibility of hunters coming for her, that she messes up her routine. This gives the hunters a chance to make their move, and now the whole circus is in danger...
This book was so well-written and fast-paced, I was nearly late for work finishing chapters and wanting to go straight on to the next one. It was so difficult to put down!
full review here
Flo worries so much about the possibility of hunters coming for her, that she messes up her routine. This gives the hunters a chance to make their move, and now the whole circus is in danger...
This book was so well-written and fast-paced, I was nearly late for work finishing chapters and wanting to go straight on to the next one. It was so difficult to put down!
full review here
December 4, 2015
A completely fresh and original story about circus shapeshifters, on the run from hunters. Jett and Flo were an excellent couple, and SO touchy feely! A horse is such a refreshing choice for a shapeshifter, and it worked really well. I'm looking forward to the sequel in 2017.
January 19, 2018
Welcome to the world of shifters and hunters.
I really enjoyed this book the style of writing for my gripped from the start. In the first book of the series you meet Flo the Horse Shifter as she prepares to perform for the first time at the circus where she is part of the troupe.
After a couple of performances it all goes wrong when Hunters come to the circus. From there on out it’s all downhill for Flo and her friends. They are betrayed by people who they believe are protecting her and find strength in places they never had before.
There is action, romance, adventure and heartache.
A great debut novel by Kate Ormand I can’t wait for the next in the series.
I really enjoyed this book the style of writing for my gripped from the start. In the first book of the series you meet Flo the Horse Shifter as she prepares to perform for the first time at the circus where she is part of the troupe.
After a couple of performances it all goes wrong when Hunters come to the circus. From there on out it’s all downhill for Flo and her friends. They are betrayed by people who they believe are protecting her and find strength in places they never had before.
There is action, romance, adventure and heartache.
A great debut novel by Kate Ormand I can’t wait for the next in the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 9, 2018
The concept of the book was whimsical and entertaining and there were plenty of ups and downs to keep me on the edge of my toes, but the writing style seemed simplistic and bland. I really enjoyed the way the author dropped the reader straight into the story and the level of empathy she was able to produce for the protagonist(s). I wish Ormand played more with her sentence structure and used more elevated vocabulary to create a sophisticated atmosphere rather than the middle school fiction novel energy this book has.
October 10, 2018
Review for The Wanderers
I really liked the idea of an animal circus being made up of humans that shifted into the animals! How cool! I felt like the writing was just slow at the beginning and then when it finally picked up, it got weird and rushed. I was trying to finish it quickly, just to say I finished. Flo's monologues were a bit whiny and repetitive. She just seemed like a bland character. Jett was amazing, but their relationship seemed unbelievable. Not going to read the rest of the series.
I really liked the idea of an animal circus being made up of humans that shifted into the animals! How cool! I felt like the writing was just slow at the beginning and then when it finally picked up, it got weird and rushed. I was trying to finish it quickly, just to say I finished. Flo's monologues were a bit whiny and repetitive. She just seemed like a bland character. Jett was amazing, but their relationship seemed unbelievable. Not going to read the rest of the series.
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