Wild Children by Richard Roberts

How many of you have watched Pinocchio (the Disney version?). Do you remember that for a good bit of the movie Pinocchio was half donkey and half um, puppet? Well, this was the image that popped into mind when I read the descriptions of the Wild Children.

The Wild Children are part animal, part child. Sometimes, they're almost all animal, and sometimes they're almost all child. They can be many things too, such as Donkey, Wolf, Dove and even mythical ones like Unicorn. They seem to come about by different ways too - one village has a strange fountain of wild-ness, one city goes underground, and some just occur.

The book itself is split into Five "Acts" and a Denouement  Act I also has two "Scenes", which all means that there are seven chapters in total. The difference between the Acts is that each Act revolves around a different Wild Child. The only connecting thread between them is that a Donkey Girl called Hind appears in every chapter. And as you read more and more, you realise that the real star of the story is Hind.

Either her, or Bray (she also appears in more than one Act).

Now I haven't given away a spoiler(;

What I love about the book is the discussion about the Wild Children. The trials itself was ok, but I did like the discussion about whether the Wild Children were evil and a temptation, or angels (especially for dove children) or even just kids given a second chance. Almost every character has a different opinion and no definitive answer is ever given.

Apart from this, there's also a very interesting narrative of the discrimination against the Wild Children. It really makes you visualise why people who look different are often discriminated against.

The only thing I didn't like was that Bray instantly fell in love with a side character in one chapter. I wish it didn't happen, because it didn't feel like Bray. Why squeeze in a romance?

But overall, it's a good book. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for an enchanting read.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.