Wake the Wild Creatures

A teen recovered from an off-grid Catskills commune of female fugitives struggles to adapt to society in this evocative and empowering novel from Suma (A Room Away from the Wolves). After committing murder and arson to avenge her own rape, Pola Lasker takes her infant Talia and decamps to the Neves, an abandoned mountaintop hotel that she transforms into a secret haven for those seeking to escape cruel men. There, Talia thrives in the care of found family, believing the forested refuge offers mystical protection from outside harm. When Talia turns 13, authorities apprehend Pola and send Talia to live in the Hudson Valley with Pola’s estranged sister. Having received instructions from a Neves resident to stay put until further notice, a forlorn Talia spends three years awaiting a signal. But when it finally comes, the road home isn’t what she expected. Suma’s fiercely feminist offering unfolds from Talia’s somewhat alien-feeling perspective, her first-person narrative snaking along a nonlinear timeline to add context and resonance. Intersec- tionally diverse, insightfully rendered characters and their complex, continuously evolving relationships ground the tale, while a surreal setting and sensate prose impart an otherworldly air. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (May)