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    Wild Child
    Wild Child
    Wild Child
    Ebook110 pages1 hour

    Wild Child

    By Mike Wells

    4/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Readers of Veronica Roth, Susanne Collins, George Orwell, and Stephen King will enjoy this dystopian thriller. Briana Fox is the wildest girl in school. She and Kyle have been close for a long time...almost lovers. But Kyle is afraid that if he pushes her, he'll have his heart broken and lose his best friend. When Briana challenges him to a swim across the lake, she's injured in a horrific accident, but she discovers a mysterious substance in an underwater cave that saves her life. What seems to be a magical yet harmless "power drug" invokes superhuman abilities, and Briana soon becomes dependent on it for her very survival. When two government agents learn of the discovery, they will stop at nothing to find the source and turn Briana into a human experiment. Is Kyle willing to risk everything to protect his love?

    Readers of all ages will enjoy this gripping, fast-paced story.

    Book blogger reviews:

    "Worth a serious read...incredibly gripping and heartwarming."
    - Halinor Everdeen Cipriano, Assortments

    "A fast, suspenseful thriller with an ending I never saw coming."
    - Jessica Willis, The Tales Compendium

    "Very exciting and gripping, leaves you wanting more."
    - Becky's Barmy Book Blog

    "If anything, you should read it for the unique ending."
    - Rachel's Book Reviews

    "You should give it a try. It's really different and interesting."
    - Brielle, Awesome Bookworm

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMike Wells
    Release dateMar 10, 2011
    ISBN9781452476179
    Wild Child
    Author

    Mike Wells

    Mike Wells is an author of both walking and cycling guides. He has been walking long-distance footpaths for 25 years, after a holiday in New Zealand gave him the long-distance walking bug. Within a few years, he had walked the major British trails, enjoying their range of terrain from straightforward downland tracks through to upland paths and challenging mountain routes. He then ventured into France, walking sections of the Grande Randonnee network (including the GR5 through the Alps from Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean), and Italy to explore the Dolomites Alta Via routes. Further afield, he has walked in Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Norway and Patagonia. Mike has also been a keen cyclist for over 20 years. After completing various UK Sustrans routes, such as Lon Las Cymru in Wales and the C2C route across northern England, he then moved on to cycling long-distance routes in continental Europe and beyond. These include cycling both the Camino and Ruta de la Plata to Santiago de la Compostela, a traverse of Cuba from end to end, a circumnavigation of Iceland and a trip across Lapland to the North Cape. He has written a series of cycling guides for Cicerone following the great rivers of Europe.

    Read more from Mike Wells

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    Reviews for Wild Child

    4/5

    19 ratings5 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I don't know what to say. Predictably unpredictable or unpredictably predictable. The story begins with the simple scenario of many teenage summers. Boating, waterskiing, swimming just summer pleasures and past times. But one wants to test oneself and an accident happens. A fatal accident, a swimmer run over by a speedboat which didn't see her. But instead of dying she is transported to a place that can heal her. What follows next is more teenage angst. Betrayal by a parent, betrayal by a government figure and ... I don't want to be a SPOILER so I will say you will have to read it yourself.
    • 5/5
      WILD CHILD grabs you quick and drags you along for the ride! This fast paced novella, the story that just won't die (much Luke our wild child Brie) left me feeling soft & gentle & needing mire. My heart breaks for our male protagonist torn to do the right thing for his friend but still remain loyal to his own ethical core. It would be a great choice for a school assignment in any junior high.
    • 4/5
      This YA novel is fast-paced and catches the reader's attention from the start when wild Briana takes a risky swim across a lake and is hit by a speedboat. How she survives the horrendous injuries is the central mystery in the book. Her dependence on the strange green water in order to stay alive is poignant. Add in government agents and you have a thrill ride. Without spoiling the ending, I would say it's one I did not expect. I highly recommend this book to all fans of YA fiction, especially that dealing with the unexplained.
    • 4/5
      Billed as a ‘thriller’, which seems to mean “modern day with unexplained or mysterious stuff going on” as far as I can tell from other entries in the genre, this was a fun short read. As I’ve warned many times, I’m a fast reader, and I burned through Wild Child in a bit under an hour.The plot is solid and fast-moving, explaining little and barreling toward the finish like a freight train. The characters are fairly well-defined; the nice guy with a stern, overbearing father and a truly wild-spirited young woman, the titular Wild Child. Even in the relatively short time-frame allotted for the events, Wells manages to weave in a vaguely pseudo-scientific possible explanation for events, and what appears to be a massive government conspiracy, the extent of which we never truly find out.The end of the book comes with a touching sacrifice on behalf of the main character, although given what we learn in the books, it hardly seems that it will be as permanent as the narrator makes it out to seem. Perhaps that is the lead-in for the follow-up that Wells is currently working on.All in all, this was a solid read that kept me entertained from start to finish. I think there was enough premise to have made it longer – it seemed slightly rushed at times – and a few minor technical flaws marred the experience only slightly, which kept it from being a full 5 stars.
    • 4/5
      What I adored most about this book is the love and sacrifice in it. The storyline was really good to get into. Both characters, even though uniquely different completed each other. Kyle is set out to be different. He doesn't want to be like his dad, but yet he does try to please him. Kyle is a such a sweet guy. He is just that type that won't over due what he has. He is happy with the way things are and will not do anything different to change that.Now, Briana is definitely a wild child. She is crazy and totally out there. After the accident its like she becomes worst, risking her life even more. What I didn't like about her was that she was selfish. She failed to see past her own feelings and hurt Kyle. Kyle made a big decisions in the end. He loved her and did what he thought was best.The buildup of the storyline and the way it unfolded little by little was good. I enjoyed learning about power drug and the effects on their body. I like how it all tied in the government and Kyle's father. What I like the most at the end is Kyle's loyalty to now only himself, but Briana as well.Great book and well written. My only gripe was that it was short.

    Book preview

    Wild Child - Mike Wells

    Wild Child

    a novel

    by

    Mike Wells

    Smashwords Edition

    Copyright 2011 Mike Wells

    www.mikewellsbooks.com

    This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblances to persons living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the author.

    Praise for Mike Wells’ Wild Child

    5 STARS!  This was a well written story that hooked me from the first page. It moves with just enough of a quick pace that I couldn't stop reading it until the end.  It begins quickly building into the story that you will not be able to stop reading until the end, trust me, it is great!

    5 STARS!  If you need a story to keep you company on a rainy afternoon, or during breaks at work or school this is one for you to grab. Mike forms a great story that lets your mind do the telling. Greatly thought out, well written, and excellently executed.

    5 STARS!  Mike Wells has created a short, taunt page-turner. He is an economical author who knows how to engage the reader. Never a dull moment. Have fun!

    5 STARS!  I couldn't put it down it was that good. Love the characters and the suspense. I will highly recommend this book. I can't wait for the second part in Kindle.

    5 STARS!  I don't want any ‘spoilers’ in this review, so I can't say a lot more, but let me just say that when you think you've figured out exactly where this is going, you're wrong. Very imaginative and fun read!

    5 STARS!  A riveting novel told in a point-blank writing style that is very direct with just the perfect amount of description.

    5 STARS!  Wells has created a great world; developing characters and making us care for them in a very short time, and telling a complete story within that same margin.

    5 STARS!  Mike Wells is a fantastic writer and really knows how to capture the reader’s attention. The book was a short read and in the end, I was wanting more!

    5 STARS!  I read it in one sitting and couldn't even put it down to go to the bathroom. Well done Mike on another superb bit of storytelling. Thank you.

    5 STARS!  Very well written and had me turning the pages. In fact, I read the whole thing in a few short hours.

    5 STARS!  For a short read the author gives you just enough of everything, character build up, back story, and wow, what an ending!!!

    Books by Mike Wells

    Wild Child Series (Thriller)

    Lust, Money & Murder (Crime/Thriller Series)

    The Drive-By Wife (Crime Thriller Series)

    Secrets of the Elusive Lover (Romance/True Story)

    The Mysterious Disappearance of Kurt Kramer (Paranormal Romance)

    The Wrong Side of the Tracks (Young Adult/Coming of Age)

    Baby Talk (Horror)

    The above titles are available in all popular ebook formats and most in audiobook format as well.

    Visit the author website/blog at:  http://www.mikewellsbooks.com

    For my mother

    Forward

    How 3,000 Copies of Wild Child Found Their Way from the Trash Bin

    to the Top of the Bestseller Lists

    The story of how Wild Child was published is almost as wild as the story itself.

    The idea for the book came to me in a dream. I started madly writing it down the next morning, and couldn’t stop. In 40 days of frenzied typing at the keyboard, I finished the entire book.

    The first literary agent I sent it to was Laura Rennert, at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency in Manhattan. She loved it. Laura sent it out to three of the biggest publishers. They loved it, too. I was thrilled—I had already found an agent and three publishers willing to buy it. My baby was about to be read by thousands, and perhaps millions, of people. It was a dream come true.

    But, she told me on the phone, there’s one problem with your book.

    What’s that? I said, my euphoria fading.

    It’s too short. Can you add another fifteen thousand words?

    Fifteen thousand more words? I was dumbfounded. I didn’t understand why I had to add 15,000 words to a book that seemed perfect as it was.

    It has to do with the cost of paper, Laura explained, and retail price points, and so on. It’s complicated.

    I spent the next two months struggling to make Wild Child a longer book. Nothing about the process felt right to me, but I like most writers, I badly wanted to see it published. When I finally finished padding it with all the extra words, I gave the manuscript to all my friends and trusted readers to read again. Mike, one of them said, congratulations! You totally ruined a really great book.

    Unfettered, I started packing up the manuscript to send to Laura. But at the last moment, I changed my mind. Why should I add 15,000 words to a book that seems perfect just as it is, just because of some rules about the cost of paper and cardboard boxes? Would an artist make a finished painting three inches bigger on all sides to make it fit into someone's frame? To hell with the big publishers, I thought—I’ll publish Wild Child myself, in its original form.

    I was living in Atlanta, Georgia, at the time. As I needed a book cover designed, I decided to hold a city-wide student art contest for the best cover illustration. After all, Wild Child was a story about young people, why not have young people come up with the cover picture? And the contest would drum up some publicity for the book.

    The winning illustration came from a 17 year old at North Atlanta High School, a laid-back African American by the name of Seron Fuller. Everyone agreed that his amazing, magical illustration for Wild Child perfectly captured the main characters, Kyle and Brianna, and the overall feeling of the story.

    I excitedly arranged for 3,000 copies of the book to be printed with Seron’s cover illustration on the front, investing my own money in the project. Then, as fate would have it, my work situation changed. Within a week of the books being delivered to my apartment, I moved across the Atlantic, to Europe, to Riga, Latvia.

    Printed books are heavy. I could only afford to take two boxes of Wild Child with me—200 books, total. I shipped the rest up to Nashville, to my parents’ garage. My stepfather wasn’t too happy about keeping them for me, as they took up a lot of space, but he grudgingly agreed to do it for a while.

    I settled in Latvia and began my job, teaching at a Latvian university. My wife is also a teacher was working at a local high school. One day she said, Mike, I told our English teacher that you were a young adult writer and she wanted her students to read Wild Child. Can you spare a few copies?

    Why not? I thought. They’re just sitting here in a box, collecting dust. So I

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