The Wild One

A Novel

By: Colleen McKeegan

Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky

Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

“Addictive from its first pages, Colleen McKeegan’s The Wild One mines all the complexities and darkness of young women in the battleground of summer camp, fashioning a riveting tale of secrets, shame and a harrowing reckoning.”—New York Times bestselling author Megan Abbott

“I couldn't put down this smart and astute page-turning debut. Colleen McKeegan has beautifully crafted a narrative that explores the ways trauma and societal expectations shape the women we become. The engaging prose and razor-sharp twists and turns will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the very last page.”—Jo Piazza, internationally bestselling author of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win and We Are Not Like Them

In this dark and twisted coming-of-age thriller, a deadly childhood secret that binds three young women threatens to destroy their lives.

Amanda Brooks is a born-and-bred New Yorker with an envious life: she’s in a great graduate school program, lives in a cozy Tribeca apartment, and is head-over-heels for her handsome, committed boyfriend. But Amanda’s life isn’t as picture perfect as it seems. For over a decade she’s been hiding a dark secret—a secret that goes back to that summer at Camp Catalpa when a man died in the woods. Fellow campers Catherine and Meg were there too, and in the years since, not one of them has ever spoken about what happened that day.

Until Amanda slips—and the truth threatens to explode the tightly controlled façade of her life.

When her past begins to poison her present, threatening her relationship, Amanda has no one to turn to except the two women who know her most monstrous self. Reuniting with Catherine and Meg one last time, Amanda is desperate to put the demons of that twisted summer to rest.

But when trusting anyone, even one another, starts to feel like a wildly risky proposition, just how far will these three go to keep the truth from emerging—and their lives from unraveling?

©2022 Colleen McKeegan (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Addictive from its first pages, Colleen McKeegan's The Wild One mines all the complexities and darkness of young women in the battleground of summer camp, fashioning a riveting tale of secrets, shame and a harrowing reckoning."—New York Times bestselling author Megan Abbott

"I couldn't put down this smart and astute page-turning debut. Colleen McKeegan has beautifully crafted a narrative that explores the ways trauma and societal expectations shape the women we become. The engaging prose and razor-sharp twists and turns will keep readers on the edges of their seats until the very last page."—Jo Piazza, internationally bestselling author of Charlotte Walsh Likes to Win and We Are Not Like Them

Total nostalgia!

This book is everything! My childhood mixed up with a dramatic twist. Imagination, romantic, even horror.

Excellent!!

Wow what a story! So good. Highly recommend. Somehow the author captured all of my inner thoughts. The narrator was absolutely brilliant. One of the best narration I’ve heard.

Great story. Loved it !

I found myself thinking about the book when i wasn’t listening , that’s how i know it’s good.

A 2 rating is generous

I only gave it a 2 because the narrator was great. Not sure if I’ll give this author another chance or not. I really don’t need every single thing described in such over the top detail…it was like the entire book was a ghost story. I get that the book needed to go back and forth to give us perspective, but I really didn’t need so much of the tween drama. I guess this book just wasn’t for me.