Wake the Wild Creatures
Shipping to the U.S. only. Please see our International FAQ for more information.
Preorder Item
This item is on Preorder, with an expected delivery date of May 06, 2025
Also available at
I reached the clearing...
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 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.
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.
Published By Algonquin Young Readers
Format Hardback
Category
Number Of Pages 384
Publication Date 05/06/2025
ISBN 9781616206727
Dimensions 5.5 inches x 8.25 inches
"Wake the Wild Creatures is a ferocious expression of girlhood, of its seething potential, its most wild and secret places, from one of our greatest and most inimitably talented authors writing today. This is an urgent, important, and timely outing that must not be missed and Nova Ren Suma's particular brand of magic has earned a place alongside--and is perfect for fans of--the works of Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates, and Kelly Link."
"Mesmerizing and fierce, vivid and dreamlike, WAKE THE WILD CREATURES is Nova Ren Suma's finest novel yet. I was enraptured from the first page to the last. Rarely has a novel made me think so deeply and so much about the confines of our lives and the expansive possibilities that might await us should we choose to trust our intuition and our own power to decide."
"A luminous, hard-eyed stare of a book, WAKE THE WILD CREATURES kicks open the cage girls are born into, and casts a powerful spell of rage and hope from which I emerged blinking and reluctant, wrapped in wistful magic, and longing for the forest. Nova Ren Suma can write."
"Timely and atmospheric, WAKE THE WILD CREATURES explores the meaning of community and the places we call home. Nova Ren Suma is a master storyteller, and one of my favorite novelists. This book is one long, lyrical poem. A must read for 2025!"
"Nova Ren Suma has done it again: WAKE THE WILD CREATURES is a visceral, stunningly written fever dream of a story. It wrapped itself around my throat and heart, and had me desperate for Talia to find her way home. This book is feral and magnificent and will leave you with scars."
"With WAKE THE WILD CREATURES, Nova Ren Suma’s singular talent is once again on full display. Talia, Pola, and Lake practically catch fire on the page. This is an inspiring, unsettling, and absolutely essential book about girls, the agents of their confinement — both physical and emotional — and their means of escape. Nova’s a genius, and I loved this book."
“Nova Ren Suma’s WAKE THE WILD CREATURES is raw, emotional, half-feral…but with delicate, stunning prose that tames the raging beast. A perfect balance.”
Sign up for our newsletter to get 15% off site-wide!
Signing up for our newsletter means you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.