ParentsPick

Wild Things — Content Guide for Parents

By Clay CarmichaelHighlights PressISBN 9781590786277241 pages
Wild Things

Found in this book

  • ViolenceBrief
  • Scary contentBrief
  • ReligionBriefChristian
  • Sexual contentBrief

Not found

  • Race & culture
  • Climate
  • Gender roles
  • Gender & orientation

Couldn't confirm

  • Profanity
  • Profanity: None of the sources say anything about swear words in the book's text.

Content themes

Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.

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Summaries and source quotes for every theme.

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Example theme card

Religion

PRESENT

Contains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.

About this book

A headstrong girl. A stray cat. A wild boy. A man who plays with fire. Eleven-year-old Zoë trusts no one. Her father left before she was born. At the death of her irresponsible mother, Zoë goes to live with her uncle, former surgeon and famed metal sculptor Dr. Henry Royster. She's sure Henry will fail her as everyone else has. Reclusive since his wife's death, Henry takes Zoë to Sugar Hill, North Carolina, where he welds sculptures as stormy as his moods. Zoë and Henry have much in common: brains, fiery and creative natures, and badly broken hearts. Zoë confronts small-town prejudice with a quick temper. She warms to Henry's odd but devoted friends, meets a mysterious teenage boy living wild in the neighboring woods, and works to win the trust of a feral cat while struggling to trust in anyone herself. In this ALA Notable Children's Book and Kirkus Reviews Best Children's Book of the Year, Zoë's questing spirit leads her to uncover the wild boy's identity, lay bare a local lie, and begin to understand the true power of Henry's art. Then one decisive night, she and the boy risk everything in a reckless act of heroism.

I'd hoped for better, Henry's being a heart doctor. A job like that, you'd think he might actually have a heart.
As usual, I pushed the cart down the aisle myself, taking what I needed off the shelves, the new grown-up as useless as those before him. Negative help, as Mama's friend Manny used to say, negative being less than none. No big deal. Grocery shopping and I were old friends, along with toilet scrubbing, vacuuming, and wash.
Said grown-up--my before-last-Monday-never-heard-of Uncle Henry--trailed behind, ... alternating between keeping five or six paces back like I was contagious and breathing down my neck in the unlikely event I needed him for something. I wondered why he'd claimed me at all. --FROM THE BOOK

Frequently asked questions

  • Is Wild Things appropriate for a 7-year-old?

    The wild boy storyline involves an armed stand-off, and the mayor, his son and a tame white deer are caught up in events with almost fatal consequences. The climax involves an armed stand-off and a night of risky heroism, with a deer in near-fatal danger.

  • Does Wild Things have violence?

    Found (Brief): The wild boy storyline involves an armed stand-off, and the mayor, his son and a tame white deer are caught up in events with almost fatal consequences.

  • Does Wild Things have scary content?

    Found (Brief): The climax involves an armed stand-off and a night of risky heroism, with a deer in near-fatal danger.

  • Does Wild Things have religion?

    Found (Brief, Christian): One of Henry's friends is a local priest called the Padre, who is described as loving and tolerant, and one reader feels the book is negative toward God.

  • Does Wild Things have race & culture?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Wild Things have profanity?

    Couldn't confirm: None of the sources say anything about swear words in the book's text.

  • Does Wild Things have climate?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Wild Things have sexual content?

    Found (Brief): A content-rating review notes Zoë's mother is spoken of as promiscuous and had abusive boyfriends, with no detail given.

  • Does Wild Things have gender roles?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

  • Does Wild Things have gender & orientation?

    Not found in the sources we checked.

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