Nova Ren Suma: "Wake the Wild Creatures"

Title: Wake the Wild Creatures [on Amazon | on Goodreads]
Series: None
Author: Nova Ren Suma [Site | Goodreads]
Genres: Contemporary with a Twist
Year: 2025
Age: 14+
Stars: 4.5/5
Pros: Unique twist on the all-female-commune trope. Relatable, compelling protagonist. Atmospheric, gorgeous writing. 
Cons: The now-and-then structure may confuse some readers. Some details aren't addressed or explained.
WARNING! Sexual assault (mostly off-page; one instance on page, but not overly graphic). Death of a minor and an adult (off-page/not graphic). Arson. A prison scene.
Will appeal to: Those who like a poetical yet fierce, dreamlike yet visceral approach to feminism.

Blurb: 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 goal: 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. (Amazon)

Review: Nova Ren Suma is back! Her previous book came out in 2018, go figure - seven years is an eternity in book industry. Suma shared her writing and publishing journey for Wake the Wild Creatures in a series of interviews and newsletters, and for a number of reasons, that journey was a hard, yet ultimately exhilarating experience for her. One thing I can testify, though: she hasn't lost her touch. 

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

Nova Ren Suma could never produce a bad book - or even an average one. And regardless of the content (I'll get to that in a minute), I mean it on a sentence and atmosphere level. All her stories are a masterclass in writing, though they remain accessible and avoid purple spikes (also, she knows how to write a first chapter that makes you want to read what comes next...WTWC and The Walls Around Us are a hard testament to that). All her stories drip with ambiance to the point that you can not only see, but almost taste and smell the places she describes - which is all the more true with a narrative where nature is front and center, and almost a character in itself, like this one. And she never fails to use her writing gift to create vibrant protagonists - all young women - and give them a voice that feels natural and a perspective that feels both believable and something you can get behind (or at least understand), even when you and those characters don't exactly see eye to eye. So, what I mean is, on the writing front this book is impeccable, and a thing to be savoured and revered in equal measure, and main character Talia's voice - as a kid, at 13, at 16 - is spot-on, conveying the innocence of someone who's grown up in an isolated, all-women enclave while at the same time (and for that very reason) allowing her to make insightful remarks about "civilization"'s flaws and all the ways it can fail (or more like vilify) the female gender. [...]

COMING OF RAGE

On the content front, WTWC is yet another unapologetic, and at the same time compassionate, look at the female experience, but with a sharper edge than Suma's previous books (though it reminded me a little of The Walls Around Us - again - in that respect). The Neves isn't just a women-only community: it's a refuge for women seeking escape from the men who hurt them, and in some cases, for women who hurt those men in return when the law failed to protect them. The fact is, some of those women have killed to vindicate themselves or to save their loved ones, and they're willing to kill again if that's what it takes to defend their sanctuary. That's just the peak of the iceberg though, because life at the Neves isn't a sort of pastoral dream come true. On the other hand, the theme of found family/women coming together (both at the Neves and for what concerns the unexpected ally Talia finds when she's sent to live with her aunt) and the magical realism aspect (with a dash of magical thinking) give the story a soothing, hopeful vibe, if with a bittersweet undertone and despite an impending sense of danger. Yes, these characters are messy (even Talia's biased perspective can testify to that), and there's an argument to be made for their commune being its own kind of captivity, but in a world where men can hurt women in a million ways and never pay the price, the Neves is the best option some of them have - at least for a while.

A WOMAN'S PLACE

There are a few aspects of WTWC that gave me pause, though they don't undermine the message and the overall vibe of the story. First off, I understand that, in order to make a point about female freedom and self-determination (or lack thereof), the men in this book need to be despicable - or forgettable at best, as it's the case with Talia's father (who seems to have been nothing more than a casual sperm donor). Then again, with the exception of another inconsequential male character, they're all predators (there's a third potential exception, but he's in league with one of the predators, so...). I also wonder if the women coming to the Neves are supposed to only seek asylum there if they have daughters, while the place will shield itself from them if they have sons - what if a mother of a male kid (or a woman pregnant with what will turn out to be a son) needed a place where an abusive partner couldn't reach her? Is it a coincidence that the only youngsters at the Neves are female? And what about, say, non-binary individuals? (though to be fair, one of the characters is a trans woman). Also, though the author doesn't sugarcoat life at the Neves, she sort of skirts some issues - apart from growing their own food (or some of it), how do the women get hold of clothes, medicines or other stuff? do they steal? do they beg? and doesn't any of them ever need a hospital? Moreover, there are a few loose ends regarding the members of the community - especially the most recent one, involved in a tragic accident whose ramifications should cause a commotion in the outside world - though I guess magic is still supposed to shroud them as long as they don't do something to break the spell. Lastly, while the ending is all the more powerful because of a certain series of circumstances, it's a bit difficult to believe that the community's members would make certain choices. Regardless, I found WTWC to be a timely, fierce yet tender, sad yet hopeful, exquisitely written testament to women's strength and resilience, a though-provoking look at feminist utopia (with a dash of magic), and an ode to female solidarity across all divides. As I said, Suma hasn't lost her touch, and I can only hope she won't have us waiting another seven years for her next book...

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