Review - Wunderkids Part 1: Wildwood Academy

Wunderkids Part 1: Wildwood Academy by Jacqueline Silvester

Published 21st July 2017 by Lonewolf Press

Goodreads Challenge - 1/75

Star Rating - ****

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

15-year-old Nikka is invited to attend Wildwood Academy, a prestigious but secret boarding school for talented youth located deep in the Californian mountains. Once there, Nikka quickly falls in love with her bizarre classes, the jaw-dropping scenery and... two very different boys.

However, Wildwood Academy has a dark and twisted secret, one that could cost Nikka the one thing she had never imagined she could lose, the one thing that money can’t buy. It is this very thing that Wildwood Academy was created to steal.

Nikka can stay and lose everything, or she can risk death and run. 

My Thoughts

So this was my first read of 2018 and I feel like I definitely started the year as I mean to go on. When I was first offered a copy of this book I read the synopsis and I knew it would be something that I would enjoy. To be honest, when I first started reading it I realized it wasn't what I was expecting. From the initial synopsis I thought there was going to be elements of fantasy in this novel but that wasn't the case. Small elements of sci-fi maybe but definitely no fantasy. It actually turned out to be more of a YA mystery/thriller but that was fine, I enjoy this genre and I enjoyed this book.

I thought this story was written really well. It was fast paced and easy to follow. That being said the writing wasn't simple, there was adequate description and character development, I felt fully immersed in this world and the story within it. You didn't find out too much in the beginning, there are hints of whats to come and I often found myself thinking maybe this has something to do with it. Every element of the story was part of something bigger and I enjoyed how all of these aspects fitted together. I kept getting vibes that something 'odd' was going on and I was intrigued throughout. By 75% of the way through I felt fully invested in the story and I stayed up late to find out what was happening. There were definitely some 'oh my god!' moments.

I loved all of the characters in their own way. They each had their own personality traits that made them unique and I loved them for it. Nikka was overly loyal to the people she loved, always thinking of others, especially her mum. She was also very strong willed and didn't just give up or give in. Sums was completely adorable and an absolute genius. He's someone I would really want to be friends with. Stella made me laugh, she seemed shallow on the outside but there was more too her, she tried hard to do what was right. Tristan just exuded that boyish charm that everyone loved, it was hard to stay mad at him and Izaya was so slick. He came across as a player but once you got to know him you see that there's more deep down. I also found the Dean really creepy right from the offset and this set the scene well. The only thing I didn't feel was necessary that the love triangle. It wasn't shoved in your face but it was always there in the background. I didn't feel it was necessary.

Overall I really enjoyed this story, even though it wasn't what I was expecting when I went into it. I suppose you could say it has some tropey YA elements like the love triangle, exclusive school with the creepy headmaster and an unlikely friendship group but I felt that they were mostly handled well. I'm looking forward to continuing on with the story and I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.

Overall Rating