Jack is angry at his mother. She is always busy with her work. She leaves messages on the fridge when she wants him to do something and is hardly ever home to do even that.

It used to be different. Jack didn’t notice how busy Mum was, because his father was always there to look after him. Now Dad is gone, and Jack has lost his anchor and he’s beginning to drift into trouble.

A gang has invited him to join them, and he enjoys the thrill of doing wrong. At least it makes him feel something – besides angry. Being asked to steal from a shop in order to prove himself doesn’t sit well with Jack, but steal he does, along with wagging school and smashing windows in derelict buildings.

His mum tries to break through his hardening shell, but he continues to shut her out.

It’s not until she tells him she has planned a holiday for them both. A break away from everything. But she lied, making Jack angry all over again. It’s a work trip and he feels like excess baggage. Soon they are in a long narrow canoe, motoring deep into rainforest, looking for a tribe who don’t want to be found.

There are caiman, piranhas, snakes, bullet ants (it feels like you’ve been shot if they bite you) and scorpions. All Jack can see are trees and more trees with dense jungle beneath them. Finally Jack learns what Mum has been doing all this time as he has been growing up safe at home.

Instead of stepping up to impress his gang mates, Jack has to step up to save lives, the rainforest changing him forever.

Jack isn’t a likeable character to begin with. The reason for his anger is unclear at first, but perfectly authentic along with his acting out with a group of boys looking for trouble. He tells his story from his point of view (1st person), and lets his anger fester, instead of telling his mother how he actually feels – again, authentic.

A complete change of scenery – city to deep rainforest, is what Jack needs to shake his anger free. When he realises others have lost loved ones and have moved on, in fact spending their lives helping others, he dials down his anger at his mother. Then the sudden possibility of losing her, shifts his focus off himself.

Wild is woven with themes of grief, empathy for others, illegal rainforest logging, and appreciating what you have.

Author – Ele Fountain

Age – 10+

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(2023, Pushkin Press, Grief, School, Vandalism, Wagging School, Gang, Crime, Acting Out, Angry, Anger, Anthropologist, Jungle, Illegal Logging, Friendship, Courage, Danger, Rainforest, River travel, Family, Environment, Indigenous Peoples)