5 Reasons to Try This Lyrical, Fierce YA Novel: "Wake the Wild Creatures" by Nova Ren Suma

In Wake the Wild Creatures, #1 New York Times bestselling author Nova Ren Suma makes her long-awaited return with a novel that's poetic, powerful, and emotionally fraught. Set deep in the Catskills and cloaked in mist and mystery, this story of freedom, betrayal, and a fractured mother-daughter bond is as unsettling as it is lyrical.

This isn’t your typical YA novel—it's moodier, more abstract, and deeply character-driven. While the writing and premise are breathtaking, the characters, particularly the cold dynamic between the protagonist and her mother, left me emotionally disconnected. I wanted to love this book more than I did. Still, there's no denying its literary merit and bold themes.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers and the author for the book and my honest review. This book tour is sponsored by TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

Scroll down to read my Top 5 Reasons to Read Wake the Wild Creatures:

Title: Wake the Wild Creatures

Author: Nova Ren Suma

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Book Tour: TBR and Beyond Tours

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3 out of 5 stars)

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Book Buy Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Synopsis:

Already one of the most acclaimed novels of 2025, this extraordinary, timely, and must-read novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Nova Ren Suma explores young women’s freedom and rage as Talia plots her way back to her hidden mountaintop home after her mother’s arrest for murder.​

I reached the clearing with the seven white pines and stopped to get my breath back. The mist filled my lungs, peppery and also sweet, and momentum pushed me forward. Giddy, I dropped into a bed of moss, soft and slick in spots, and rolled in it, howled for no reason, felt close to an understanding of some kind, as if an eye inside me was peeling open. It was the first full moon after I turned thirteen, and I knew that whatever happened in this next stretch of hours would change me forever after.

I wasn’t wrong.

Three years ago, Talia lived happily in the ruins of the Neves, a once-grand hotel in the wilds of the Catskill Mountains, with her mother Pola and their community of like-minded women. Some came to the Neves to escape cruel men, others to hide from the law, but all found safety and connection in their haven high above civilization, cloaked by a mysterious mist that kept intruders away. But as their numbers grew, complications followed, and everything came crashing down the night electric lights pierced the forest. Uniformed men arrested Pola, calling her a murderer and a fugitive, and Talia was taken away. 

Now sixteen, Talia has been forced to live with family she barely knows and fit into a world scarred by misogyny, capitalism, disconnection from nature . . . everything the women of the Neves stood against. She has one to return to the Neves. But as Talia awaits a signal from her mother, questions arise. Who betrayed her community, and what is she avoiding about her own role in its collapse? Is it truly magic that keeps the hotel so hidden? And what does it mean to embrace being her mother’s daughter? With the help of an unexpected ally, Talia must find her way to answers, face a mother who’s often kept her at arm’s length, and try to reach the refuge she lost—if the mist hasn’t swallowed her path home.

Fierce and lyrical, unsettling and tender, Wake the Wild Creatures marks the long-awaited return of one of the most distinctive voices in young adult literature. 

Content Warning: arrest of a parent, misogyny

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My Top 5 Reasons to Read "Wake the Wild Creatures" by Nova Ren Suma

🌫️ 1. A Haunting, Atmospheric Setting

The ruins of the Neves hotel, hidden in the Catskill Mountains and veiled by a magical mist, offer one of the most compelling settings in recent YA novel. It’s eerie, remote, and richly drawn. The setting is not just a backdrop—it’s a living part of the story, filled with echoes of a lost sanctuary where women once came to find safety and freedom from a hostile world. If you're a fan of vivid, moody locations that feel almost sentient, you'll love how this one wraps around you like fog.

🔥 2. Rage, Resistance, and Reclamation

Talia’s story is steeped in themes of feminist resistance, generational trauma, and a fierce longing for self-definition. After her mother, Pola, is arrested and accused of murder, Talia is forced into a world that embodies everything her mountaintop community stood against: misogyny, capitalism, and emotional disconnection. Her journey becomes one of survival, reclamation, and wrestling with the question: Can we ever go home again? For readers drawn to stories about rebellion and reclaiming one’s power, this is a worthy pick.

✍️ 3. The Writing Is Simply Stunning

Nova Ren Suma’s prose is what makes this book sing. Her use of metaphors and similes is masterful—lush, literary, and filled with emotional resonance. Even when I found myself emotionally distanced from the characters, the language kept pulling me back. The book reads like something from a Nobel Prize-winning author—each line crafted with poetic precision. This is the kind of writing that demands to be savored.

🧊 4. A Challenging Read—In Both Good and Hard Ways

Here’s where my personal experience comes in: I struggled with how emotionally cold the main character and her mother felt. Their relationship is intentionally distant, but that distance made it difficult for me to stay invested. I wanted to care about Talia’s journey more than I actually did. As much as I admired the storytelling, I didn’t connect to her emotionally, and that disconnect eventually led me to stop reading before the end. Still, the themes and craft earned this book a solid three stars for me. It’s not an easy read—but that might be exactly the point.

🌀 5. A Book That Lingers

Even though I didn’t finish the book, Wake the Wild Creatures hasn’t left my mind. That says something. The misty hotel in the mountains, the fierce undercurrent of rage and magic, the heartbreak of betrayal—it all stays with you. This is a book that challenges its readers, that raises questions about memory, loyalty, and what it means to belong. It may not offer tidy resolutions, but it definitely provokes reflection.

Final Thoughts

Wake the Wild Creatures isn’t for everyone—but for the reader looking for something bold, moody, and gorgeously written, it just might be unforgettable. It explores freedom, rage, and fractured identity with a literary style that's rare in YA fiction. While the emotional chill between characters made it a tough read for me personally, I still appreciate the power of what Nova Ren Suma created.

If you’re drawn to haunting atmospheres, poetic language, and feminist themes, this is a story that deserves a spot on your TBR.

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Meet the author:

Nova Ren Suma

Nova Ren Suma is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling and #1 Indie Next Pick The Walls Around Us as well as A Room Away from the Wolves, both finalists for an Edgar Award, among other acclaimed novels. She was co-editor of the story & craft anthology FORESHADOW: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading & Writing YA, and her own short stories appear in various anthologies. She is a MacDowell fellow, a Yaddo fellow, and has taught creative writing at the University of Pennsylvania and Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in the Hudson Valley and now lives in Philadelphia. Her new novel Wake the Wild Creatures is forthcoming from Little, Brown in May 2025.

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