Wild

by J.R. Dawson

Sixteen-year-old Lily knows she is meant for more. She dreams of running away from her tiny frontier town to meet a green-eyed boy, where they will escape upon a fast horse. But when she has her identity mistaken with a girl named Wild, the missing heir of a very wealthy man, Lily’s life abruptly becomes revolved around the mysterious and haunting past of someone else.

There is a boy with green eyes, and his is familiarity is uncanny, his secrets countless. He claims he is there to help Lily. Only she knows he isn’t telling her everything. And now he thinks she is Wild, too. In fact, everyone does.

Surely there has been a mistake. But who is right? Who is wrong?

366 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

J. R. Dawson (Jo Rosemary) is seventeen years old. She has been writing since she was eleven and finished her first book at twelve. She lives in rural Colorado with her family.

Reviews

[Webit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lily is a girl far ahead of her time, living in 1888 on the Montana frontier. She has no money, no future, no beau, and nowhere to go from here. Or so she thinks.

This story really begins ten years before 1888, in an unnamed location. This is our first glimpse of a beautiful, truly reckless world of WILD and the endearing romance between young Leland Hawley and Miss Wild Rebel (yes that is a real name, and yes it was cool). In fact that is how this story opens, with a declaration of love in its most tender form.

But now it is ten years in the future and Lily Baron is our storyteller, gladly sharing her tale with us in her humorous, no-nonsense sort of way. Within the second chapter, Lily already has her identity mistaken with a girl named Wild, an outlaw's daughter. Yes, you heard me right. An outlaw's daughter. This story is about outlaws, it's about the West, and the wildness within it. It is about the first love that always stays with us, no matter the distance, the challenges, that arise.

I know what you're thinking. Outlaws? The Wild West? Really. I agree with you. I mean, the last books I read were part of Cassandra Clare's series (which I LOVE, by the way!!) and yet I'm falling for a historical western romance book? Crazy, right?
But it was good! The writing reminded me of The Hunger Games in the way that it flowed so easily. It was simple yet beautiful. The characters were painted in vivid colors. Lee was so strong and, simultaneously, he was so weak. I felt like there were two versions of Lee: the side he wanted people to see and the side he tried his hardest to hide. We get to see both in WILD.

Lily only has one side, one that is very self-assured. So even when she is at her lowest point, you find it hard to pity her. Because she is not pitying herself. Once Lee helps her escape her captors, Lily (and the reader) starts to learn about Wild Rebel and the Rebel outlaw gang, which I feel is loosely based on actual outlaws of the time due to the familiarity between their stories and some historical articles I’ve read in my time.

Lily wants to see Haven, the ‘hideout’ of the Rebels. So Lee agrees to escort her there, halfway across the country to northern Mexico (somewhere near Sonora, I believe.) Along the way, you get such a detailed view of the world during 1888 and the truth of the Wild West. The author does such a fine job of staying true to history. But she doesn’t make it feel like a history lesson. The aspects of her world are just…there, and they accompany the plot beautifully.

I will not say too much about the plot, because I can see I am one of the first people who has ever read this book or reviewed it. (Lucky me!!) I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else. All I want to say is there is a boy, a girl, a love story, and a dark threat hanging over their heads that could take away everything either of them has ever dreamed of.

[J.R. Dawson]

I enjoyed reading this book very, very much. I enjoyed writing it more.