True rating would be closer to 4.5 stars. Points deducted only because the premise is not that original, one I'd summarize as the Wayward Children meet the Southern Reach. Evocative prose, interesting characters, searing emotions. Lots of fear and anxiety, mixed with friendship and love. Might be considered YA, but there are a lot of adult situations in character actions, descriptions of what's happening to the girls is gruesome at times, and their psychological nature might be traumatic for some readers. Still recommended.

This book is dark and atmospheric and haunting and lovely. I loved Annihilation and this book definitely has similarities in story and ~vibes~ but it is also so unique and strange in its own way. Which is to say if you liked Annihilation, but wish there was a little more explanation and lady kissing this is a book for you.
This is a story about friendship and love and the things we are willing to do to protect both in the darkest of circumstances. It is a story of survival. It is a story of the darkness within us that threatens to break free and what happens when it does. It is surprising and lyrically written and dark and captures the inner emotions of these young girls poised on the edge of becoming. I can't wait for more and for the rest of the world to read this book.

This book is astonishing in its own raw viciousness. I have never devoured a book so quick in my life. This book is going to be a HUGE deal. I’ll write more on it later.

I’m crying, this book is so good. I don’t have time to write a complete review tonight but I’m telling you, it’s going to be a classic.

This book is so dear to my heart, it's so vicious and harrowing. It scrapes you hollow and you want to save these girls so much. It reminds of The Thing and Lord of the Flies and it treats girls with rough hands, survivalist's hands.

It feels like a nightmare with the dream filter punched up high to hide it. I have never felt so gut-punched by a book written in the last decade as I did after reading this one. The characters and voices are strong, the plot moves the story along at the perfectly creeping pace it maintains throughout, just enough information is left off to keep you guessing, and you are rooting for these tiny monstrous girls to just get some semblance of normal back.

If Sophia Coppola doesn't turn this into a movie, I'm going to be devastated.

(non-spoiler review)

TW/CW: body horror, violence/gore, self-harm, suicide

The concept of this book is incredibly interesting, and it’s executed well, letting us understand the background and ‘rules’ of the Tox without info-dumping. The writing style is perfect for the atmosphere, making even the smallest things feel a little creepy while also still feeling poetic and lyrical. There were so many lines I highlighted just because they were so well written, e.g. “At some point the order was alphabetical but we’ve all lost things, eyes and hands and last names.” And the descriptions of the Tox and its effects, ooh I loved them *chef’s kiss*.

The plot overall was well-paced, with excellent use of suspense and multiple good pieces of foreshadowing building up to different reveals/twists. It wasn’t necessary fast-paced, but I still always felt on the edge of my seat, wanting to know what happened next or what that small hint was leading me to.

Our three main characters, Hetty, Byatt, and Reese, were all well-developed and filled a proper role without being archetypal or one-dimensional. Their relationships with each other, themselves, the world, etc. were all unique and complex, and they could all stand on their own solidly.

They were also all morally gray, as well as all the other characters in the book, which brings me to what I think this book did best: moral ambiguity. No one in this book is 100% likeable; they all think, say, and do questionable things. Characters fight each other for food, they lie, they sacrifice the ‘greater good’ for what they want/think they need. They’re real, and a perfect expression of what humanity is like sometimes, especially when placed in such confined and dire circumstances as these characters.

That moral ambiguity ties into some of the themes I drew from the book, including the messiness of people, the world and our choices; the lengths we’ll go for the people we love; sacrifices we’ll make for some greater good, and the grayness of what that really is; how trust can save us or lead us down dark paths and the complexities of knowing who to give it to.

So yes, I really enjoyed this book. However, it wasn’t perfect, so I wanted to point out the two things that I felt made it that way. The first was a couple plot point/twists I wish had been handled differently (no spoilers, obviously). One was a change in character motivation that seemed very 180 and unexplained, and the other was the ending, which felt just a little too open-ended to me (don't get me wrong, I think open endings are really cool, but this one meant that we lost some development I was hoping for).

The other is the one that made me saddest, and that was the untapped potential/development with one of the characters. Obviously I won’t say who, but we unveiled one character’s ‘darker side’ and the complexities we hadn’t seen from the other perspective, but it was never really explained if that makes sense. Not only was I struggling to tell which parts were just them and which was the worsening Tox (which was maybe the point, but it was still frustrating), but I was waiting for more explanation in general about why they were like this and such and I just…never got it. Which was disappointing, because that character was so intriguing to read about.

OVERALL, a very atmospheric, creepy, and morally gray book that, despite some faults, was an absolute delight to read.

Everything about this was a pleasant surprise. In fact, I'm willing to go so far as to say Wilder Girls is note perfect. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what else this author offers.

[this review will be posted on my blog on June 7, 2019]

Lord of the Flies meets Annihilation in this YA literary horror debut featuring a quite deadly illness that slowly turns an all-girl school's students into monsters.

Unfortunately, me and this book didn't click as much as I hoped after seeing that cover - one of the most gorgeous in YA - and what this book was about, since it promised creepy woods and queer girls. It delivered both, but I found only one of them actually satisfying.

The main reason this book didn't work for me were the characters. There wasn't anything wrong with them, not really, but by the end of the book, I realized that I didn't know them at all, which was the reason I couldn't bring myself to care about them. I rooted for them, of course, but I didn't really feel it.
They felt so distant that I started to wonder whether this was intentional and the author was trying to mirror what Annihilation did with its main character. (And it really feels like a YA version of that! It even has the bear.) I can't know the author's intent, but the Annihilation approach worked because that book was barely longer than a novella, not even reaching 200 pages.

Another theory is that she chose not to develop her characters because Wilder Girls is meant to be a general portrayal of the experience of girlhood in a misogynistic world - which it is, since this is a story about how girls are constantly made to change, told to be different, told that their bodies should be always beautiful, told that their bodies belong to everyone but them. Even then, I still don't think this was the best choice (if it really was intentional). I just... couldn't really get invested in anything but the atmosphere.

Apart from that, I can say that this book is really well-written. The writing is gorgeous and evocative, the pacing excellent, and this is one of the best examples of plant horror I've ever read, because for once, I've found a plant horror book that actually tells you how the forest looks like and which trees are there (pines, spruces - yes, this book doesn't call all of them pines, I love that - and broadleaf deciduous trees). I still didn't love it, as I prefer books in which the forest horror comes from the plants and not from the animals that roam it.
Also, creepy tide pools! There are creepy tide pools! I loved the setting so much.

In addition to what didn't work for me about the characters, this book also had what didn't work for me about Annihilation, the sad, lost and gloomy tone, as I find it exhausting, but that's not the book's fault.

Let me first thank Netgalley and the publishers for the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review. I did enjoy this book just not as much as I originally thought. To be honest, I didn’t know a whole lot before going into this book. I saw it around social media and briefly knew it was about a school of girls quarantined due to the Tox. This was enough to peak my interest.

I really had high hopes at the start of the book. Sadly halfway through, after getting the initial descriptions of the Tox and what happens when infected, sadly the wow factor just seemed to dwindle for me. The characters were just okay for me. I guess what I’m trying to get at without spoiling anything is that the idea behind this was great, but it didn’t hold my interest until the very end like I hoped. I still would recommend it to others interested in it because it was a good book! Just probably not one that I will think about months from now.

Wilder Girls is atmospheric and haunting; its main characters are dynamic and vicious and a joy to read. What Rory Power does with the narration when it switches point of view is brilliant and breathtaking. Gripping, surprising, and disturbing, this book had me gasping out loud on public transit.

The writing is lyrical and also painful; soft and flowing yet capable of punching you in the gut at any moment. Every word feels well-placed. Much like the girls themselves, turning into monsters, there is something beautiful and something dangerous about this book.

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wilder Girls by Rory Power follows girls quarantined at Raxter School for Girls. We follow Hetty, Byatt, and Reese as they deal with the ongoing ramifications of the Tox. The girls at Raxter are given rations by the military, and the remaining teachers and headmistress at the school help the girls get by.

This book is incredible. I loved following these characters and the twists and turns of this story, as the mystery of the Tox unfolded, as the fates of other characters were revealed. I think this is an outstanding debut novel, and I'll definitely be picking up any works by Rory Power in the future.

I like the idea of this as an all-girl Lord of the Flies, and I can see the inspiration there. I think this strays enough away from the concept of Lord of the Flies that it stands on its own.

I'm not a big horror reader, but the body horror and mystery here really intrigued me, even when it grossed me out, ha!

Loved every bit of this book. The horror and setting were amazing and had me addicted had wanting to read more at every page turn.

First... thank you NetGalley and publisher for my free copy for my honest review!

I will be honest, when I saw the cover I knew I needed to read Wilder Girls ASAP! I sent my very hopeful request and I was approved! I cant tell you how satisfied I was when I finished this book! The story follows Hetty and a group of girls stuck on an island for school, when a outbreak happens all Hell breaks loose. The story has lots of gore, blood and some more blood. The author does a awesome job of describing when things happen that make you want to wince in horror...but you continue reading because YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
We loved this book so much! Totally check it out when it is released in July!

4/5 stars only because maaaaaan that ending left me want more!!!

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I was confused for most of the book. Wasn't sure what was going on with the Tox. Aliens, warfare, experiment, etc? I was invested in Hetty and the girls and enjoyed the development of the story. Ending left me a bit wanting. Didn't really have a solid conclusion and it wasn't something I would read another book about.

This book is freaking weird. I don't know how else to describe it other than that: weird as hell. The most important thing to understand when starting this book is that it's weird, that's okay, and it might take a while for you to understand the entire world/idea of the Tox. Once you get used to it, this book is a wild ride from beginning to end, and it doesn't slow down.

This book is not for the faint of heart, it's full of <em>extremely explicit body horror</em>. Also, it was very good. I had to put it down and close my eyes to stop feeling nauseous a couple of times, but I kept picking it up again moments later because I needed to know what would happen.

Wilder Girls is set at an all-girls boarding school which has been placed under quarantine after students and teachers start dropping dead of a mysterious illness. While Hetty and her friends are waiting for the military and CDC to deliver a cure, they endure meager food rations, watch as their classmates have varying degrees of flare-ups related to "The Tox," and make sure never to go beyond the gate and into the wilderness surrounding the school. When Hetty gets selected to join the group of girls who leave the grounds to retrieve shipments of supplies from the Navy, she starts questioning what's really going on at Raxter.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book, but feel it could've been longer; the ending kind of went off the rails there.

Wilder Girls is a horror novel with a mysterious disease scenario trapping a school of girls on their isolated island for quarantine measures. The disease has been with them for a year and a half, and while they get supplies from the nearby navy base, they are living in survival mode. There aren't many rules, but one they adhere by is not go out of their school fence unless they are part of the group that goes to receive supplies. The disease takes many of them, but also changes each one of them in cycles of flares that leave them with a new spine or some extra organs. When Byatt comes down in a serious flare and is taken away, Hetty throws caution to the wind to recover her, and thus comes across the truth of the disease plaguing them.

While the story is narrated by both Byatt and Hetty, the former's is a limited perspective and she is as mysterious a figure to us as she is to Hetty. Hetty, meanwhile, has a way of looking at the scenario that simultaneously invokes awe and fear. Byatt looks at the beauty of the weirdness this contagion has wreaked on them all, but her perspective also serves to give us more insight into the nature of the operation being conducted; Hetty, however, is chasing the mystery for most of the book, and pieces things together by the end. Through them, we see the island as a living thing, a threat turned on them after the outbreak, their 'wilder' natures mirroring the wildness of the forests around them. The atmosphere that the writing creates is so well done - you can feel the terror of the unknown outside, the ferocious existence wreaked out of a dire situation, and the feral nature that is their enemy. It is brutal, and doesn't show much kindness to its characters, which is why the relationships portrayed are such precarious things; this is a world in which terrible choices have to be made, and loving someone is a sure way to get your heart broken.

As for the science aspect of the novel (because this is also SciFi and I am a science person, I have to speak on it), I wasn't really convinced. I won't spoil it, but it doesn't fit with how these things work and how it would spread. Even with the allowances made for it being so unknown. Also, there are hormonal aspects that don't make sense when you look at it as a big picture. Additionally, I felt there were some things that were never clarified, like what did Hetty say in her sleep (or was Byatt lying?), why Reese commented on Byatt's personality, and where were those people evacuated to. The open ending, however, gives me hope that there might be a continuation to this story (because I need it!)

This book was set at a boarding school where the girls and the teachers are affected out of nowhere with this virus known as Tox that causes different things to happen to their bodies. Many of the girls and teachers pass away and the school is put into quarantine. They are confined to the Raxter School of girls and are separated from the outside world. Hetty, Byatt, and Reese are a group of girls that have chosen to stick together. When Byatt is taken away from their group after another wave of Tox hits, Hetty will do anything to save her. They find that nothing is at it seems and that their life is just one big experiment that has went wrong. I loved that this book has so many genres tied into one and that it is so deliciously different from anything else I have ever read before.

Wilder Girls is an exciting survival thriller with an all-female cast and a suspenseful story line that persists until the very last page. I really enjoyed this one! I was a little hesitant at first because of all the hype, but now I see exactly why. We follow our main character Hetty and her two other friends Byatt and Reese as the Tox wreaks havoc over Raxter, an island where their school is located. There are routines and customs these girls abide by to keep themselves safe, but as new information about the Tox and their quarantine comes out of the woodwork, Byatt disappears and Hetty and Reese set out to find her, no matter the cost.

Hetty and Reese are incredibly dynamic characters, each one polar opposites of the other. But it's their wisdom and courage that helps keep them together, as well as a subtle romance kindling in the background. I found it very hard to put this down, and it presents important themes such as the strength of friendship and familial bonds, individual strength and courage, and women's strength. The only issue I found was that even though it was told in first-person, I still found it challenging to empathize with Hetty and Reese, and certain plot details lacked sufficient explanation (spoilery to discuss those elements). I also was a little disappointed with the ending--it felt abrupt and left many things unresolved and unanswered. I'm not too big of a fan of narratives that end in the middle of the climax.

The setting of Wilder Girls is lush from page one. Maybe lush isn't how you would describe it. The setting transports you to a world that's almost primordial. With overgrown forests, dangers lurking in the shadows, and a silence that feels heavy in the air. But what Wilder Girls really shows are girls who are allowed to be wild, scarred, and terrifying - monstrous. It seems the perfect setting for changes we cannot predict and that leave us soaked in blood. But it's also the perfect setting for exploring what happens when we are faced with our own mortality? What relationships will we create, honor, and sacrifice?

If I didn't have to read and review this book, I honestly wouldn't have finished it. Needless to say, "Wilder Girls" started out interesting. I thought I was going to like it especially when I liked the relationships between certain characters (more than the characters themselves). Unfortunately, "Wilder Girls" just wasn't a book for me.

I think "Wilder Girls" would've been a book I might have enjoyed if we were still in the "Maze Runner" era or the era where dystopia YA was still pretty popular. Right now, I am just not feeling it. I didn't feel like I enjoyed reading this book despite the author's beautiful writing. Now, don't get me wrong, this book was pretty awesome for a debut YA novel. However, I'd say the writing "saved" this book but the story did not.

Now that I'm a bit older, I'm more conscious about the books I'm reading. I like to think about the "where," "why," and the "how's" of what I'm reading. I like to think deep or beyond what was being portrayed/showed in the story. In "Wilder Girls," the reader does not get all the answers or the answers weren't wrapped up in a nice way. In fact, it was pretty messy to the point that I'm actually doubting these characters or whether they know or understand what was going on.

There had also been a point where some characters knew what was happening but it just made ZERO sense to me on how they arrived to that conclusion. It just didn't make sense how they would understand the science behind the Tox just by looking at diagrams and scientific information. I can't even recall a time the girls in the boarding school were actually studying. They were just hunting, trying to survive, etc. There really wasn't enough backstory or substantial backstory for me to even understand what was happening.

At the same time, I don't know what the meaning is behind this story. This book seemed to be purely plot based just to show a horror and queer story. I couldn't find anything substantial in the book besides the relationships. All I'm saying is that while I'm reading this book, I can't help but think: "what's the point?"

All in all, this was a slow and less cohesive story with a pretty cover but ultimately it just wasn't for me.