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The Wild Place Adventure Series #3
Saving Crazy
Can a high-seas, whale-saving adventure repair the hurt between two friends?
How do you decide where your heart lies when it’s being tugged at from so many sides?
How do you decide where your heart lies when it’s being tugged at from so many sides?
224 pages, ebook
First published May 23, 2015
16 people want to read
About the author
Karen Hood-Caddy
12 books12 followersEven though I was raised in a big city, Toronto, and went to University there (York U.--which always sounds a little like swearing) we had an awesome cottage in Muskoka, where I spent many, many hours devouring books!!
Over the years, I saw that pristine natural paradise become a 'playground' of the rich and famous and it lost its feelings of wilderness--something I loved.
So, my books are about people trying to keep that wilderness and all the animals that call the wilderness they're home.
In each book, whether its my adult series or the new YA series, the characters
wrestle with an environmental issue and all the drama that entails... they save lakes, bears, raccoons and all kinds of wild things. Read the books to find out more.
Over the years, I saw that pristine natural paradise become a 'playground' of the rich and famous and it lost its feelings of wilderness--something I loved.
So, my books are about people trying to keep that wilderness and all the animals that call the wilderness they're home.
In each book, whether its my adult series or the new YA series, the characters
wrestle with an environmental issue and all the drama that entails... they save lakes, bears, raccoons and all kinds of wild things. Read the books to find out more.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 1, 2015
Title: Saving Crazy
Author: Karen Hood-Caddy
series: #3
Publisher: Dundurn Group
Pub Date: May 1st, 2015
Page count: 224
Tags: Middle grade, environment, Animal rescuing, Friendship
Source: NetGally
Format: e-ARC
Rating: Liked
Need of tissues: none
Review: on Goodreads
Saving Crazy is an engaging story of a young girl named Robin and her love for animals and the special people in her life. And how crushing on a boy, she risks all the things she cares about, her friendship, and the animals' life.
In this novel, you will read about various environment or animal related issue, and how those issues are stated or showed were helpful. It wasn't overwhelmed by facts, it had the right amount of fact that makes want to search for more. Also, it showed that our world doesn't face one or two problems, but many, and it is in need for constant care.
Robin and her best friend, Zo-Zo, are both eco-friendly. Robin loves the animal and she runs an animal shelter with her grandmother, Griff. While Zo-Zo is more of environment hardcore supporter. And seeing their friendship was excellent, mainly because of having the same interests, that is until McCoy, a boy both have a crush on, came along.
Ever since he came along with robin, she lost a bit of her friendship with Zo-Zo. And Zo-Zo was having quite a hard time, but all that Robin cared about was McCoy. Even Griff was annoyed, and honestly I agreed with Griff all the time. She is an awesome grandmother, also hilarious.
At the last third of the book, a big trip happened, and it was my favorite part. I'm not an animal lover, but I do love and care about marine life, so the whole sea trip to save whales thing was wondrous. They also pointed on a big issue about killing the whales and taking animals to the zoos and aquariums, and it happens that I visited a zoo after I read the book, and saw that it did leave its mark on me. I actually felt very sorry about the animals, especially the polar bear in the scorching heat!
Author: Karen Hood-Caddy
series: #3
Publisher: Dundurn Group
Pub Date: May 1st, 2015
Page count: 224
Tags: Middle grade, environment, Animal rescuing, Friendship
Source: NetGally
Format: e-ARC
Rating: Liked
Need of tissues: none
Review: on Goodreads
Saving Crazy is an engaging story of a young girl named Robin and her love for animals and the special people in her life. And how crushing on a boy, she risks all the things she cares about, her friendship, and the animals' life.
In this novel, you will read about various environment or animal related issue, and how those issues are stated or showed were helpful. It wasn't overwhelmed by facts, it had the right amount of fact that makes want to search for more. Also, it showed that our world doesn't face one or two problems, but many, and it is in need for constant care.
Robin and her best friend, Zo-Zo, are both eco-friendly. Robin loves the animal and she runs an animal shelter with her grandmother, Griff. While Zo-Zo is more of environment hardcore supporter. And seeing their friendship was excellent, mainly because of having the same interests, that is until McCoy, a boy both have a crush on, came along.
Ever since he came along with robin, she lost a bit of her friendship with Zo-Zo. And Zo-Zo was having quite a hard time, but all that Robin cared about was McCoy. Even Griff was annoyed, and honestly I agreed with Griff all the time. She is an awesome grandmother, also hilarious.
At the last third of the book, a big trip happened, and it was my favorite part. I'm not an animal lover, but I do love and care about marine life, so the whole sea trip to save whales thing was wondrous. They also pointed on a big issue about killing the whales and taking animals to the zoos and aquariums, and it happens that I visited a zoo after I read the book, and saw that it did leave its mark on me. I actually felt very sorry about the animals, especially the polar bear in the scorching heat!
May 27, 2015
I read this book as an advance copy provided by Netgalley. While I wouldn't say it's the kind of book I normally read, I read this all the way through and enjoyed it overall. The story is profoundly environmental in nature, but also a story of a teenage girl dealing with all the insecurity of her first real infatuation. A couple elements of the story came off a little bit heavy handed, one in particular being the constant harping upon global warming being to blame every time there was any environmental situation in the book. I'm no doubter of the science of global warming, but even I reached a point where I was saying, "Okay, I get it! Let's get on with the story now!"
The book did a good job of exploring the many different ways that an obsession with a boy could affect a girl's life, from her friendships, to her interests, to her goals all being compromised. Readers are sure to become attached to Griff as she helps Robin to see just what her feelings for McCoy are doing to her, and what she stands to loose from the experience.
The whale watching trip served as a nice opportunity to bring in another environmental cause, and it was a great climatic location. All in all, this would appeal to the same readers that enjoy Carl Hiassen or Jean Craighead George books, but it is also a good read for the fan of stories about teenage angst because there's plenty of that in there too. Certainly not a book for my elementary school library, but right at home in the YA crowd.
The book did a good job of exploring the many different ways that an obsession with a boy could affect a girl's life, from her friendships, to her interests, to her goals all being compromised. Readers are sure to become attached to Griff as she helps Robin to see just what her feelings for McCoy are doing to her, and what she stands to loose from the experience.
The whale watching trip served as a nice opportunity to bring in another environmental cause, and it was a great climatic location. All in all, this would appeal to the same readers that enjoy Carl Hiassen or Jean Craighead George books, but it is also a good read for the fan of stories about teenage angst because there's plenty of that in there too. Certainly not a book for my elementary school library, but right at home in the YA crowd.
November 24, 2015
Saving Crazy's is the third novel in Karen Hood-Caddy's young adult series, The Wild Place. Like the first two novels, it focuses on 13 year old Robin, whose family runs a wildlife sanctuary out of their barn. I think this book was probably the weakest of the three -- a lot of it focuses on Robin and Zo-Zo (her best friend) fighting over a not-particularly-desirable boy named McCoy. But it's still a cute little read.
Besides the drama over McCoy, the novel's main focus is environmental, of course. First there's a lesson on global warming, as Robin's beautiful little lake becomes covered in blooming algae. Then, we shift to whale hunting. Robin's grandmother, Griff -- easily the best character in a book full of bratty teenagers, but then again, I'm old -- has rediscovered an old boyfriend named Finn. Finn and Griff used to do all sorts of Earth saving things together, until they broke up and she got married. Now he travels the high seas stopping Japanese whale hunters. Somehow, Griff manages to take two teenage girls on a save-the-whales trip. And Robin complains the whole time because she misses McCoy.
The whale saving stuff is great, and Griff and Finn are pretty adorable. Robin plays the role of bratty teen pretty well, but she learns her lesson in the end. I can hardly complain that a book aimed at teen girls doesn't always appeal to my (very) late 20s tastes. But it does a pretty good job of entertaining them anyway.
Besides the drama over McCoy, the novel's main focus is environmental, of course. First there's a lesson on global warming, as Robin's beautiful little lake becomes covered in blooming algae. Then, we shift to whale hunting. Robin's grandmother, Griff -- easily the best character in a book full of bratty teenagers, but then again, I'm old -- has rediscovered an old boyfriend named Finn. Finn and Griff used to do all sorts of Earth saving things together, until they broke up and she got married. Now he travels the high seas stopping Japanese whale hunters. Somehow, Griff manages to take two teenage girls on a save-the-whales trip. And Robin complains the whole time because she misses McCoy.
The whale saving stuff is great, and Griff and Finn are pretty adorable. Robin plays the role of bratty teen pretty well, but she learns her lesson in the end. I can hardly complain that a book aimed at teen girls doesn't always appeal to my (very) late 20s tastes. But it does a pretty good job of entertaining them anyway.
May 23, 2015
This is a cute story about two girls and their grandmother who rescue animals. I haven't read any other books in the series, but you can kind of figure out what they have done in the past. There is a strong environmental theme: anti-fracking, animal saving, focus on free-range meat or veganism. It was all done in a fairly simplistic way- so just enough for this age group. I never quite figured out how old the girls were supposed to be, but they seemed to be around 6th grade level and I'd also say that's the target audience for this book. I thought the whale watching trip was a great end for the story, even if it didn't seem realistic at all. There was also a running story line of one of the girls having a crush on a boy at her school. At times it was a bit too much and made her seem like a spoiled, whiny brat. If it wasn't for this I would give it a solid 4, but as it stands for me it's more of a 3.5.
May 25, 2015
I decided to download this book for my young niece who loves animals. She's a huge animal lover and I enjoy getting her books about animals that she will love to read. Saving Crazy was very interesting and I think that everyone can relate to this plot as it is something that probably has happened to every girl and her best friend. Robin and Zo-Zo have a crush on the same guy. This guy decides to pick Robin over Zo-Zo and Zo-Zo is very upset which leads to her ending the friendship. Robin's grandmother tries to get these 2 friends back together and takes them out on the ultimate adventure. My niece read this book in a day and said that it was very good! She wants to try more books from this author.
May 17, 2015
Robin and Zo-Zo are best friends who run an animal rescue organization from Robin’s home. McCoy is a new boy in town comes in between them as he helps out at the shelter and falls for Robin. Local rescues lead to being on board a whale rescue ship. The girls learn to put their differences aside and focus on what is important.
I appreciated the eco adventure aspect of this book and the message about our responsibility to take care of the planet. This is also a coming of age novel and I felt the main character’s obsession with the new boy in town was a distraction. Tween girls will likely enjoy this book because of the love interest and friendship drama.
I appreciated the eco adventure aspect of this book and the message about our responsibility to take care of the planet. This is also a coming of age novel and I felt the main character’s obsession with the new boy in town was a distraction. Tween girls will likely enjoy this book because of the love interest and friendship drama.
May 23, 2015
Enjoyed discovering The Wild Place Adventure series through this book, knowing that it will just fly off our shelves once we have it in our Primary library. In addition to being a great environmental adventure, Saving Crazy is a beautiful coming of age story as Robin tries to find out who she is and having the courage to be exactly that person instead of trying to be someone else . The story shows how friendships get tested and tried, especially when first crushes are brought into the equation. I know that many middle grade readers will easily relate to what the characters are experiencing.
(ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Dundurn Press.)
(ARC kindly provided by NetGalley and Dundurn Press.)
May 29, 2015
Saving Crazy is a great young adult read. I love the environmental theme in this book. It's expressed in so many ways throughout the story.
I believe this is the third book in the series so I will have to go back and read the others but I felt like this was a stand alone because the story was full and complete.
This is a outstanding story of self-discovery, coming of age and what it means to be a friend. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to younger readers. It's well-written and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Robin is a great girl that you root for from the very beginning. You really want to see her get it right.
I believe this is the third book in the series so I will have to go back and read the others but I felt like this was a stand alone because the story was full and complete.
This is a outstanding story of self-discovery, coming of age and what it means to be a friend. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to younger readers. It's well-written and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Robin is a great girl that you root for from the very beginning. You really want to see her get it right.
May 27, 2015
I read this book with my sister and found this to be an entertaining read, especially for younger readers who are reading chapter books and who love animals. The story and the characters are all really lively, and the entertainment value of the book is also mixed in with some really important information about wildlife conservation. I think any kid can easily enjoy this--my sister certainly did! I'm also pretty excited to see that there are other books in this series. Next time my sister is bored, I'll just be handing her one of these.
May 28, 2015
My teenager has found a new favorite book/series! This is a great one for her to love because it is really entertaining, but also has great information and a strong message about the environment! It's about these two 12 year olds girls who run a wild animal shelter together, and their friendship is almost ruined because a boy gets between them. The girls end up going on a high seas adventure to the Southern Ocean to save whales! I actually ended up reading it myself since my daughter loved it so much, and it really is great! Lots of adventure and fun!
June 13, 2016
The third book in the series is just as good as the first two. Robin and Zo-Zo are best friends only this time around, they are fighting over the same love interest. It threatens to destroy their friendship until Gramma Griff intervenes with an offer to go to Australia and sail aboard the Sea Shepherd. The novel's strength is the realistic relationships between the characters. Robin is the heroine, yet she is full of self doubt, the drama surrounding the love interest is totally believable. Recommended for tween with an interest in environmental issues.
May 6, 2015
This series never ceases to amaze me. I love everything about tit. I love that the author is making the reader aware of issues in the world without ramming it down your throat. I also like how she tied it into the story. I love these characters and everything about the series. I seriously cant wait to read more. I have a few unanswered questions by the end of this one that I hope will be answered in the next story.
August 1, 2015
This is a book that would make a great teen book club read, or if you have a friend that is being crazy over a boy, you could give them this book. I was happy that Robin came to her senses at that end of the book. It is sad how many friendships can be lost over a boy, that will most likely dump them. This book is a reminder that if you have to worry about going away for a little bit and will he be with someone else when I get back, that he isn't worth it.
July 7, 2015
I received a copy of this from the publisher.
Oh to be young and in love again. This was really cute. I think it is a wonderful coming of age story for younger readers. It beautifully captures a moment in life where eveything seems like the biggest decision you will ever make and the most important thing ever. I really liked the main character and would recommend this to young girls.
Oh to be young and in love again. This was really cute. I think it is a wonderful coming of age story for younger readers. It beautifully captures a moment in life where eveything seems like the biggest decision you will ever make and the most important thing ever. I really liked the main character and would recommend this to young girls.
September 18, 2014
Continuing the stories of Robin and Zo-Zo with boys and whales this time. Both irrepressible spirits.
June 27, 2015
I really like the storyline. I didn't like Zo - Zo and the writing could've been better.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews