Emily Gale’s The Wild Unknown reaffirms her reputation as a writer who understands her audience with precision and control. Gale, a prolific writer and international award-winning author, doesn’t overreach or dilute her voice in pursuit of broader appeal like so many authors are attempting today. Instead, she remains firmly anchored in the expectations of her younger readership, delivering a story that is both accessible, fun and emotionally engaging.
The year is 2045, Eddie lives in a world managed by bots, drones and surveillance. When a boy named Theo disappears near the river and the police search fails, Eddie and his friends investigate. Soon Eddie develops strange animal-like abilities, suggesting Theo’s disappearance may be connected to something far stranger.
While it starts with a flurry and boasts some wonderful twists throughout, the novel falters slightly in its conclusion. After a thoughtfully constructed build-up, the ending feels somewhat subdued, lacking the full emotional payoff it seems to promise.
Still, it remains a strong and purposeful contribution to Gale’s body of work, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to any young reader (which I already have) particularly if they love novels set in the tech-heavy, yet believable, future.
Reviewed by Samuel Bernard
Age Guide 9+
Read our review of Outlaw Girls here
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emily Gale’s work includes the junior fiction duology Eliza Boom, middle-grade novels The Other Side of Summer, Elsewhere Girls and Outlaw Girls (co-written with Nova Weetman), The Goodbye Year, and most recently The Wild Unknown, as well as the YA novels Girl, Aloud, Steal My Sunshine, and I Am Out With Lanterns. Emily’s books have been published all over the world and shortlisted for a number of awards.
Follow Emily Gale on Instagram here.
Read more about The Wild Unknown on the Text publishing website here.
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