Chilling story of survival. A small group of schoolgirls has been quarantined on the island where their school, Raxter, is located. The "tox" has killed many of the school's students, teachers and island animals. When Hetty's friend Bryant disappears, Hetty sets out to search for her, not knowing that what she'll find may totally shake up what she thought she knew. As the story progresses, Power gradually ratchet's up the creepiness factor. Fans of Lord of the Flies will enjoy this feminist take on a similiar theme.

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's/Delacorte Press for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

I am the type of reader that if I get bored or if the story is going in a direction that I don't like, I will read spoiler reviews and skip to the ahead or to the end (where I can, it isn't easy to do that in an eBook). If the negative reviews echo sentiments that I also do not like, or the book goes someplace I do not enjoy, I will DNF the book. There are too many books out there that I will enjoy to spend time with one that I do not.

This was one of those books. 32% of the way in and I was 1) bored and 2) concerned this was going to have an ending that I wasn't on-board for. After reading the negative reviews, I concluded that the MCs didn't get any better, that in fact they got worse and that the ending was in no way satisfactory.

I am not into body horror and this book did have a lot of that. It was easy for me to kind of gloss over, but others may not enjoy reading about the bodies of the people and animals transforming in painful and bloody ways.

Also, the eco-system of the island before the Tox hit wasn't quite believable, making what happened further on in the book less so. There is an obligatory conspiracy, which I'm not overly fond of and violence.

Ah yes, the violence. They fight for food, even the friends. One of the MCs, Reece, wanted to be on the Boat team, so she could leave the school compound and try to find her father who left the school because he was sick and didn't want to be a danger to the girls. Her friend the MC whose POV we first follow (can't recall her name, my apologies), gets the position instead. So Reece launches herself at her friend who got the job and chokes her, trying to hurt/kill her. The MC who was attacked is then told she should try to make up with Reece, by an adult teacher and the other BFF.

They then become a romantic couple later on in the book.

No. Just NO. If Reece were a guy and attacked a girl like that, if they were to become a romantic couple later, there would be a HUGE hue and cry over it. If it isn't right for a guy to attack a girl and then become an item, it isn't right for a girl to attack a girl and then become an item.

I am SO SICK and tired of things that wouldn't fly in a heterosexual couple being ok in a same sex couple in books. IT IS NOT OK. ALL people should be able to be in a relationship without violence from one person on the other. Same if it was a girl attacking a guy, not ok either. Why does YA seem to show unhealthy relationships as ok, of any gender combination?

I was going to give the book two stars, as it wasn't written poorly, it just didn't work for me, but then I remembered this bit and I can't in good conscience give it more than 1 star. I am not going to give a work more than one star when it shows unhealthy relationships like this and where the victim is told they need to make up with the attacker. That is not what ANYone needs to read, ever, let alone the demographic this is aimed at, YA readers, most likely females.

I'm sorry, I really wanted to like this book more than I did. That cover is GORGEOUS, but it didn't really translate to what was inside, at least not to me.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Queer eco-feminist body horror. Really enjoyable read that left me wanting more. The girls of Raxter School are barely hanging on after a dangerous mysterious outbreak has caused them to be quarantined.

<i>*Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*</i>   
I fell into cover love with this one! I really enjoy a good fast-paced horror, but this one left me pretty unsatisfied. I would have loved more backstory for the characters and the virus, and the ending was crazy. A little too crazy for me. But I have purchased for the collection and encourage scifi/horror fans to give it a go!

This was way better than I was expecting it to be. I didn't quite know what to expect going in because people have been saying that it's a little weird and you will either love it or hate it. I ended up really enjoying it. It was fun trying to figure out what the hell was going on and how the characters got to where they are. I liked Hetty a lot as our main character. There were a few chapters from someone else's point of view and those chapters were so good and really added to the story. I am on the fence with the ending. It was pretty open so maybe there will be a companion novel in the future which I would love to see. I will for sure be reading more from this author in the future.

Whew.

Why do I keep on picking up Dystopians when I know they disappoint me the majority of the time? Oh, yeah, because it was offered to me for free.

Um, thanks, Net Galley? I guess.

My biggest issue with this book was the "friendship" and "romance" depicted; which was hella unhealthy and never really *shown* organically to the reader, but rather - told. Reese literally almost strangled Hetty to death because she was displeased with someone else's decision.

But they're supposed to be friends and infatuated (maybe in love) with one another?? Nah fam. I don't accept that from my hetero ships, I sure as hell aint going to accept that from my LGBTQ+ ships. Keep your hands to yourself, and if you have anger issues - deal with it appropriately. One incident, I could maybeeee excuse with a decent enough apology and follow through with actions, but Reese was literally a angry POS for the majority of the narrative. Don't approve.

There were other components of the novel that I didn't enjoy, but that one in particular stood out to me the most, as well as the gross worm body horror scene. I've already determined that body horror is not for me. I could have done without.

Will probably not be reading anything else by this author.

I feel like Wilder Girls had some of the most divisive reviews in 2019. For every 5 star review, I saw another person giving it 1 star. This made incredibly intrigued to finally get to this one and see what my thoughts were.

Um, this one was fine.

I thought the toxin that was the catalyst for the conflict was intriguing to read about, especially the mutations that it caused. I was unsure where the plot was going for the first half of the novel but was surprised that we got a second pov and the information we got from this pov.

It was fun discovering the secrets and cover-ups with the characters and I didn't mind the ending. I thought it wrapped up well for the narrative that was presented. Of course, I would have liked more answers about the tox, but I'm totally okay with this book being a bit more ambiguous as it fit the tone better.

I'm intrigued to read more from Rory Powers in the future.

This book had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, halfway through it just became more and more bizarre in a nonsensical way and the ending made the entire story feel pointless.
It's too bad, because this had all the good things to be a great book.

I can definitely understand why this book Has so much hype! It sucks you in and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very last page! Thank you so much Netgalley for sending me an advanced copy!

This was a gritty, realistic Lord of the Flies-inspired book. When The Tox takes over the Raxter School for Girls, their world changes. I imagine the paperback release will have an even stronger impact in light of our world's state of affairs.

To be fair, I didn't get very far in this book. Unfortunately, the prose - the way the story is told - was incredibly jarring to me. I found myself over-analyzing every single sentence written. It wasn't an enjoyable analysis, either. I was very excited for this book, and bummed that it didn't work better for me.

I did find the premise intriguing, and would have enjoyed learning more about the world.

Some people may not like the fact that this book didn’t give you all the answers, but it’s part of what worked so well for me. Seeing from the girls’ POVs, you only know what THEY know and what they’re determined to overcome/achieve. It was an incredible tale of endurance, and one that left room for interpersonal messiness & layered relationships. [slight spoiler?] the ending was reminiscent of the ending of The Ruins for me, only this time from the POV of a kickass queer heroine I was more willing to believe could make it through. Five stars.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the way the author laid everything out. The plot line was extremely unique. The premise was very interesting and was wondering if this could actually happen.

I feel like we got a lot of backstory on the Tox from what the girls quarantined at the boarding school know. I can see people feeling it was slow, but I really appreciated it. Seeing the situation from different points of view really helped the story grow.

I found that the first part of the book was very dramatic and sucked me in.Even though I loved the beginning I’m not the biggest fan of the twist ending felt to be honest. Just because I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ending I definitely recommend reading it for yourself.

I obtained the Wilder Girls eARC through Netgalley before it was released. Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I really enjoyed the premise of the book. A private school for girls was quarantined on an island after a pandemic outbreak. This resulted in the girls having physical deformities. I enjoyed how the descriptions were just weaved into the story.
I also enjoyed the personalities of the characters and the development of the MC. This story had some action and science fiction with a dash of mystery. I really enjoyed it and am excited for Rory Power’s next book.

I confess, I have tried to read this book over and over and over again for about the past year. Usually, I'm not this dedicated, and if I'm struggling that much to connect and invest in a book, I just move on. However, I received a free copy of this from Netgalley and hated the idea of not finishing and review it.

I think the general concept is fascinating, and I was extremely interested, which is why I kept reattempting this book. Unfortunately, I could never connect with the storytelling or world. It was hard to get settled in with the characters, as they were not always introduced well, so there was none of that instant emotional connection that is required to help you remember who is who and why you should care.

I needed the setting and world building to be stronger, and the characters to have more distinct personalities and reasons for having been included in the story.

In the end, I did not complete this book. After about 17 failed attempts, I finally decided to DNF and let it go. I'm still kind of sad about that, because I think there could have been something good here. It just didn't quite come together.

An interesting take on the YA dystopian novel. The quarantine aspect hit too close for home, but I can always get behind a strong female lead.

This was an interesting concept and setting but fell flat to me. I never fully connected any of the main characters or care what happened to them. I felt like it could have been a really great book if they went into the Pox more. they barely scratched the surface. When it was finally getting somewhere it just ends....Overall, I wanted so much more.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a queer, body horror version of Lord of Flies and I loved it! Rory Power managed to write in such a way that I felt like I was on the island with the girls. It was atmospheric and eerie. I love the queer representation that was not the focus of the novel. I love that. Overall I would recommend this immensely if you want a weird body horror and survival novel with just the perfect amount of queer people mixed in. I can not wait to read Rory Power's next book.

This book was astoundingly beautiful. I went into reading it without being totally sure what it was about or how I would feel about it (I do this a lot, honestly) and I'm really glad I picked it up. This book is gruesome. It is uncomfortable and creepy, and it made my skin crawl sometimes. But, it was also passionate and intense, and I found myself on the edge of my seat throughout the entire book. Rory Power has really done something amazing here with this book, and I look forward to reading what they write in the future!