Something Wild

A Novel

By: Hanna Halperin

Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

"Propulsive.... Good books sometimes cut to the bone, and this one feels like a scythe." (The New York Times Book Review)

"This wise, brilliant novel is so special, so overflowing with honesty and love - about motherhood, sisterhood, what it’s like to be a woman - that every paragraph feels like an epiphany. Hanna Halperin knows the fierce love that can exist especially among broken things. Something Wild moved me deeply." (Glennon Doyle, number one New York Times best-selling author of Untamed)

A searing novel about the love and contradictions of sisterhood, the intoxicating desires of adolescence, and the traumas that trap mothers and daughters in cycles of violence

One weekend, sisters Tanya and Nessa Bloom pause their respective adult lives and travel to the Boston suburbs to help their mother pack up and move out of their childhood home. For the first time since they were teenagers sharing a bunk bed over a decade ago, they find themselves in the place where long-kept secrets were born, where jealousy, comfort, anger, forgiveness, and repulsion coexist with the fiercest love and loyalty. What they don't expect is for their visit to expose a new, horrifying truth: their mother, Lorraine, is in a violent relationship.

As Tanya urges Lorraine to get a restraining order, Nessa struggles to reconcile her fondness for their stepfather with his capacity for brutality. Their differing responses to the abuse bring up the sisters' shared secret - a traumatic, unspoken experience from their adolescence has shaped their lives, their sense of selves, and their relationship with each other and the men in their life. In the midst of this family crisis, they have no choice but to reckon with the past and face each other in the present, in the hope that there's a way out of the violence so deeply ingrained in the Bloom family.

Told in alternating perspectives that deftly interweave past and present, Something Wild is a magnetic, unflinching portrait of the bond between sisters, as well as a psychologically acute exploration of the legacy of divorce, the ways trauma reverberates over generations, and how it might be possible to overcome the past.

©2021 Hanna Halperin (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

National Jewish Book Award Finalist for Debut Fiction

"Weaving between the past and the present of all three women, Something Wild creates a compelling, believable and upsetting portrayal of how trauma ripples through a family." (Scaachi Koul, The New York Times Book Review)

"Rarely has an author taken the time and demonstrated such honesty with the complexity of girls’ desire and how they act on it, how it can sour the sweetest relationship.... At a time when many novels rely on intricate plots or eccentric narrative voices, Something Wild eschews literary pyrotechnics and relies instead on the power of truth. We may not like what we see, but we know we’re being given an opportunity to change the way we look at sexual dynamics." (Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post)

"This wise, brilliant novel is so special, so overflowing with honesty and love - about motherhood, sisterhood, what it’s like to be a woman - that every paragraph feels like an epiphany. Hanna Halperin knows the fierce love that can exist especially among broken things. Something Wild moved me deeply." (Glennon Doyle, number one New York Times best-selling author of Untamed)

POWERFUL! HIDDEN GEM

I accidentally found out about this book at Barnes and Noble . It is a hidden gem! I am so glad I bought it and listened to the audio. It is a dark but powerful book that you will think about well after the book is over. I read it slow because I did not want it to end ! It is a MUST READ!

Depressing and disjointed

Good character development but too much trauma throughout. The story was not as cohesive as I wanted it to be and the ending was meh. Disappointing to have spent my time on this one!

A difficult and dark story but the book tells truth

If you want to understand the mental state of an abused woman, and the impact that abuse has on her children even after they are grown, read this book. Either the author has personal experience or has really done her research, or maybe both. This is not a psychological text. It is a rich and meaningful story, beautifully told and beautifully performed.

Unexpected and Gut Wrenching

Definitely not what I was expecting after reading the summary. I was nearly in tears for big portions of it. It’s so raw and draws you in. I would definitely say this is an adult read because of the content matter of the book.

Just so-so

I was disappointed - I couldn't connect withe these characters and the idea of "something wild" got lost.

So depressing

This is an awful book about abuse and sadness. It’s too much for me. I like happy books