I honestly tired so hard to finish this book, but I could not force myself to read another chapter. The premise sounded intriguing: a girls school quarantined on an island in Maine after a deadly virus. When her best friend goes missing, Hetty must risk breaking quarantine to find her. Other readers described the transformations caused by The Tox as horrifying and compared the story to Lord of the Flies. However, I found it all just too strange. The disease didn't make any sense. The girls weren't on their own a la Lord of the Flies, but organized by adults. Add in a poorly done teenage romantic plot (albeit between two girls), and I had to give up. If you love YA horror, maybe you'll love it like all the other reviews I've read. Else I suggest skipping this one.

I was completely drawn in and held fast by this book. How do you take Annihilation and make it better? By making it YA, gay AF, and almost entirely female on both the "goodie" and "baddie" sides. It was brutal, but the writing holds you through out every dizzying, brutal, disoriented moment.

There were parts I wish were further explored, characters I wish I better understood, but overall, I loved the Wilder Girls. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes feminist horror in the veing of Sawkill Girls.

"See how a body will change, to give you the best chance it can."

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Delacorte Press. Trigger warnings: death, body horror, bug horror, violence, severe injury, severe illness, blood, bruises, hospitals, needles, poison, starvation, animal death.

It's been nearly two years since the Tox hit Raxter School for Girls, remaking their little island into its own image. Most of the adults and some of the girls died, but the ones who lived are different. Just as the woods are wilder and overgrown, the girls, too, have been ravaged by nature. Some of them grow scales or spines down their backs; some of them bloom with constant bruises or drip blood from wounds that never close. While they wait for a promised cure, they receive food from the nearby Navy base, but it's never enough. The girls are forced to fight for everything they have, as monstrous inside as they are on the outside. When Hetty's best friend, Byatt, goes missing, Hetty will risk anything to get her back, even breaking the long-held quarantine and discovering the secrets buried deep within Raxter.

This book has a wonderful, eerie concept, and in that respect, it's an unequivocal success. Power captures the spooky, overgrown wildness of the island and its inhabitants with graceful ease. The island is practically a character of its own and, if it is, so is the Tox that's turning it feral. I loved all the descriptions of nature growing itself to destruction and monstrous girls who aren't afraid to be monstrous. She has an eye for detail and the bone-shiveringly creepy, and if anything is going to stick with me from this book, it's the haunting imagery.

Unfortunately, the rest isn't as strong. I never felt attached to the characters, and even though Hetty is the main character, we don't know her very well. Her defining feature seems to be her platonic love for Byatt, which is mixed in with her loyalty to her and her crush, Reece. Byatt is one of my favorite, unapologetic mean girl tropes, and I wish we'd gotten to see more of her. Reece is equally fierce and vulnerable. A strong girl-friendship group (with a minor wlw romance) should have been one of my favorite things about this book, but it never really came through for me. I didn't feel anything for the girls, and it seemed like the novel always held them at a distance.

Plot-wise, it's interesting but not groundbreaking past the Tox itself, which is full of fun twists. There are the usual untrustworthy authority figures and fairly typical secrets that come with most plague/outbreak narratives, and I wished the novel had spent less time on those and more on the island life and living with the Tox. The characters are hemmed in by the nonsensical quarantine, and it keeps most of the interesting stuff out for most of the book. Pacing-wise, it's slow to take off while Hetty tries to uncover secrets. It isn't until the last third of the novel that the plot really takes off and then leaves things rather open-ended. Wilder Girls doesn't quite live up to its potential, but I'd be interested to read a sequel or more of Powers's writing. First novels don't always pan out, but there's a lot of potential there.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

I just have to say that i was SOO excited for this book, and was extremely happy to be picked for the arc. The girls at Raxter Academy are quartined on an island since they were infected with Tox. The book is more of a survival thriller, BUT it also touches down on the struggles of being a teenage girl, falling for your (female) friend...... the details of the emotional pain and physical pain are intense and vivid.

read this book. i promise you'll enjoy it.

Loving this book wasn't hard. Filled with government conspiracies, monster girls, a quarantine, and Queer girl romance, this was literally the book I hoped it would be. I did take a star off because it was terribly hard for me to keep up with the minor characters as they all kind of... seemed the same.

This is the literary YA feminist speculative horror book I've been waiting for!

With lyrical, vivid prose, Rory Power describes the girls of Raxter Academy, who have been quarantined on an island since infected with the mysterious Tox.

This story manages to be a page-turning survival thriller, while also digging into the complexities of being a teenage girl, and lingering on the intimacies of female friendships and romance. It describes emotional pain as vividly as the gruesome body horror of the Tox.

And perhaps most impressive of all, this book shows restraint. It explores these themes with nuance and without every being too on the nose direct. The ending is satsifying without tieing every plot element up with a neat bow. Most of all, it respects the intelligence of its readers.

My favorite debut novel of 2019.

TW- gory and bloody (at times)

I don’t know what I think of this book. Like, at all. It was compelling and I flew through it! I couldn’t put it down at times and at other times it was disgusting. The themes of feminism and survival are extremely interesting. However, the ending did leave me unsatisfied!! I wanted to know what happened. I wanted to know if the girls made it. I wanted to know about the cure (if there is one!!) I would say go into this knowing it’s a gory dystopian type read, but read it anyway?!

Wilder Girls has been one of my top books of 2019. It was absolutely fantastic and worth the hype I saw around it. Rory Power is magic with the written word.

Honestly, I’d give this a solid 3.75 stars - but I can't give half or quarter stars, so 4 it is.

One of the things I really liked about this was the storyline - an apocalyptic sickness taking over the school and the entire island it resides on. Turning the girls into deformed monsters and killing everything in its path. I’ve read and seen apocalyptic illness stories before, but never like this. Usually they take on a zombie standard, but most of the girls remain the same and keep their sanity - for the most part.

The new social survival standard was interesting too. Loyalty was still present even in the dog eats dog world as the girls fought each other over everything. Even between friends, Hetty still has to fight to survive as she continues to look out for the people she cares for.

One thing I wasn’t a fan of was Hetty and Reese’s relationship. They weren’t friends but they were more than strangers and it was hard to accept that they were loyal or cared for each other. Hetty was much closer with Byatt and clearly cared for her deeply - so to make it seem like Hetty and Reese had an intense relationship felt false. While it’s clear their relationship changes, there are some aspects to it that don’t feel right or could have been developed more.

Another thing that was somewhat explained but I didn’t fully understand was the sickness itself. There’s some explanation of symptoms and what happening to them, but it doesn’t explain why some people survive while others don’t. Or what is actually happening to them. It kinda hinders the story for me as we continue to see the effects of this illness on everything and I think it will impact book #2.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. The synopsis is a little misleading because it makes it seem like a grand adventure but most of the story takes place at the school. While there is a lot of action, it’s not as action packed as I hoped. I am definitely interested in reading what happens next though! Definitely a 3.75/5 stars for me.

What an extraordinary, astonishing read! Wilder Girls is one of those books that seems to have just always existed, and couldn't possibly have been created, particularly not by a debut author. It's an artifact, a monument, a natural wonder of the goddamn world. But of course I know it didn't grow from the earth with the smashing of tectonic plates (as much as it seems to; as much as its power implies)--no, it arrived in the hands of Rory Power, an author who with just this one book is now on my automatic pre-order list. I don't care what she writes, when she writes it, or what it has to do with--I'm throwing down money to read it on pub day.

I'm not going to spoil anything about this book--if you're looking for some plot hints or narrative nuggets, visit the publisher's page. They're more experienced with telling you only as much as you need to know and not a syllable more. For my part, I don't want to do anything to make your experience less incredible than mine. I will say if you are fans of Jeff VanderMeer, Kelly Link, China Mieville, even Emily St. John Mandel (who, with Power, knows how to sculpt such beautiful works with words), then you will probably dig this book more than most.

I give it all the stars, all the thumbs, all the... cakes, whatever, I don't know. It's great. No, it's GREAT. Read it and you'll be a better human for it.

Set in a boarding school for girls, this dystopian storyline gives a glimpse of human nature in its rawest form. Secrets and bonds of friendship compete to determine alliances that could be the difference between life and death. Who is truly good? Who will ultimately look out for herself? The twists and turns are intriguing and make for a fast-paced summer read.

Wilder Girls is the debut novel by Rory Power, and I can’t wait for more! Her writing is beautifully descriptive. The reader can actually picture all the grotesque things that the Raxter girls are dealing with after being exposed to the Tox.

I really enjoyed this book and I’m hoping (fingers double crossed) for a sequel because that ending...talk about a cliffhanger. I NEED to know what happens to the girls!

I would definitely purchase this book for my library and recommend to anyone looking for a story with strong female characters.
Note: I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I will be recommending it to all my young adult readers! Thank you for this opportunity to connect books to their readers.

I don’t know what it is about an illness that can take the human race out, but I love that shit. They call it Tox. Tox is an illness that touched a whole school of girls ages 11-18. But Tox doesn’t discriminate. It’ll infect the old too. Slowly, painfully, and gruesomely it will take over the body in unpredictable, inhumane ways. And once you are infected, Tox won’t stop there. It continues to cause “flare-ups” in the body. Morphing the fragile human frame in ways you hadn’t even considered. And if it can do such things to humans, imagine what it can do to nature and her creatures….

Wilder Girls alternates between two points of view, Hetty and Byatt. Hetty and Byatt are one another’s solace in this cruel dystopian world. At least, Byatt is Hetty’s solace until she goes missing. After that their unsure world turns an already twisted existence upside down. Hetty will stop at nothing to find what remains of Byatt (if she even remains….). But everyone knows there are no actions without re-actions. And Hetty has no idea how catastrophic her actions really might be. Thus unfolds Wilder Girls.

After completing the story, I ended up giving the novel a 4 star rating for two reasons. I had built this book up. I had high, high hopes for a living with this one. And while the novel was great, it felt like something was amiss. It could be related to my feelings for Hetty. I’m not entirely sure what the deal is but I wasn’t super into our protagonist. She had some double standard issues that I found hard to deal with. Albeit she openly calls her rationality out. But still….

Overall, dystopian novels are my jam. They always have such eerie settings with a body count that might as well be infinite. Setting the tone for a novel of epic proportions (at least usually). I’m happy to report Wilder Girls content is as pleasing as the cover.

I predict this novel is going to be a huge book in 2019. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Children’s Delacrote Press for the advanced read.

Like other reviewers have mentioned, I think the marketing is doing this book a disservice--it's really nothing like Lord of the Flies, but it is amazing. The plot was riveting, and I couldn't put the book down. The only thing keeping me from giving the book 5/5 stars is that I found the ending a bit unsatisfying--but if you go in not expecting a full resolution to the story (possibly leaving room for a sequel?), then you may enjoy it more.

Ok, if all of these stories were married and had a baby "The Girl Who Owned A City", "The Island of Dr Moreau" and "Aliens" this is what this book is. It is no way close to "Lord of the flies" where each tribe or child is each to his own. This book is about comradery and trying to live together, adults still in charge. So, no Lord of the Flies here, where they turn and kill each other just because they can. Oh there is killing but it's not intentional.. think "Aliens" I'm trying not to give anything away here so read between my lines. This was great. I was on the edge of my seat and could not put this book down.

The Wilder Girls is set at Raxter school where a sickness called the Tox causes different illnesses to occur and later flare up (ex. exposed bones, cold silver hands, and fused skin). The girls are forced to stay in quarantine on the island while sent supplies needed to survive. Until one day the supplies aren’t delivered, but something else instead.

This debut novel was creepy and grotesque. At times it was so gritty that I had to grin and bear it. I’m a sucker for any setting at a school and that's when I knew I just had to pick this one up. Plus look at that cover! Possibly one of my favorite book covers of all time.

One thing I disliked was the way parts of the story were written. I’m not sure why there were sentence fragments, but that part really frustrated me at times. At first I felt like it kept me from enjoying and reading through this fast paced book, but gradually the writing became lyrical and I was able to appreciate the unique approach. For example, I thought it was quite clever the way in which she wrote Byatt’s dreams. It made me feel like I was in a trance right there with her in the dream.

The character development was well done. The only problem I had was with Reese. Her emotions were like riding a roller coaster and sometimes she was flat out mean. I could never predict how she was going to react in certain situations.

On another note, I’m not sure how original the actual premise of the story is. When the world building (animals, plants, etc) was being introduced, all I could think of was Annihilation. There were no surprise elements to the plot or world building.

Overall, this was a promising first novel! I enjoyed the author’s writing style and can’t wait to read more by her.

↠ 3.5 stars

Wilder Girls feels dystopian.

Generators are working around the clock. Animals have gone savage. Humans are getting infected…dropping like flies.

There was an outbreak of the TOX, the CDC and the Chemical /Biological Incident Response Force have issued the implementation of a full isolation/quarantine for the Raxter School for Girls. Everyone is to remain on school grounds within the fence and supplies are dropped off via Camp Nash at the western pier of the island near Maine.

There is order in the school…for a while at first. Girls are paired up, rations are carefully dealt and job shifts are listed weekly. Gun shifts and supply shifts are the most dangerous duties. But the fevers are encroaching, wretched, leaving scars and the infirmary is not a place you want to go…or you may not come back.

The three main characters in this story form a trifecta relationship through love, loss, and hope. Byatt becomes sick and is taken to the infirmary. Hetty, who has had a long relationship with her, sharing everything from secrets to bed-space, is now trying to find her in the infirmary. But Byatt is kept isolated and can’t be visited. Hetty does what she has to, to find out what has happened to her. Her discoveries lead her into another realm of secrecy that is kept from all the girls.

Reese is there for Hetty to deal with the pain and vying for Byatt's bed space. The two of them will take on an investigation of what is happening behind the closed doors of the infirmary and a shipment that has arrived on the island that was anything other then provisions needed.

Something fishy is going on on the island and they are bound to find out what. Tragedy hits very personally on the outer reaches passed the woods when the TOX is making its way in towards the school.

Can Hyatt track down her friend and uncover the conspiracy happening around them?

***

This novel has a striking cover as well as a story. A shared space of beauty and wretched simultaneously. I did not see it like that at first, but the rawness of hurt and evil are spreading like an evil fog, suffocating all that is left of the beautiful girls.

In places, I found the writing somewhat abstract, which added to the eeriness of the plot. The pacing and elusive choice of dialogue have the reader guessing to make sense of it all. This particular part is not my fortay, I don’t enjoy it as much, but I think it would be considered a fitting component to add to the overall atmosphere.

The action scenes were my favorite part of the novel and an element of romance gave the characters a reprieve from hardship. With a dystopian feel and the backdrop of government secrecy, it holds the reader’s interest throughout. I had hoped to find an extreme ending to all of this, but it fell a bit flat in a sense, that it is somewhat open-ended. Therefore the reader has to deduce an appropriate conclusion to their liking. I have seen this in movies that are to be continued, but I am not sure if this novel is to be. Again, all up to the readers taste if this is a make or break.

Overall it was an interesting read filled with chilling moments and adventure. The author shares notes on content trigger warnings on her site: https://itsrorypower.com/wilder-girls/ just in case. And if dystopian novels are your thing and you enjoy YA novels, this one is worth to spend your time with.

I received a digital copy of this novel from Netalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you

I really, really enjoyed this, but I am left with a feeling of incomplete. The whole story was so beautifully written and honestly I never knew if the story was actually something living in Hetty's mind. All the way up to the end I kept waiting for that shoe to drop, but it never did and while I am okay with this world being reality I just needed more to really buy it.

We get a little bit of history as the story progresses, but for me it just wasn't enough. Maybe I have read too many stories where the main character is unreliable and the whole story turns out to be a psychological thriller and the reality is that they are trapped in an institution. I am guessing this wasn't the case here and this was actual reality which is quite scary. I think if I had known going in this was the world they actually lived in I might have had all my questions answered, but as it is I am left with so many questions.

I will say the writing is amazing. Probably the best i have read this year. The descriptions and just overall feel of this was gritty and I truly enjoyed it. Even the gross parts that were pretty much all over the story were amazing. I could picture what each girl dealt with and even though I was thoroughly grossed out I still loved it and read each and every word.

I so wish we could have a prequel of sorts and even a small story that takes place after Hetty and Reese escaped. Did they find her dad?? Did the parasite spread? I guess we get enough information where I can draw my own conclusions about the hows and whys of the island, but I need more and I want more. I am hoping this does turn into more.

Wilder Girls is all the rave these days amongst Dystopian thriller fans and I'll admit, it is one heck of a powerful and edgy book unlike anything I've seen in YA in recent years. Which is saying A LOT as YA tends reuse a lot of plotlines and tropes. Power is an author to look out for. From page one of Wilder Girls, I was hooked, and I blew through the first 200 pages in one sitting. Had I not had to get up early the next morning for work, I would have most likely stayed up to finish it.

The entire premise centers around this disease that our characters have. It's so incredibly brutal, dark and terrifying. It has a creepy setting that'll make you never want to leave your house, and great mystery of what is actually happening to these girls. This is the sort of book that I can't say much about without spoiling things. It is lyrically written but with lots of disturbing imagery. It plays with themes of dark and light, beauty and ugliness, death and life. I struggle a bit with how to rate this, but ultimately I think it is an impressive accomplishment.

The story is full of clever ideas that will linger in my mind. The mystery of the story is unveiled with perfect pacing, slowly, methodically, seemingly innocently, until you realize too late the story's got its hooks in you and you couldn't free yourself if you tried. But in the best possible way.