The Rewilders

Helen (@helenbyles)

Anyone who knows me well, knows I love big cats. When I visit the zoo or wildlife park I head straight for the big cats. Even my school lanyard has tiger stripes on it.

So when I discover a book on a Lynx I know I need to read it.

And I wasn’t disappointed. 

We meet Esme who is expecting a boring weekend at her Grans when she realises that Grans new kitten Cora is actually a baby Lynx and it’s growing fast. Gran can’t believe it as she found Cora on the local estate. 

But they realise that a house is not the place for a Lynx,  they need to get her up to the Scottish Highlands pretty quickly. So Esme joins forces with Callum the local bad boy, and with the world’s worst guard dog they set off on their dangerous journey. 

Each chapter is told from Cullum’s and Esme’s perspective, and during the journey both the characters learn more about themselves and each other. We watch the growth of an unlikely friendship, we actually feel ourselves walking the Moor with them, the creepiness will be felt, by you, you will have moments of feeling scared. 

This is a heart warming book, but it’s thought provoking. It will show humanity at its best. It will open your eyes to animal conservation. 

Now as I said before I love big cats, there is a wildlife garden near to where I live. It has all the big cats including a Lynx, but I’ve never seen it as it’s always hiding when I visit. 

There have been news reports over the years about the reintroduction of Lynx into the wild, and I firmly believe this should happen, they aren’t a danger to us. And I think humans would never see them. There have also been reports of big cats roaming wild, I believe these and believe these are Lynx. 

As much as I enjoy the zoo I do believe animals should be in their natural habits. 

Before I read this book I researched the Lynx, and found this interesting website  The Lynx Trust.org it is full of interesting information and worth a read.

This book is 200 pages of pure joy.

Sam – (@SamJDThomas) –

My thoughts on this fabulous book echo those of Helen’s. It is absolutely stunning writing, and the way that it is written with chapters consecutively telling the story from the perspective of the two main characters, Esme and Callum makes it all the more captivating. I love this style of writing, as the story builds whilst embracing the respective characters into it, and the chance to read from multiple vantage points makes for a far richer reading experience too.

That Esme and Callum are not friends when they come together at Esme’s grans house makes for interesting exchanges, and captivates readers all the more. They do however have to work together if they are to succeed in their mission of relocating Cora the Lynx to the Highlands. Time is not on their side, and readers will be willing them to achieve that which they have set out to do, which is no easy feat.

Upon their journey the atmospherical writing that Lindsay Littleson has rewarded us with in this book really does enrapture readers imaginations, along with the beautifully detailed scenery, which is stunning to say the very least. I cannot emphasise enough how beautiful this book is, and how rewarding a read it is too.

There are many themes covered in this book – ranging from school bullying to endangered animals, and what ties them together is the misconceptions of others impacting those involved. Take for example Callum, who is tarnished with the school bully stigma, and yet he is more of a victim then the person responsible, and readers will undoubtedly emphasise with his situation, just as some will relate to it directly too. Callum is unhappy at school, much like Cora is unhappy where she resides, and they both are in need of an intervention in order for things to improve.

I loved this book, and I whole heartedly hope there will be more like this from Lindsay in the future. I know I will definitely be at the front of the queue for whatever it is she writes next, because her writing is captivating from the offset, and enthralling throughout too.

The Rewilders has just been published, 21st March 2022, and is available to purchase from all good booksellers. For more insight into this incredible book be sure to check out the rest of the blog tour via the information on the banner below.