Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I requested The Wilderness of Girls knowing that it was a young adult debut novel about teenage girls who were living in the woods with wolves. The premise intrigued me, but I have to say I was not expecting to be wowed by a YA novel. Ever since I have been reading YA as an adult, I find that they usually don’t explore themes as deeply as I would like, that there’s usually an unnecessary romance, a focus on plot over character building, etc. However, The Wilderness of Girls defied my expectations.

The novel is very character-focused. The narrator is third person omniscient, so the reader can understand what all the main characters of the story are feeling/thinking. We see their bonds strengthen, weaken, become tangled with frustration and confusion, all for different reasons such as abuse, what it means to be family, media, societal expectations, and toxic masculinity. There are the proclaimed “wild girls” who are found in the forest, but other characters also show characteristics of “wildness” and explore what this means within society. The characters all experience a lot of emotional turmoil that ends up changing how they set the world and the man who took them from their homes.

I would only recommend this for mature teens, and adults would enjoy this too. TRIGGER WARNINGS: RAPE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, CANNIBALISM, DOMESTIC ABUSE, EATING DISORDER, SUICIDE

Phenomenal. Extraordinary. Heart of Darkness with teenage girls. I picked this title from NetGalley because of the description. I wanted to see if the author could pull it off and boy did she. The setup for the book is that a teenage girl who has just gone to live with her uncle finds a group of feral girls in the forest and feels an intense connection to them. They have been raised by a mysterious man whom they called Mother. This was obviously a high risk/high reward concept and the author used it to explore trauma, civilization, masculinity, resilience, media and so much else. And you just wanted to wrap your arms around these girls and hold them tight. This book is a.fairy tale that ends up being brutally honest. Fantastic.

3.5 - intriguing story, but it left some questions unanswered. However, it shows the strength of friends, family, and a bond that can't be broken.

Buckle up.

Four girls are found in the wild. They are near feral, with wolves as pets, and pelts as clothing. Rhi, the rescuer, is quickly the only safe place/person. They bring her into their pack, as a 5th sister. These girls, all lived in the wild with a man called Mother. They were raised to be free, they killed their food, and they slept in a hollowed-out tree.

Rhi, formerly Eden, is also wild, but in a more quiet way. She's plagued by secrets and is adjusting to her new life and these new girls who are attached to her.

As the girls adjust to the new world, one with her birth family, the rest in foster care, they still come together to work their magic...which Rhi is resistant to believe in, until she starts seeing the power.
----

This is a survivor story. Survivors of kidnapping, of Stockholm Syndrome, of abuse, of rejection, of pain. These girls are bound by love and their shared history, but there is doubt growing as they grow more and more comfortable in the new world.

I wasn't entirely sure how to take this book at first, but the additional notes from the doctor, chapters from a memoir, transcripts and message board pages helped move the story along and bring it to a fully developed place. I ended up fully falling in love with all of the leads, and wanting the magic and the portal to bring them all to a place of peace. What next for all of the girls?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I was enjoying this book up until 36% of the way through. I'm pretty squeamish, so I put the book down at the dismembering and cannibalism part. I would have liked some warnings at the start of the book or information page - I don't check reviews before starting a new ARC to avoid having my opinions influenced.

Maybe I would have felt less confused about what was happening if I finished the book.

4 girls living in the woods are discovered by another girl doing trail work. When brought out to the 'real' world, the wild girls aren't the victims you might think, but they believe in the magic that Mother told them about. They think they are the saviors of another land, and the girl who found them is the 5th princess. As the 'wild' girls begin integrating into the world, they struggle with giving up the dream of their wild life and their destiny. They form a tight bond with the girl who found them and one of the wild girl's twin sister. The girls are empowered, and brave, and scared, and so strong. Their bond helps one address the abuse they suffered in powerful and touching ways. This book is for those who dreamed in childhood of escape, who dreamed of finding the friends who would be their fictive kin, who love stories of strong empowered women.

Reader note: This book discusses suicide, sexual abuse of a minor, and restrictive eating. It also includes foster care, though it does portray it in its most idealistic version.

Highly recommend this book for a great story, characters you want to be part of your family, and a heart-wrenching journey of recovery and finding family.

I really, really loved this. Gorgeous prose and intense, hard hitting themes make this a book I’ll be thinking about for a long time. The fairytale-true crime mix felt so unique but was done so well. I highly recommend this one!

I expected this to be fantasy, or a dark fantasy, which is not really my thing, but it isn't. It is a tragic and realistic story about pain and loss.
I loved Jimmy and his cat. I loved how free Rhi felt with him and his cat. I love how she appreciated his untidiness.
The girls are lovely and relatable characters. I love the way the media is portrayed and their journey back into the modern world.
I just loved everything about this book. It was exactly what I needed. The girls are fierce! I also love the names of all the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for an arc in return for my honest review.

This debut is beautiful. What appears to be a fantastical, even sweet fairytale exterior, is in fact a pretty dark and emotionally fraught interior in this story of the Wild girls. While, for me, the pacing was on the slow side until after the halfway mark, the payoff is soooo rewarding. The themes in this story hit real hard but they are done very well. Throughout the story you think you know whether the magic is true or not but then slowly you begin to think the other way….and then your opinion changes again. The author does a nice job of playing with what you think you know. But where I think the story excels is in the characters’, sisters, relationship. It’s sweet, beautiful, honest, and as a reader you are rooting for all of them equally. I think it can be difficult to make a reader love all the characters, but it’s possible in this one. Definitely a debut writer to watch.

This book is trying and fails to be artsy and have a flowery language and whatnot. It didn’t hit right for me and I could barely read the first chapter. Would not recommend

"No one fucking listens to teenage girls."

This is beautiful. A really wonderous story about four girls found in the wild and the girl who found them. We have found family, literal found family, and all the struggles that come with both. I really enjoyed the "true crime" element and mixed media aspect of the story, and honestly wish it hade been a bigger part of the book. I really wanted to know more about Mother. However, I do think the ending is pretty open ended regarding what actually happens which I think is nice for readers- even if in this instance I did want more answers.

The characters all felt distinct and relatable in different ways and together their stories cover many issues that teenagers are facing.

The writing is stunning and it definitely has that fairytale vibe about it. Super excited to see what Franlin does next.

The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin is a book I will be thinking about for a while. It dealt with some really heavy issues, but it never felt overly preachy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers for my arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

TW: Sexual assault, suicide/suicidal ideation, domestic abuse, and eating disorders

"The Wilderness of Girls" by Madeline Claire Franklin is a poignant, magical, and beautiful story about six girls, sisters, who are more than what society labels them.

I was and am absolutely blown away by this book. This book follows Rhi, a teenager seeking a fresh start at the Happy Valley Wildlife Preserve after the sudden arrest of her father and departure of her stepmother. While walking in the woods, she discovers a group of wild girls protected by wolves. These girls claim to be princesses from a magical realm, raised by a prophet to save their kingdom. To Rhi's surprise, they believe she's their lost sister. Rhi is unsure whether the girls are telling the truth, but as she forms a close bond with them, she tries to figure out who they really are.

There's a lot to this book that I thought was masterful and just eloquently done. I typically find it difficult to connect with teenage characters and although I have a mental illness, I struggle even more to connect with teenage characters who also have mental illness. But the way that Rhi and the other girls are writter was just...I don't know, it felt so organic and so grounded. I found myself identifying with each of the girls, but especially with Rhi and Grace. Franklin does a great job of gracefully handling heavy and traumatic topics and amidst the magic, her characters react realistically and believably. UGH. I cannot say enough how much I love this book.

Please go read it! Request it at your library! Purchase it from an independent bookseller! Just read it!

WOW. The image of Rhi encountering the Wild Girls with the wolves for the first time is seared into my memory. It's such a visceral, stunning encounter that created a strong attachment to all five "girls." Madeline Claire Franklin's writing is ferocious and lyrical with deep emotional roots in every character. I love this book and can't wait to recommend it to everyone, especially my high school writing students. READ THIS ONE!

A novel that pushes the boundaries of genre, is it fantasy is it realistic fiction?
A story that will keep you wanting more, it has you feverishly waiting to turn the next page to uncover more of the story.

This book. It's poetry. It's a knife. It destroyed me. I have not read anything this beautiful, devastating, and original in a very long time. This book goes straight past the skin and into the raw beating heart of what it means to be a person; a girl; someone who doesn't belong and yet hungers for connection; someone who has been hurt and who is trying to figure out how to unwrap their identity from the pain. Other people will I'm sure say very intelligent things about the plot (so unique) and the message (I repeat: devastating with a raw hope that hurts almost as much as the painful parts) etc--all I can say is PICK THIS ONE UP. The end.

“They want us to roll over and be good little girls.” In The Wilderness of Girls, Madeline Franklin weaves a spell of a story with lush, intricate prose that will leave readers’ hearts aching for the wild girls, and believing that magic exists, even if not in the way one thinks of it.

This book is for every girl who dreamed of running away to a fairytale world. Who dreamed of learning to slay dragons because the monsters in her life (visible and invisible) are all too real.

I loved everything about it, the multiple perspectives, the memoir excerpts, the character development, and the lyrical almost ethereal quality of the narrative.
The Wilderness of Girls is sheer genius, remarkably written, and an absolutely phenomenal debut.

“The Wilderness of Girls” by Madeline Claire Franklin is a thought provoking novel that you should go into knowing as little as possible - don’t read reviews with heavily detailed summaries of this book. If you are a fan of the tv show Yellowjackets, you’ll love this book.

This young adult mystery will keep you on your toes and have you questioning what you should believe. Although you may complete this book and still have many unanswered questions remaining - this wild ride will be enjoyed and keep you turning the pages trying to piece together this puzzle. Each of the main female characters has a unique story to share that shaped who she has grown to become.

There are deep themes of trauma throughout this book - be prepared to shed some tears and have your heart ache repeatedly. This story shines a light on mental health and the issues that are specifically faced by women in our modern society — gaslighting, assault, Stockholm syndrome, delusions of grandeur … are there any men out there we can trust? Is it really so bad to be wild and free?

Be prepared for an emotional hangover upon completion. This book will resonate with those who carry the shame associated with being a woman, anyone who has ever questioned their reality or had their world shaken by abuse — no matter what draws you into this story, buckle up, because it’s going to be a wild ride.

Thank you so much to NetGalley & Zando for the ARC in exchange for my review.

This book was definitely an experience! It’s a story about sisterhood, trauma, being a young woman in society, and believing in magic. I loved that it kind of blurs the line between fantasy and reality, and as a reader you’re not really sure what’s real or not. Honestly even after finishing I’m still not entirely sure.

Following the “wild girls” as they were forced to assimilate into society was gripping but also heartbreaking and dark at times. Despite the unusual circumstances, the author really showcased the universal struggles that girls deal with growing up. Rhi’s story was especially emotional and I really appreciated her healing journey - shoutout to Uncle Jimmy for being the best side character.

This was a wonderful debut and I’m looking forward to reading more from this author. Thank you to Zando for the ARC!