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Going Wild #3
Clash of Beasts
Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the Unwanteds, pulls out all the stops in this exhilarating third and final book in the Going Wild series! This middle grade adventure follows a group of kids with powers from the animal kingdom who form their own version of the Avengers and Justice League.
Charlie, Mac, and Maria managed to rescue the Project Chimera scientists from the devious Dr. Gray, but they couldn’t stop him. Now he’s closer than ever to enacting his dreadful master plan to transform all of humanity into a monstrous new species. And even worse, Kelly has betrayed her friends and joined forces with him.
To defeat their beastly foes, Charlie and the others are going to need help. Luckily, they just saved the creators of the bracelets that give them their unbelievable powers, and they’re about to get an upgrade. With even fiercer abilities, it’s finally time for these kids to unleash their wild sides and save the world.
Charlie, Mac, and Maria managed to rescue the Project Chimera scientists from the devious Dr. Gray, but they couldn’t stop him. Now he’s closer than ever to enacting his dreadful master plan to transform all of humanity into a monstrous new species. And even worse, Kelly has betrayed her friends and joined forces with him.
To defeat their beastly foes, Charlie and the others are going to need help. Luckily, they just saved the creators of the bracelets that give them their unbelievable powers, and they’re about to get an upgrade. With even fiercer abilities, it’s finally time for these kids to unleash their wild sides and save the world.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published October 2, 2018
167 people are currently reading
902 people want to read
About the author
Lisa McMann
59 books6,996 followersLisa McMann lives and writes in the Phoenix area. Her newest middle grade fantasy series is called The Forgotten Five. Book one, Map of Flames, was an instant NYT bestseller. It's about five supernatural kids, raised in a deserted hideout, who enter civilization for the first time to search for a hidden stash left behind by their missing, criminal parents.
Book two, The Invisible Spy, is on sale now! Book three, Rebel Undercover, is coming summer 2023, and book 4 will be out in spring of 2024.
Also out now: CLARICE THE BRAVE. It's a story of hope against all odds, about sibling mice who get separated in a mutiny and vow to find one another again.
Lisa's other books include the NYT bestselling THE UNWANTEDS and UNWANTEDS QUESTS series, the GOING WILD trilogy, the YA paranormal WAKE trilogy, the VISIONS trilogy, CRYER'S CROSS, DEAD TO YOU, and INFINITY RING: The Trap Door.
See what's new and where Lisa will be at her
LinkTree.
You can find more info at Lisa'a website, lisamcmann.com, interact with her on Facebook or Twitter, or ask questions on her Instagram.
Book two, The Invisible Spy, is on sale now! Book three, Rebel Undercover, is coming summer 2023, and book 4 will be out in spring of 2024.
Also out now: CLARICE THE BRAVE. It's a story of hope against all odds, about sibling mice who get separated in a mutiny and vow to find one another again.
Lisa's other books include the NYT bestselling THE UNWANTEDS and UNWANTEDS QUESTS series, the GOING WILD trilogy, the YA paranormal WAKE trilogy, the VISIONS trilogy, CRYER'S CROSS, DEAD TO YOU, and INFINITY RING: The Trap Door.
See what's new and where Lisa will be at her
LinkTree.
You can find more info at Lisa'a website, lisamcmann.com, interact with her on Facebook or Twitter, or ask questions on her Instagram.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
October 7, 2018
I really liked this book and found it a great ending to the series! I was really excited to get back to my old characters that I loved! I found it very interesting to see into Kelly’s head and understand really what she was going through. I was also happy that Prowl and Miko joined Charlie’s side. It really shows that even if people make bad decisions, they can always change and become good. I felt pretty sure that Dr. Jakande was good even when Charlie had her doubts.
I was a little disappointed that the Mark Six was pretty much like the Mark Five, but with one extra power. But I was also happy that Charlie got to keep the powers that she had grown to love and use. I also thought it strange that the scientists could create and come up with new developments so fast. I was also confused that the government didn’t get very excited about the new inventions. This is a huge development in science and they decided not to go very far with it. Though it was the right decision, I feel that it wasn’t what the government would have done. I was also a little sad that Charlie, Mac, Maria, and Kelly lost their bracelets and don’t get to use them again, but it was probably for the best.
Overall, I really liked this book and was happy with the style of writing. I didn’t want to put the book down and finished it pretty fast! If you like sci-fi, animal, or adventure books, then Clash of Beasts is for you!
I was a little disappointed that the Mark Six was pretty much like the Mark Five, but with one extra power. But I was also happy that Charlie got to keep the powers that she had grown to love and use. I also thought it strange that the scientists could create and come up with new developments so fast. I was also confused that the government didn’t get very excited about the new inventions. This is a huge development in science and they decided not to go very far with it. Though it was the right decision, I feel that it wasn’t what the government would have done. I was also a little sad that Charlie, Mac, Maria, and Kelly lost their bracelets and don’t get to use them again, but it was probably for the best.
Overall, I really liked this book and was happy with the style of writing. I didn’t want to put the book down and finished it pretty fast! If you like sci-fi, animal, or adventure books, then Clash of Beasts is for you!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 17, 2019
Most of it was so stupid that it was funny, but come on Lisa, you made me wait two whole years just to watch Miko and Prowl end like that??? Dr. Gray also has major issues. @Victor please get checked for psychotic tendencies. I wanted Prowl and Miko to have adorable reunions with old military friends but nooooooo. They just had to drop off the map. Thoroughly disappointed. And Kelly needs to get her head out of the sand and do something about her life. Can the Wildes please adopt her or something?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2018
This book was sooooooooooooooooooooo good! I was paying really close attention in case someone slipped around the corner. In a series like the Going Wild series you would never imagine making another book that is as good as the first two. But somehow, Lisa McMann did it. I would never be able to do it but I am so glad Lisa McMann did because now it's another book that I can share with my friends. Thank you Lisa McMann. :)
November 9, 2018
I read the first two of these books in one afternoon when our WiFi was down, and I think trying to read this one when I had other things to distract me just highlighted how underwhelming this whole series was. The writing felt really young, even for middle grade. For an action series with a not insignificant number of fight scenes, the plot was ultimately pretty boring, and the characters were flat. Large swaths of this book in particular felt like filler, leading up to the last 25% (which was mostly fight scenes).
Especially disappointing after enjoying her Unwanteds books, which are some pretty great middle grade fantasies.
Especially disappointing after enjoying her Unwanteds books, which are some pretty great middle grade fantasies.
December 7, 2018
This book was an amazing way to end the going wild series ; even though I was sad to see the series come to a close. I loved how the book showed a little bit more of Kelly and her perspective on things.
I also love how Dr. Gray turns into one of his own creation only to be defeated once again by Charlie and her friends and family. I was sad to see Charlie have to give up the bracelet after she has done so much good with it, but happy to see its powers be put to good use.
I also love how Dr. Gray turns into one of his own creation only to be defeated once again by Charlie and her friends and family. I was sad to see Charlie have to give up the bracelet after she has done so much good with it, but happy to see its powers be put to good use.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 3, 2019
This finale to Going Wild is a must read for fans of the trilogy. I had a hard time reading the white print on black pages for the "bad guy" segments, but younger eyes probably won't have as much of an issue. I also didn't like the stereotype that perpetuated of black = bad. It does bring up some interesting ethical issues. Recommended for grades 4 and up, but only if they've read the first two.
October 10, 2018
I loved the end to this trilogy!! Lisa did a great job!! :)
December 27, 2018
This book was really good! Glad we got to see more of Kelly’s prospective.
October 25, 2018
Good series, Lisa McMann doesn't disappoint, can't wait to read book 3 of dragon quest series
December 12, 2018
Great ending to a great series.
January 6, 2019
It is your final chance to save the world from becoming animal hybrids.
What would you do to save them?
What would you do to save them?
March 3, 2019
I loved it! It was a thrilling conclusion and a satisfactory ending!
December 8, 2023
So, here we are, the third and final installment of Going Wild. The good guys have to stop the increasingly unhinged Dr. Gray's plan to transform everyone in the world into chimeras. So how did the book fare? Well, it was better than the second one, but I feel it could have been so much more.
The book, unfortunately, suffers from the same issue as the first two books, which is that it takes a very long time to get to the exciting stuff. A lot of the happenings in all three books feel like filler, making you wish the author would get to the point sooner, because there's just so much of it. While this book has less filler than the second one did, it still had a good deal of it, like how I feel we did not need so many pages of the kids trying to decide on a new animal for their devices. Likewise, they visit Puerto Rico to help out with clean-up and debris removal and more after the passing of a hurricane. As a native Puerto Rican who has lived in the island my whole life, I am very grateful for the author's sentiment in portraying this (recovering after a hurricane is a very harrowing exprience, believe me), but I feel she could have gone further with it, as we don't see the kids do much beyond clean up debris in the late night to practice with their new powers; interactions with locals and the like would have been much appreciated and given more depth to these scenes.
That being said, this book throws in a nice twist in that we get to see things from Kelly's point of view, after she has joined the bad guys, though of course, she doesn't think they're the bad guys, at least at first. We get to see how things fare for her, we see how Dr. Gray goes deeper off the deep end, and we get to see his soldiers evolve in a way by gaining new abilities. While all this also starts getting a bit repetitive after a while, it's helped by the budding friendship between Kelly and Miko, and how Prowl displays that he has a kind side to him, which was unexpected but very welcome. Honestly, these three characters were the highlight of the book for me, I feel they got the most development and I really enjoyed their relationships and chemistry as the book moved along, I feel the author really did a nice job with that. Honestly, I found Kelly to be a much more nuanced, well written and relatable character than main character Charlie, she was honestly the real star to me. And on a side note, Prowl with electric eel ability? Is the author a fan of Gargoyles and maybe took a bit of inspiration from the Mutates in that series? If so, she has good taste!
The final stretch of the book was pretty good with lots of battles, though I really wish the focus had been more on fighting the bad guys than on Charlie, Maria and Mac all being idiots regarding Kelly. She threw out just about every sign that she wasn't on Gray's side and wanted to help them instead, but they kept attacking her and looking for every excuse to take her down no matter what she did or didn't do, and even after she does something to convince them, Charlie still kept thinking she'd betray them. Honestly, Charlie's festering paranoia was another negative point for me in the book, she just would not let up. But yeah, way too much time was spent in fighting the three trying to desert Gray than on actually fighting Gray and those who sided with him. At least the final confrontation with Gray was pretty cool. But man, that ending, did not see that coming! Dark much, author? I'm baffled nobody got traumatized or at the very least shaken by it, especially the kids.
Overall, this book was an improvement over the second book, especially with the focus on Kelly, Miko and Prowl. There was more action, higher stakes, a good enough finale. I just wish it could have been better, because it had the potential right there. It was there since the first book, but it never reached that full potential. Still it was good enough.
The book, unfortunately, suffers from the same issue as the first two books, which is that it takes a very long time to get to the exciting stuff. A lot of the happenings in all three books feel like filler, making you wish the author would get to the point sooner, because there's just so much of it. While this book has less filler than the second one did, it still had a good deal of it, like how I feel we did not need so many pages of the kids trying to decide on a new animal for their devices. Likewise, they visit Puerto Rico to help out with clean-up and debris removal and more after the passing of a hurricane. As a native Puerto Rican who has lived in the island my whole life, I am very grateful for the author's sentiment in portraying this (recovering after a hurricane is a very harrowing exprience, believe me), but I feel she could have gone further with it, as we don't see the kids do much beyond clean up debris in the late night to practice with their new powers; interactions with locals and the like would have been much appreciated and given more depth to these scenes.
That being said, this book throws in a nice twist in that we get to see things from Kelly's point of view, after she has joined the bad guys, though of course, she doesn't think they're the bad guys, at least at first. We get to see how things fare for her, we see how Dr. Gray goes deeper off the deep end, and we get to see his soldiers evolve in a way by gaining new abilities. While all this also starts getting a bit repetitive after a while, it's helped by the budding friendship between Kelly and Miko, and how Prowl displays that he has a kind side to him, which was unexpected but very welcome. Honestly, these three characters were the highlight of the book for me, I feel they got the most development and I really enjoyed their relationships and chemistry as the book moved along, I feel the author really did a nice job with that. Honestly, I found Kelly to be a much more nuanced, well written and relatable character than main character Charlie, she was honestly the real star to me. And on a side note, Prowl with electric eel ability? Is the author a fan of Gargoyles and maybe took a bit of inspiration from the Mutates in that series? If so, she has good taste!
The final stretch of the book was pretty good with lots of battles, though I really wish the focus had been more on fighting the bad guys than on Charlie, Maria and Mac all being idiots regarding Kelly. She threw out just about every sign that she wasn't on Gray's side and wanted to help them instead, but they kept attacking her and looking for every excuse to take her down no matter what she did or didn't do, and even after she does something to convince them, Charlie still kept thinking she'd betray them. Honestly, Charlie's festering paranoia was another negative point for me in the book, she just would not let up. But yeah, way too much time was spent in fighting the three trying to desert Gray than on actually fighting Gray and those who sided with him. At least the final confrontation with Gray was pretty cool. But man, that ending, did not see that coming! Dark much, author? I'm baffled nobody got traumatized or at the very least shaken by it, especially the kids.
Overall, this book was an improvement over the second book, especially with the focus on Kelly, Miko and Prowl. There was more action, higher stakes, a good enough finale. I just wish it could have been better, because it had the potential right there. It was there since the first book, but it never reached that full potential. Still it was good enough.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 29, 2021
My name is Kelly, and I've finally found someone who appreciates my talents. Dr. Gray sometimes seems crazy and scary, but I'm proud to work on his secret project for the government. I'm not sure how the government plans to use the hybrid chimeras, maybe new super soldiers, but Gray must have something fantastic in mind. I'm proving my value by collecting DNA from different animals, although I feel sorry for scaring and hurting them. I guess that's the price to pay for advancements in science. It's hard to remember the times before Charlie came to Arizona; her arrival started all of my problems. Maybe not all of them. I don't miss my parents, and I was surprised how easy it was to hypnotize and make them forget me. That hurts a little, but I can't wait for the day when everyone will be amazed by my new abilities.
You should read the previous books to understand the relationships between characters. Kelly joined the "bad guys", but her defection was due to insecurities and hurt feelings. Her parents were going through a divorce, and they were ignoring her when they weren't yelling at her. Her friends understood the danger of the bracelets and wanted to keep one from Kelly, but she interpreted that as an insult and a lack of trust. The bracelets were the backbone of the series, as they gave the wearers abilities associated with different animals. Charlie, the main character, had five abilities and had the least number of complications from the bracelet. Much of the plot dealt with Charlie and her friends researching possible new animals to add to their bracelets. Conversely, Maria's bracelet made her turn into a howler monkey, although other scientists fixed that problem. The plot stretched science fiction, as Dr. Gray was experimenting with hybrid human/animals. His goal was to change everyone on earth into hybrids, although Kelly and the team didn't know. They were starting to question Gray's sanity, so there was anticipation as to what they would do. Overall, this series has been a fun read, and I recommend you give it a shot. Lovers of science fiction, adventure, and animals should be entertained.
You should read the previous books to understand the relationships between characters. Kelly joined the "bad guys", but her defection was due to insecurities and hurt feelings. Her parents were going through a divorce, and they were ignoring her when they weren't yelling at her. Her friends understood the danger of the bracelets and wanted to keep one from Kelly, but she interpreted that as an insult and a lack of trust. The bracelets were the backbone of the series, as they gave the wearers abilities associated with different animals. Charlie, the main character, had five abilities and had the least number of complications from the bracelet. Much of the plot dealt with Charlie and her friends researching possible new animals to add to their bracelets. Conversely, Maria's bracelet made her turn into a howler monkey, although other scientists fixed that problem. The plot stretched science fiction, as Dr. Gray was experimenting with hybrid human/animals. His goal was to change everyone on earth into hybrids, although Kelly and the team didn't know. They were starting to question Gray's sanity, so there was anticipation as to what they would do. Overall, this series has been a fun read, and I recommend you give it a shot. Lovers of science fiction, adventure, and animals should be entertained.
November 30, 2022
A somewhat lackluster ending to this book series. Enjoyable but not earth shattering.
As an adult, I love reading middle school or young adult fantasy/scifi. There are so many good authors who tell amazing stories. They are quick to read (as a parent I have limited time!) and I am a sucker for a good story about a young person saving the day! This story is no exception. I really enjoyed this series about a group of friends who gain animalistic powers after putting on ability enhancing bracelets.
As an adult, I love reading middle school or young adult fantasy/scifi. There are so many good authors who tell amazing stories. They are quick to read (as a parent I have limited time!) and I am a sucker for a good story about a young person saving the day! This story is no exception. I really enjoyed this series about a group of friends who gain animalistic powers after putting on ability enhancing bracelets.
January 30, 2026
DNF @ 31%
This is coming from the perspective of understanding that EVERYONE needs to plan something out to get the bad guy and vise versa as well as the training side of that planning, but it felt like the planning process from EVERYONE was dragging significantly because of this. And it was coming from both ends which felt slightly off and I don’t typically see it within a middle grade series this thoroughly written out which I figured out was a huge turnoff. I do recommend this series, but I had to DNF for right now.
This is coming from the perspective of understanding that EVERYONE needs to plan something out to get the bad guy and vise versa as well as the training side of that planning, but it felt like the planning process from EVERYONE was dragging significantly because of this. And it was coming from both ends which felt slightly off and I don’t typically see it within a middle grade series this thoroughly written out which I figured out was a huge turnoff. I do recommend this series, but I had to DNF for right now.
January 15, 2021
This book was totally predictable, and the writing wavered between very juvenile and overly adult. The conversations between the kids - remember they're 12 - was too mature and even bright kids would not use the stilted language seen in several places.
The outcome was not unexpected but also not satisfying, as it felt the adults were the whiners and the kids were the winners.
Not something I would recommend except as a means to end the series.
The outcome was not unexpected but also not satisfying, as it felt the adults were the whiners and the kids were the winners.
Not something I would recommend except as a means to end the series.
July 23, 2019
A good story, but I didn't find it as compelling as the others. The plot and Kelly's storyline was kind of predictable, and after the climax the ending just didn't seem that exciting. I was expecting a "wow" ending but it seemed more relaxed. Still a good story, but I think it's directed more towards younger readers.
August 12, 2021
This book was well a dream! The way l had become a part of the story as-as if I was right there watching the events happen.
The characters were so life-like and the awkward moments which were totally relatable, other emotions like guilt, sadness, panic, afraid, and anger were spot on!
If you need your own little get-away or simply reading for fun this book's for you.
The characters were so life-like and the awkward moments which were totally relatable, other emotions like guilt, sadness, panic, afraid, and anger were spot on!
If you need your own little get-away or simply reading for fun this book's for you.
January 17, 2025
Book 3 of Going Wild. This conclusion was an epic all out brawl. Super fun and super fast tie up of what could have been a 30 book series. Loved it. The characters had great arcs and the redemption at the end was wonderful. Overall a terrific yet far too short series.
Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com
Joseph McKnight
http://www.josephmcknight.com
December 18, 2019
This was a good book but the ending was not the way that I would want this series to end, although I understand why they ended the way that they did.
I liked this book but I would have chosen the ending to be a touch different. :D
Overall!! A good and very creative series!! :D
I liked this book but I would have chosen the ending to be a touch different. :D
Overall!! A good and very creative series!! :D
August 7, 2021
Compared to the first book, this is where the book fell a little short. Had a good, cute, typical feel good ending, but the character development in the book didn’t flow right. Story in general I’ll give 4 stars, but because of the characters and their development I gave it 3
January 19, 2022
I just finished reading this series aloud to my 9 year old. We both enjoyed the adventure, the thrill, and the way the friends came together to take on an evil scientist. My son wishes there was a fourth book!
March 6, 2025
I loved this book so much. It has the just right amount of action and comedy (That is if you are the type of person that laughs at the slightest joke). You won't be able to stop reading once you begin. The author has done such a great job with this series.
October 27, 2018
bisquito
June 29, 2019
It was a fun story. I like that good and bad wasn't cut and dry. Not my favorite of her series but enjoyable anyway. I really like the dynamic of the whole family being involved. It was great.
July 7, 2019
A book by one of my favorite authors!
July 23, 2019
Phenomenal. The book was excellent. I really loved this series, sad to see it end though. Looking forward to reading more of Lisa McMann's work in the future.
August 8, 2020
Dr. Gray never stood a chance againt these 3.
August 10, 2020
More wild, fun action in this last entry. I enjoyed reading Kelly's redemption arc and thought this last book wrapped things up nicely. Black pages with white writing was still a bad idea
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews