Roswell Read-a-Thon: The Wild One (Book Two)

Tuesday 24 July 2012 13:37 by Avery Olive

This week in the Roswell High Read-a-Thon we dive into Book Two, The Wild One by Melinda Metz

So, as I feared in last week’s post, the similarities between the show and the books pretty much stop dead in their tracks with this one.  And you know what? I’m actually more okay with that than I thought I’d be. At first I worried, but like I said in the last post, this is sort of giving me more of the characters I crave, and I’m actually happy it’s not simply a retelling of the events that already happen within the show.

The Wild One, as it seems, centers more around Isabel and Alex. Sure Liz, Max, Michael and Maria still play a huge roll. They do step to the sidelines while they watch Isabel turn her life upside down. Why does she do that, you ask, because a new comer to town may be more like the three aliens of Roswell than they ever imagined.

I don’t like spoilers, so I’ll do my best not to ruin the plot lines for anyone. But in this book we see more of what Isabel is like. She brings the snarky cheerleader persona to a whole new level in this book. In the shows, yes, she definitely gave of the air of awesomeness, wanting to be something that really she wasn’t, popular and normal, and that stays true in the books. She’s fighting to have a life she knows she can never truly have. She does her best to give off the impression of a strong, not a care in the world, it’s all about me attitude on the surface but we also know, through her POV’s in the novel, she isn’t as bad as she seems, not really. And lonely doesn’t even quite describe how she’s feeling.

I love Alex—oh yeah, he wasn’t lucky enough to keep the same last name in the TV show as in the books—No matter because he didn’t get to keep his red hair either. A last name doesn’t change his personality—neither does hair colour. He’s Alex, a little scrawny, a little awkward and funny as hell. He also has the lovesick puppy dog thing down pat. The characters from both onscreen and in book form are very similar and very likeable.

This book really cements for me the connection between the three aliens and the three humans and how in the novels they’ve become more like a family, rather than just a bunch of friends who share a secret. They stand by, doing all they can do to get Isabel to see what she doesn’t want too—that the newcomer isn’t as great as he seems, and that trouble is going to follow the two. But they don’t give up on her, not at all. And the one person who should, Alex, doesn’t either, no matter how wounded he is.

Both the book and the show did an excellent job at forming a strong bond between humans and aliens, and shows how important family and friends are. This is what teens need. Something to understand and something to look up to, and model their own lives after. Sure there aren’t really aliens in the world—or maybe there are *wink*--you still need good friends, even if you don’t think you do!

We also get another taste of the Liz and Max fiasco, a will they be together or won’t they? It also drives the story forward, since, being a fan of Roswell the TV show, that’s what I was drawn to most. Their love, their problems and their friends, I’m glad we still got a look into each of the characters heads to see where their minds were at, something you don’t quite get on screen.

Maria and Michael also begin to form their own connection. I think it was well played out. Not too in your face. Though Michael’s onscreen character is a little more rough around the edges, the two of them make a great couple either way!

Now, might I say that Mrs. Metz is great at ending a novel with a cliffhanger that has you biting your nails. She did it in The Outsider, and she did it with The Wild One! Not only is the story line interesting, fast paced and well written when you leave a huge question or scene looming in the air, of course readers are going to move to the next book, quickly! Thank god, it’s not thirteen or so years earlier and or I’d have to wait for the release of the third book.

But. And you know what, there is quite often a but... I believe there are a lot of answered questions about a certain alien and a certain ring and my prediction for the next novel is to hope we get a bit more closure surrounding these two things and a few more answers.

So, that caps this post off. Next up—Roswell High BookThree, The Seeker.

1 Response to "Roswell Read-a-Thon: The Wild One (Book Two)"

  1. prerna pickett Says:

    I really need to read these books! Gah, I miss the show.