Official Review: Beasts and Savages by Emma Woods

[MatthewAlexander]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Beasts and Savages" by Emma Woods.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Beasts and Savages by Emma Woods tells a story of a society dominated by females—so much so that men are completely outcast, sent to live in male-only villages and referred to as “savages”. Lea Corre is the youngest member of a family of strong female hunters. When her time comes to hunt, she realizes that she cannot do what her family expects of her, that she cannot hunt at all. Her decision to run backfires when she becomes prisoner of a male tribe who is fed up with the ritual of sacrificing themselves to the women that left them outcast. There, Lea learns more about family then she ever did at home, and comes to find that the male “savages” aren’t nearly as savage as she’d always been taught. Through relatability and diversion from the typical young adult tropes, Woods created a captivating story; that isn’t to say, though, that it didn’t have its flaws.

Woods was extremely successful in the telling of this story. As a woman, I found the ideas in this story very relatable; for example, the themes of aging, puberty, and pregnancy. Not only was the story relatable, but it was interesting. Too often, young adult books that touch on dystopian society showcase male dominance; the female dominated society was very refreshing.

I also enjoyed how Woods kept Beasts and Savages from sounding too much like every other young adult book. While Lea, the main character, did have something unique about her that set her apart from the rest of the girls, it was something attainable by the other girls, thus avoiding the “special snowflake” cliché. I was also worried that Beasts and Savages would ruin itself by making a teenage romance the center of attention. While there was some romance, it wasn’t the main issues at any point in the story; there was no love triangle and Lea didn’t lose sight of her goals because of it. These things set Beasts and Savages apart from other young adult fiction.

Despite all of its good, the book did have its flaws. For one, there were a few parts in the book where the transition from one point to another wasn’t clear. These moments left me disoriented, causing the flow in an otherwise fast-paced, easy read to be broken. A reader should never be left wondering if they missed something because of a lack of transition in time which could have been added in easily with just a few sentences, or even a few words.

Another problem I found was some awkward phrasing—especially, with the use, or lack thereof, contractions. I know in formal writing contractions are something to avoid, but in a work of fiction sometimes you’re better off using them. This is especially the case when writing dialogue. A sudden “we are” when the less formal “we’re” could’ve been used comes off really awkwardly. I could have overlooked this once or twice, but it was a consistent problem throughout the book.

The final problem I had with Beasts and Savages] were the simple errors. None of them were things that weren’t easily picked out in one read through; I caught several the first time I read it. One or two mistakes throughout a book is forgivable—expected, even—but more than that and it becomes an annoyance that cannot be ignored. For example, there was an instance when Woods meant to write “our”, but wrote “out” instead, and another when she had “me” where it should have said “my”. Little things like that are capable of jarring a reader out of their zone and leaving them feeling annoyed: it had that effect on me, at least.

Despite these flaws, I give Beasts and Savages 3 out of 4 stars. The plot line was refreshing, focusing on something new and avoiding young adult tropes. It was a fast paced, easy read that I would love to award four stars to, but the flaws that it does have prevent me from doing so. Still, I would recommend this to anyone interested in young adult fiction, particularly girls, as the book deviates from typical male dominated dystopian societies. This book was a great read, and I personally cannot wait for the sequel—I only hope Woods pays more attention to her grammar and phrasing next time.

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Beasts and Savages
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Like glitterywords483's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Sarah Penney]

First off, great review! It sounds like it was an interesting book with a lot of possible hidden metaphors. Secondly, I greatly agree on your point about little errors in stories. It's almost sad to see errors when you're reading a book because it pulls you away from the story and, not to mention, you can kind of know that the author would be inwardly kicking themselves if they had caught it before publication.

Anyway, once again, great review and also congrats to the author for publishing a book!

[kimmyschemy06]

Sounds very very interesting. For one, the premise sounds unique. Second, the protagonist does not sound like the usual damsel in distress and easily swayed type of character. Finally, I like it that romance is not the focus of the story. Great job on the review.

[JessiAnne26]

I really like that you were able to be constructive in your review, not letting the little errors destroy the whole story for you. I appreciate your synopsis as well, I don't think this is a book I'd like to read but I feel that you've given a really clear indication of what I could expect if I were to choose to read this book. Thank you for your time on this, it was a very helpful review.

[MatthewAlexander]

I really like that you were able to be constructive in your review, not letting the little errors destroy the whole story for you. I appreciate your synopsis as well, I don't think this is a book I'd like to read but I feel that you've given a really clear indication of what I could expect if I were to choose to read this book. Thank you for your time on this, it was a very helpful review.

Thank you! I always try to be constructive when reviewing, because no matter how many errors a book may have, the author still took time to put it together. When reviewing I think it's always important to point out things that can be fixed, instead of just tearing down things that the author can't help (like maybe if you didn't like the book because of the genre, you shouldn't have picked up the book; that isn't the authors fault).

Again, thank you, I appreciate the feedback.

[kitsune1997]

Fabulous review! I would love to read this book, it seems so interesting!