“You’re Dara,” the boy said. “I’m Cade.”

As far as retellings go, this is one of the most imaginative ones I’ve read. I was really curious as to how the author would manage to create a modern-day Tarzan; Alex Mallory did such an amazing job!

Cade has lived all his life in the woods. That’s the only life he knows, when he rescues Dara from a bear attack, he’s suddenly brought back to the “real world”.

I think the most interesting part of all of this was seeing Cade be introduced to everything. Seeing him discover escalators, and how to use an iPhone was both curious and thought provoking. Cade lived all his life without these things, so how is it that now he has to know how to use them? I loved seeing him discover what he “was missing” all this time.

What’s most refreshing about this book is the fact that it doesn’t revolve around the romance. It’s about so much more than that. Dara & Cade are curious about each other, but that’s all it is. Their relationship progresses slowly but smoothly and I loved seeing it! It was a slow burn and so cute! :3

This book was written in third person and yet it was so easy to connect to all the characters. I understood Dara and her love for photography, Cade and his confusion as to why his life was so “controversial”; I even understood Dara’s parents and why they didn’t seem to trust Cade at first.

This book also has wonderful family dynamics and I loved seeing Dara’s family interacting with Cade! It was so funny and awkward. No one knew how to react to this “wilderness boy” and it was so entertaining.

I think my only complaint is that sometimes there were some unnecessary parts. The story felt too long, and I guess some parts could’ve been cut out because they didn’t contribute much to the story.

Nevertheless, I had a really great love for the ending! It was open ended, but resolved.

I don’t know how to explain it! I felt like I already knew what happened with the story even if we weren’t explicitly told.

Overall this is a modern retelling that you should definitely read. Alex Mallory does a great job at bringing one of my favourite Disney movies to a book. ( )

This was an interesting update to the Tarzan story. Cade's backstory was actually believable for the modern age. The pacing was a little slow and Cara could be shallow at times, but overall I enjoyed this read. ( )

I admit I’ve never been a Tarzan fan but I’ve had such great luck with retellings and so I decided I wanted to read Wild by Alex Mallory. I loved the way Alex modernized Tarzan because it all made sense. Strange but something that could actually happen. I thought that was very creative. I loved the way that Cade was discovered and how he ended up back in the modern world. I also really liked the ending. Everything fit well together.

Cade is my favorite part of this book. His character is so interesting and I love that even though he has a Tarzan vibe he’s not raised by wild animals. I love this modern twist on the character and it made me really like the story. He has basic knowledge of the world but for him coming out of the woods is like entering his own version of Wonderland. His parents had lied to him about most things. They told him the world had been wiped out and now he has to deal with the fact that they have lied to him as well as how to live with this new realization. So much character development!

Dara is a stubborn and curious girl. She has grown up with her father running the sheriffs office so of course some of it is inherited. I liked that she dedicated herself to helping Cade even if it made her reckless at times. It’s kind of like she felt lost but then found her purpose.

I was getting so ticked at the Police Department, seriously you are more focused on your lunch then a tip about a boy that has made national headlines. Come on. All those people should be fired. Seriously I was yelling at them in my head.

I loved the relationships in this book. The fact that Dara and Josh are falling apart and that Dara and Cade are building up. Sofia’s friendship with Dara that turns into friendship with Cade. Even the strained relationship between Dara and her sister Lia. There were so many different types of relationships represented in the book. It made it even more interesting to read.

Ya there is romance but it’s subtle and sweet. It develops throughout the book. No dying love proclaimed an instant. More attraction develops out of fascination. Then we move through the stages.

Like I mentioned I really liked the plot and how things played out. Cade is indeed a man of mystery but not just to the world but to himself too. I liked how we go along with the process of finding out who he really is along with the characters. There is nothing I like more than a little mystery.

So for a retelling I thought this was very creative and a good read. If you are looking for an updated version of Tarzan, I would recommend Wild.

A modern day twist on the Tarzan tale for teens and adults alike. Cleverly executed, the story will engage readers as they rush to find out the full story of the "primitive boy." Dara and her boyfriend Josh decide to skip Florida for their senior spring break and spend some quality alone time camping in the middle of a national park. All goes well until Dara gets the uneasy feeling that they're not alone, because get this, they're not. Cade has always lived in the woods. His parents escaped from the world and raised their son in the world away from the contamination and disease of humans. When Cade's parents die he continued to live in the forest without them because he didn't know any better. But now that he's seen Dara he is so full of questions. "He's from the woods. She's from the world." is the tagline. And it pretty much summarizes the entire story.

It wasn't incredibly fast paced and lagged in the middle, but it was a new take on an old tale so that was cool. Also, I would have liked to see some better resolution with Dara's boyfriend at the end (rather than nothingness), but oh well. In all likelihood, most reader's will likely forget all about Josh when they start to imagine how hot primitive boy Caleb is:

"Someone had bought him jeans that fit, and his T-shirt clung to his still damp skin. Tied into an intricate knot, his dreads kissed the back of his neck. His skin was paler, all the grim scrubbed away. But he was still golden-brown and keen-eyed. It's just now that he looked like he walked out of an H&M ad."

Overall, imaginative fun summer read. Great for teens and fans of Tarzan or primitive living. ( )

I decided to review SEARCHING FOR SKY and WILD together because they both are attempting to tell the same story, that of a “wild child” taken from the only home they’ve ever known and thrust into civilization by well-meaning “rescuers.” Though they differ greatly from each other in some aspects, both Searching for Sky and Wild hit and miss many of the same targets.

READ THE FULL REVIEW AT: http://www.shaelit.com/2014/07/joint-review-searching-for-sky-by-jillian-cantor-... ( )