Tracy Sue Petrikoff is a seventeen-year-old girl enjoys the outdoors far more than indoors and is more feral rather than human. Recently, she has lost her mother with whom she seemed to have a strained relationship. Her mother understands Tracy way too well and gives Tracy rules that she must follow: one of these rules is to never make a person bleed. However, as circumstances and fear permeate Tracy's property, her mother's rules are becoming more and more difficult to follow, until Tracy will be forced to make a choice: give up whatever humanity she has left, or continue following her mother's rules.
From the summary of the book, I really expected for THE WILD INSIDE by Jamey Bradbury to be very similar to other thrillers I have read, such as MADNESS TREADS LIGHTLY by Polina Dashkova or MY SISTER'S BONES by Nualla Ellwood. I expected for the book to be a tightly woven narrative made up of an acrobat balancing across a taut string. I also expected for THE WILD INSIDE to have elements from THE GREAT ALONE by Kristin Hannah in the aura of mystery and isolation. In terms of MADNESS TREADS LIGHTLY as well as MY SISTER'S BONES, I was very disappointed, but like in THE GREAT ALONE, THE WILD INSIDE had it in spades so to speak. There are mystery and isolation, but unfortunately, they weren't drawn very well.
What I did enjoy about THE WILD INSIDE by Jamey Bradbury is learning about the Iditarod race and how much work it takes up when it comes to caring for dogs and animals. I also liked the moments when it seemed as if Tracy grew up and seemed to give up her own needs and desires to keep her family safe, which was surprising considering her selfish nature throughout the story when it came to humans. Tracy also seemed to have keen insight into animals and often used the animals comparison with humans, which was surprising for me.
Unfortunately, there are elements in the story that I found frustrating, such as the fact its never sufficiently addressed whether or not Tracy was a supernatural being (and yes it's important to know that.) I also was not aware that one of the characters was transgender, or that there would be scenes of Tracy's feral behavior towards people and animals, and of blood being used to develop Tracy's personality. The story also contains no quotation marks when it comes to dialogue.
For a reader seeking a tale set in Alaska that deals with blood, Iditarod, animals as well as isolation, then THE WILD INSIDE by Jamey Bradbury should be a treat.
A promising talent makes her electrifying debut with this unforgettable novel, set in the Alaskan wilderness, that is a fusion of psychological thriller and coming-of-age tale in the vein of Jennifer McMahon, Chris Bohjalian, and Mary Kubica. A natural born trapper and hunter raised in the Alaskan wilderness, Tracy Petrikoff spends her days tracking animals and running with her dogs in the remote forests surrounding her family’s home. Though she feels safe in this untamed land, Tracy still follows her late mother’s rules: Never Lose Sight of the House. Never Come Home with Dirty Hands. And, above all else, Never Make a Person Bleed. But these precautions aren’t enough to protect Tracy when a stranger attacks her in the woods and knocks her unconscious. The next day, she glimpses an eerily familiar man emerge from the tree line, gravely injured from a vicious knife wound—a wound from a hunting knife similar to the one she carries in her pocket. Was this the man who attacked her and did she almost kill him? With her memories of the events jumbled, Tracy can’t be sure. Helping her father cope with her mother’s death and prepare for the approaching Iditarod, she doesn’t have time to think about what she may have done. Then a mysterious wanderer appears, looking for a job. Tracy senses that Jesse Goodwin is hiding something, but she can’t warn her father without explaining about the attack —or why she’s kept it to herself. It soon becomes clear that something dangerous is going on . . . the way Jesse has wormed his way into the family . . . the threatening face of the stranger in a crowd . . . the boot-prints she finds at the forest’s edge. Her family is in trouble. Will uncovering the truth protect them—or is the threat closer than Tracy suspects?
No excerpt available.
© 2003-2026