The Wild Things

Dave Eggers's The Wild Things is a raw and unusual novel for 11 year olds about Max, the boy in the wolf suit, and feelings too big to hold.

What happens

Max loves his mum, his dog and his wolf suit. He does NOT love his mum's boyfriend Gary, and his big sister Claire has suddenly gone off him completely.

The opening chapters are about one very bad afternoon. A neighbour chases him on foot all the way to the woods because he's riding about on his own with nothing on his head. Then he ambushes Claire's teenage friends with snowballs. They jump on his snow fort until it collapses on top of him, and Claire gets into the car and leaves without checking he's all right.

So Max fills a bucket and floods her bedroom. Seven buckets, in fact.

What's striking is how honestly it shows Max's head. He doesn't know why he does these things. His thoughts scatter like startled birds, then afterwards he's sorry and can't find the word for it. It's quite moving to read, especially the quiet moments where he tells his mum a story while she types it up.

The island and the Wild Things come later. After a big fight with his mum, Max runs off and sails to a place full of huge, destructive creatures who nearly eat him and then make him their king.

This is definitely one to think about before you hand it over. It reads like a book for older readers. The teenagers swear, and not mildly, and they chew tobacco. Max remembers a New Year's party where the adults got so drunk they were grabbing at each other and at him. Mum's boyfriend stays over, and the atmosphere at home is often tense.

A younger or more sensitive reader might find it a lot. If you've got a thoughtful older reader who likes stories that feel true, even when they're uncomfortable, it's a really powerful read. It could be a good one to read alongside them.

What to read next

If Eggers's style clicks, The Lifters is gentler. Gran moves to a hilly town that's slowly sinking, and a very hard-to-impress girl shows him a door into the ground.