REVIEW: Wildefire by Karsten Knight

Wildefire

Karsten Knight

393 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Release Date: July 26th 2011

Source: ARC from Publisher

Every flame begins with a spark.

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

  
   There are vampires, faeries, werewolves, demons, and angels, but how many YA novels are about a volcano goddess? One. Karsten Knight's super cool young-adult debut.

   As soon as I set eyes on the cover of Wildefire, I just knew I needed a copy. And when I finally got around to reading it the other day, I immediately loved it.

   Ashline Wilde is a girl just trying to fit in. It isn't easy when you're the only Polynesian girl in a school full of white students. So when a tragedy strikes Ash's life, she finds herself 3000 miles from home in a prestigious boarding school.

    What Ashline doesn't know: distances don't mean anything when it comes to 'sisterly love'. Because, you see, Ash's older sister, Eve, is the biggest pain there could be. And she's dangerous, with a wack for bringing awful weather with her wherever she goes.

   Although I loved the story, I felt that the sarcasm was a little too forced - and a little too much, as in almost every single sentence. I don't mind sarcasm and witty characters, but I just think I would have enjoyed it a little more, and taken it a bit more seriously, had there been a lot less.

   All in all, I loved Wildefire. I liked the many metaphors Knight used to describe certain things. I liked all the characters - Ash, Rolfe, Raja, Ade, Jackie... there are more, but I never thought there were TOO many. If you're looking for the next big thing in YA (hint: volcano godessess), Wildefire is fot your. So when Wildefire hits the shelves on July 26, be sure to pick up your copy. I highly recommend it.

The cover was what drew my attention to Wildefire. I doubt I would have been interested if it was different, like say, with a model on it. 

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