I received this ARC for my honest opinion. The opinions stated here are my own.
Wow. Where do I start? I was first drawn to this book as a possible purchase for our library because of the cover. It is beyond gorgeous. I didn't realize at first her head was a spiral (and not makeup). It summarizes the unraveling of these girls, emotionally and physically, at the hand of the Tox and their own devices. The school is on lockdown, cut off from the main land and all society because of a toxic outbreak - The Tox. The girls are affected all in different ways, and all at different times - from an oozing and moving eye to silver hand and gills. Meanwhile, animals beyond the school's fence have become killers. There are secrets here as well. Secrets from the teacher, the headmistress, and from those off the island.
Hetty, the main character, must unravel these secrets in order to save her missing best friend.

I loved the writing in this novel. The world building. The friendships which were also more than just that at times, lending to complex relationships. I was disappointed in the ending, but I won't explain why because it would be a spoiler, and I don't think it ruins the beauty that I found in the writing and story.
I will just say that I will be purchasing this for my older teens at the library.

This book is wonderful. Its a fast paced feminist horror romp full of a mysterious illness called Tox and girls would will do whatever it takes to survive in a brutal world. Honestly it was really interesting to read this book because on one hand you want to know more about the mysterious illness that either kills or deforms. But on the other hand you love the main characters too much to want to see them come too close to the illness. Its a real page turner!

It started out small. Flowers. Crabs. Fascinating but not too concerning. At least until it moved on to bigger victims.

They call it the Tox. Whatever it is that is mutating and killing them off one by one. Some girls grow extra appendages. Some develop a second heart beat. Some get gills. Some die. No one walks away unscathed.

But even with the challenges life has settled into a sort of dreary monotony. Food is scarce but still regularly shipped in. There's no cable or internet but they still have a safe school and grounds to wander during the day. It's just a waiting game for a cure.

Or at least it was.

This book kept me reading long past the point I should have been fast asleep because I desperately needed to know what was going to happen to these girls. These flawed, damaged, wonderful, terrible, brave and terrified girls. They've lost so many to the Tox but they are soldiering on and even trying to take care of each other as they slog through the days. They are so delightfully human and relatable that it was easy to put myself right in the middle of the action and get completely lost in this story.

Wow! This book was something else. I really enjoyed the story, and was kind of simultaneously weirded out and fascinated by the fact that these girls were just living life with the Tox. This horrible thing happened and they just adapted and did what they had to do. I was slightly reminded of The Troop while reading, but this was a thousand times better!

Whoa. That is one heckin' good book.
YA feminist horror.
I will keep thinking about this one for a long time. So eerie.

Can't wait for more from this author!

A book does not get to label itself as feminist merely for having an all female cast. That is not what feminism is.

This book could have been really great and I was very excited for it. I did read it all over the course of two days, but I feel like that is because I kept waiting for something to actually happen. Our protagonist has a one track mind and that goal isn’t even useful to the community or herself. There is little concern for what should be the mystery of their disease and why they’ve been sequestered to this island. Instead it’s hundreds of pages of being obsessed with this one friend who it turns out is a pretty crappy person.

There’s probably an allegory about climate change or feminist culture or the United States government somewhere- but it never shines through.

I read Wilder Girls in one sitting. I kid you not -- I did not leave my seat until I was finished. The prose is outstanding, and it had me engrossed immediately. When I read Wilder girls, I was at the Raxter School for Girls watching everything happen and feeling everything Rory Power wanted me to feel. This book is creepy in the most entertaining of ways, because it felt real -- the island, the quarantine, the horrible things in the woods. The exceptional use of setting combined with the complicated relationships between the characters and the look into human nature, into what we would do when pushed to the limit made this book extraordinary. Wilder Girls is the feminist horror novel I didn't know I needed until now. Trust me, you need it too.

Wow, upon finishing this I want to know more!

I love dystopian fiction, this book is definitely in that category. However I feel like it could be a middle grade gateway to the medical thriller genre as well.

The tox has taken over, the girls at school all manifest different symptoms that could give you nightmares....

Will Hetty and Reese find Byatt and survive the Tox?

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Strong female character with great imagery and a creeping and unsettling atmosphere. The second half felt a bit rushed for me, and I would've enjoyed a bit more work on the supporting characters. It felt like there were too many secondary characters who never felt fleshed out. Besides that I really enjoyed the suspense and thrill of the story. I would highly recommend to readers who enjoyed Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand, or Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick.

A wonderfully strange and unique book that will have you wondering what genre that it should be in. I loved the strong female characters and how they work together. It has suspense, horror, and plot twists that will keep you up all night long.

A riveting read. Read through it in two days. Killer twists and turns. A sure fire hit with the teen crowd! Will be purchasing!!

Wilder Girls

Where do I even begin?

Well, to be honest the cover is what caught my attention. It’s gorgeous and I couldn’t keep my eyes off it. Am I right? Kudos to the artist. Then I read the tag line “a feminist Lord of the Flies” and I immediately requested the book.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House for allowing me the pleasure of reading this digital ARC.

Rory Power is a phenomenal author. Her style of writing, choice of words, the way in which she thrusts you into a completely foreign setting with very little context—confusing, yet not so confused that you become frustrated—all of it makes for such a wonderful experience. I found myself rereading lines and whole sections because I was in that much awe of what an incredible writer she is. Rory, if you’re reading this, fingers crossed book 2 is in the works, and I’d be more than happy to advance read it because I do not want to wait that long before diving into another one of your books.

Onto what makes this book stand out (aside from the writing itself): The plot line is unique and intriguing from page one. It pulls you into the story, keeps you guessing, and has elements of mystery and surprise interwoven throughout each chapter. Strong female leads are another powerful element. The characters are so full of life, jumping of the page, you feel like you really know them, and you’re affected when things don’t go their way. Power has a way of sticking so closely to the POV in which she is writing that you find yourself so engrossed with being in the moment of the story as it unfolds. So often, writers can’t help but be “writerly” and throw in unnecessary scenes just for the purpose of beautiful writing, when all that really does is pull the reader out of the story. The setting is a character in and of itself—the remote island boarding school is alive and I could picture every moment so clearly in my mind.

Wilder Girls symbolized everything I love about being a reader. Part mystery, part sci-fi, part horror and all amazing. It’s young adult with moderate violence, so this book is geared toward high school readers. I urge you to pick this one up the minute it hits the shelves.