Content and Trigger Warnings:

Graphic violence and body horror. Gore.

On the page character death, parental death, and animal death, though the animals are not pets.

Behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such.

Food scarcity and starvation. Emesis.

A scene depicting chemical gassing.

Suicide and suicidal ideation.

Non-consensual medical treatment.

Representation: F/F relationships (main/side); bisexual MC; diverse cast including POC (though unspecified ethnicities)


What I Enjoyed


The scientific threads woven throughout the novel were interesting. Some I wasn't quite sure of, because the girls who were seeing it didn't have all the information either so I had to make guesses based on their perspectives, but there was a lot of stuff going on in the background to pick at as the girls on Raxter Island tried to survive.

The way the mutations developed when the girls contracted the Tox were fascinating. I didn't understand all of them during the reading, but Rory explained some after the fact which was nice.

Watching the way the Tox crept into the story, listening to Hetty and Byatt recall life before it and how it started in the wildlife, the woods and the creatures first, was very cool because it added to the overall horror aspect. There were scenes of body horror to be sure, due to details about what the Tox did to the girls (mutations, their brain chemistry, etc), but the timeline of everything and hearing about those events was whoa.

I picked up the Barnes & Noble edition, which I would highly recommend, because there is an extra chapter from Reese's perspective, who we didn't get to hear from at all in the book. It's a quick little thing, but it's tender and very nice. It added to the relationships that were evidenced in the main novel, the ones that propelled Hetty and Reese and all the others to last as long as they did and to do all they did during Wilder Girls.

I loved that the cast was allowed to have their strengths as individuals and as a whole, that they were allowed to be strong but also messy and vicious and just amazing. I've seen Wilder Girls described as a feminist Lord of the Flies and from what I know of that book, I can say that there are similarities but also it is very interesting to point out the differences. The personality stereotypes that are expected in girls vs boys, the ones that develop despite those, everything that made them able to survive Raxter Island & the Tox.

A last bit: I can't say much but being a mystery, there are twisty bits that were "whoa" and "huh" and "wtf" that I liked and cried and cringed over. They were fun/sad/omg. :D


What I Didn't Enjoy


The beginning of the novel was fairly slow. It took some wherewithal to stick with it, though once you get into it I will say the novel is worth it.

The ending as well suffered, I thought, though this for the opposite reason. It felt entirely too quick. I turned the last page and was sincerely confused because it felt like there was something missing, like the writing was cut off in a hurry because...what? Because the author wanted to leave the option open to return to Raxter or the world around the island? As far as I know this is a standalone, but there are so many threads remaining in the book that it really could be at least a duology.


To Sum It Up


There were strong relationships, eerie scenes, and a lot of interesting moments that played out in Wilder Girls. The beginning was a bit of a letdown because of the time it took to pick up. The ending was definitely a letdown, but overall the novel was satisfactory. I'm be curious to see what Rory Power will write in the future.





I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Quotes included are from an advanced reader copy and may not reflect the finalized copy.

I really REALLY wanted to like this one.  The plot had great potential that I think the book definitely did not reach, and I was left underwhelmed.

I'm not even sure how to form a review of this one.

So here are my quick thoughts.  The characters were very one dimensional, which made them hard to relate to.  There were times I had to reread parts because the reactions, or lack of, made little sense.  The book in general felt rushed, and the reveal fell flat.  The narration is fragmented, and the writing style wasn't at all gripping.  There is an open ending, which I'm never a real fan of, but can sometimes appreciate them when done well - this one... wasn't.

I've also noticed this one being labeled as "horror" - I definitely would not put Wilder Girls in this category.  There are some minimal detailed gore-ish scenes, but nothing horror worthy.

In the end, no matter how much I wanted to enjoy this one, I just didn't.

This was an interesting book about a tox and girls in an area. Some girls were affected by it and others were not. The girls were wanting to make it back home. Interesting ending and overall good story.

This book has a similar plotline to Lord of the Flies and I absolutely loved it. I was sucked into the story from beginning to end. The story goes along at a great pace. The story is definitely entertaining. I liked almost all of the characters. The ending was kind of abrupt and confusing though. There were also a few things that were left out that I'm sure people would like to know (myself included). All in all, this was an entertaining read and I highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

ahhhhhh, vicious and creepy and full of girls who just want to survive, by any means necessary. so good! cutting and disturbing, it had my attention from page one, and I need more of it.

Hetty finally feels like she belongs somewhere, living at her all-girls island boarding school. Unfortunately, normal school life has been interrupted by the “tox”, a disease of unknown origin that alters people. It changes the girls and kills the older adults. But it doesn’t change Hetty’s attachment to her best friends, Byatt and Reese. Just the routine is different. Instead of classes, the students are focused on defending themselves against the wilderness that has also been changed by the tox and on fighting for food to eat.

I’ve really struggled with this review. As a whole, I feel like this book has been getting good reviews, and I held off on my rating to see if I changed my mind. Unfortunately, I haven’t. I was highly disappointed. The book just throws you right into the middle of the situation without any explanation. The beginning is abrupt and borderline confusing. The resolution (or lack of one) is lackluster. No explanation is ever given for the tox or why the island is the only place apparently affected by it. That might not have been problematic for me, if the book just explored the characters’ reactions. Instead, there’s a search for explanations that are never found. I can only assume a sequel is planned.

I still like the idea of this story. This version was just not for me. I know at lot of people felt very differently.

My thanks to Netgalley.com for a review copy. My opinions are my own.

Wilder Girls is so vivid and captivating. It's a boarding school book and a virus book. The world building is so intriguing, and it left me aching for more. The only criticism I have is that it feels like a mystery for much of the book, but there are never any answers or explanations.

I want to start by pointing out that some of the promotional material for this novel makes a comparison to Lord of the Flies, a comparison that didn't ring true to me. This novel is a world with the trappings of society already stripped away, but without descending into complete savagery as in Golding's novel. Power's characters have abandoned unnecessary etiquette. They don't revel in cruelty but rather acknowledge that a certain about of aggression is necessary for survival. Beyond the decent of society, this is a story of disease, climate change, and scientific experimentation. A capricious and sometimes cruel government. We get the contrast of the remaining rules of devolved society with the ongoing cruelty of structured society. It's a sometimes interesting exploration but wasn't as engaging as I'd hoped. The characters remain emotionally distant.

I highly enjoyed this book. When it was marketed as a feminist version of Lord of the Flies, I have to admit I was not sure if I would love it. I was not a fan of Lord of the Flies when I read it in high school, but Wilder Girls defiantly made that thought blow away. The cast of female character we interact with is fun and exciting to the point where I never wanted to put the book down. My only issues were that I didn't feel like the Tox was explained to me enough or wrapped up in the end. I wanted to know more and what exactly was going to happen to the girls. I am not the biggest fan of open-ended endings in books or movies because I like things to tie up nicely, so I wish I had more of a solid conclusion.

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read Wilder Girls.
This one is definitely going to stick with me for a while. It’s one of those books where you think “did I like this?” And “what just happened?”
It was well written and very descriptive. The characters have all the flawed but real personality traits an isolated and half-starved group of teenage girls would have. Clannish. Selfish. Angry. Devoted. Violent. Rebellious.
The one drawback for me was having the reader come into the situation on the island far into “the tox”. I never felt like I was part of their story but instead cooly observed from afar as the events unfolded. I didn’t get a feel of who they were before and therefore I never quite understood the trio of girls at the heart of the novel.
Overall, I appreciate the risks that the author took telling the story without including a “typical” YA romance, leaving many questions unanswered and building the story around of girls who are just trying to survive even when it includes a lot of ugliness and hard choices.

Hetty, Byatt, and Reese attend an all-girls boarding school on Raxter Island, off the coast of Maine. The boarding school was nice and normal until a disease started to spread amongst the students and teachers. They called it the Tox, but everyone's symptoms were different: one grew gills, one's hair glowed like an aura, one had two heartbeats but only one heart, one's eye closed up, one grew a second and ridged spine, and so on. When death was imminent, their fingertips started to turn the color of charcoal, spreading up their arm. The navy and CDC were, rightfully so, nervous and cautious about the Tox, enforcing a quarantine around the schoolgrounds. The only ones who could leave were the "Boat Shift" girls who traveled across the island every several days to pick up supplies dropped off by the navy. Contributing to the deaths was the lack of food, the monstrously evolved animals of the island, the feral-like behavior of the students, and the lack of medical supplies. When Hetty is unexpectedly assigned to the Boat Shift, a rift forms between the three friends, and then events happen more quickly than they could anticipate: Hetty learns dangerous secrets, Byatt disappears (not of her own volition), and Reese can't keep her romantic feelings to herself. Will this be the end of their friendship... their lives... Raxter Island...?

Touted as a feminist Lord of the Flies, Wilder Girls is a bit all-over-the-place (or maybe that was just my mind not being able to focus?). It felt, simultaneously, like it was moving too slowly and too quickly-- but not in a good way. Much of the book drags as Power gets bogged down in her descriptions and there is not enough present-tense action to keep me engaged with the story. I did love, though, how disjointed the syntax is when Byatt is in the [spoiler]; it adds a lot to the tone and the drugged context. I can see where the Lord of the Flies comparisons come from, but it really isn't comparable, especially thematically (nor are there any boar's head/god or conch shell equivalents). If you want a survival story with horror undertones, you'll enjoy Wilder Girls. But, it's not the best recommendation for the casual reader.

DNF. While I absolutely love the premise -- girls battling a mysterious and undiagnosed illness -- and the elements of body horror -- this is something I don't see too often in YA and it was (oddly enough) refreshing and added an element of shock to an already gruesome story -- I couldn't get into this one. Power is an undeniably talented writer and has a knack for creating a believable voice, the pacing was choppy and I felt information was being dispensed in such a way that it was difficult to follow. Because of that, it's a DNF for now, but one that I intend to return to in the future.

Super bizarre but very well written! I loved that it was all female. I don't think it holds a candle to the Lord of the Flies though. The cover is stunning and is very relevant to what the girls are undergoing due to the tox.

I don’t even know where to start when it comes to reviewing Wilder Girls.
It was gory, detailed and it is definitely not for readers with weak stomach, but at the same time it was brilliant!

I loved almost everything about this novel, from main to side characters, plot and the mystery, but what I liked the most was the creepy atmosphere that felt so real.

The writing style is excellent and I still can’t believe this is Power’s debut novel. I now want to read everything she writes in the future, that’s how impressed I am with her voice.

This book is written in first person, following two perspectives: Hetty’s and Byatt’s. I loved how their voices sound so different, that even if there weren’t note about change of perspective, readers would notice in no time.
Also, when one of the girls was drugged it was obvious in her voice, and I appreciate those little (important) things so much!

As I previously stated, this book is not for everyone. Lovers of gory scenes will love it, but those who are more sensitive will probably want to close their eyes at some scenes (but how can you close your eyes when reading, that is the question!).

I rarely find novels that keep me so invested from start to finish like this one has.
It was entertaining but also so mysterious that I just had to know what will happen’ to our girls and what is behind this Tox that caused all the trouble for them.

I loved how everything in this novel was backed up with logic and science, and how (in the end) it wasn’t too far from our real life.

The only thing I would change was to add an epilogue. You see, Wilder Girls have an open ending, and I usually don’t mind them (in fact, I am pretty fond of them) but this time I would be more happy if we found out what destiny there was for our characters after the point where the story ended.
The only (sort of) explanation that comes to my mind is that even if this was planned to be a standalone, maybe the publisher gave the writer a chance if the sales were good she could write the sequel (which I’ll be happy to read one day).

One more thing I have to mention: this book is the one that represents LGBTQ community, but at the same time it is not a love story and there is no romance. There is some chemistry but it is all we get (which is realistic because it those life conditions I assume love and sex come last to your mind).

Overall, I loved this book and I recommend it to lovers of gory scenes and stories, and to ya lovers with strong stomach.
It is appropriate to read at any time, but I suggest you to read it at night, in the fall or as a Halloween pick.

Possibly my favorite book of 2019. This was so intriguing and so fun! Boarding schools, weird diseases, and strong girls are just the highlights of this mystery. Can't wait to read more from this author.

This is my favorite read of summer 2019!
I started "Wilder Girls" while tent camping with my family. I finished "Wilder Girls" in the middle of the night during that same trip. Holy cats, did this story grab me! The author's tone was haunting and driving. I found myself thinking about the book whenever I wasn't reading it. When I was reading it, I read slowly (a major thing for me!) so I wouldn't miss anything. I savored each word.
The story itself is masterful. We join the characters during their quarantine. Glimmers of the life they once had still shines through the dingy present. The effects of the sickness on the girls and living things on the island are hard to predict since they don't have any idea what the sickness is. So, the characters are hopeful but also subdued by the changes around them. It's a brilliant backdrop for this book.
The storytelling style would be very well-suited to a live action series (hint, hint). The characters are gripping enough to carry the book through. Plus, the mystery of the illness and its eventual effects drive the reader to keep going. I was very happy that the ending wraps most things up. I actually could have dealt with a longer, more detailed ending personally. It's rare that I wish a book had been longer.
"Wilder Girls" is my go to recommendation when my students come back to school.

2.5 I was truly disappointed with this book. The cover is gorgeous and will undoubtedly attract many readers. The build up/description was amazing. I could not keep myself awake while reading it. I was not emotionally attached to any characters...I just didn't care. It wasn't that they weren't likeable (they weren't); it was that I had no connection with them whatsoever. They were girls and women (and a couple of men) who really didn't give a rat's ass about each other but thought they did and came across as whiney and plastic. The storyline didn't really make much sense and was weak, but it wasn't completely explained either. It took me way too long to read (because I kept nodding off) but I finished it without much of a climax at the end. When I discussed it with my fellow middle school librarian friend, she had pretty much the same reaction. I'm just not sure what they hype is about.

Oh how I enjoyed this book and really hope there is plans for another. Taking place on an island, in an all girls school. Each girl once they hit puberty encounters the flare up, leaving them with oddities. Hetty loses an eye, Byatt gains another spine, and Reese has a scaled arm. This book was seriously so good. A bit of horror, a bit of suspense, constantly wondering what is going to happen next. Definitely a must read.

This is a brutal book. I've heard numerous comparisons to Lord of the Flies, but Wilder Girls is far more grisly, far more disturbing, than Golding's book. This is gripping and beautifully written, and I can't overstate how wonderful it is to read a book like this about teen girls (queer teen girls, no less!). The ending was abrupt to the point that I wondered if some final surprise had been left out of the arc, but I have since read other reviews and purchased a finished copy, so I know that's just how the book ends. That's a bit disappointing, but I still highly recommend this and look forward to seeing what Rory Power writes next.

3.5/5

Gays, girls, and death. My perfect literary mix. Wilder Girls is a truly unique novel. Admittedly, I've never read Lord of the Flies, so I can't make any Lord of the Flies comparisons, which seem to be common in other reviews for this novel, so maybe I'm out of my depth when I say Wilder Girls is original, but I stick by it. Rory Power is a powerful (pun intended) writer whose body horror writing is some of the best I've read in a long time. (So if you're squeamish, this probably isn't the book for you!)

All of that being said, there are some moments that I feel were a little weak. First of all, Byatt's portion of the book feels pretty unnecessary. I found myself connecting far more to Hetty and wanting to stick with Hetty's story than I did with Byatt's. And is Byatt a bad person? A good person? Why do we get glimpses of Byatt's manipulative skills when they seem not to come back and contribute to the overall arc of the story? People are complex, yes, but I didn't get a literary sense of justification for Byatt's grey area. Also, Power doesn't differentiate between Byatt's and Hetty's voices, so it doesn't feel like the reader is reading two different perspectives.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and God, am I glad to see some bisexual girls getting some recognition! Especially in f/f relationships! If nothing else, Wilder Girls is worth a read for the interesting dynamic between Hetty and Reese, which I would have loved to see more of, though I recognize that that wasn't the main point of the novel. Regardless, it was one of my favorite bits, and I recommend Wilder Girls for anyone who likes some good body horror, thrillers, and LGBT+ girls!