𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆, 𝗭𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘇𝗲, 𝘀𝗼 𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

When their mother Nora Wilder disappeared, Zadie and Finn were left reeling and soon split apart. Without a father, or anyone else to step in, decisions were forced upon them. Zadie, at 18, was too old for protective services to care about her and was left flailing and alone to figure her life out. Without a stable home to offer Finn, she wasn’t allowed to raise her, instead Finn went into foster care and for a while they visited each other as much as possible. Five years later they have drifted apart, and Zadie isn’t much closer to being able to offer her a place to live. They will soon reconnect on a trip celebrating Finn’s high school graduation, time together they need desperately to salvage the love between them. The sisters are troubled and keeping secrets from each other. What was meant to be a trip to Galveston and relaxing on the beach becomes a journey to search for their mother. Could she really have just left them, without a word? Years have tumbled by, and nothing points to Nora’s whereabouts. Zadie is ashamed, bearing in mind her unwanted psychic ability she has nothing much to go on. Finn is gifted too, able to sense echoes of the past, but when these ‘gifts’ come upon her, it can seem like a seizure. In truth, she steps into a person’s mind, reliving their memories but it is fragmented, leaving only a puzzle. Both girls have always been different, Zadie wants none of it, has hid it, allowed her psychic abilities to rust, but can’t stop what comes naturally. Finn is hungry to use the echoes to chase her mother and troubled by the fact that her foster parents want to adopt her. She fears embracing adoption, her new family, would only hurt Zadie. Finn also isn’t ready to give up on reuniting with her mother, who must still be alive. Accepting her foster parents offer feels like closing a door on the past, usurping her mother’s rights. Zadie’s relationship has crashed and burned, and she is with pregnant, terrifying facts that she isn’t sharing with Finn. It’s been lonely, a constant struggle building a life for herself, she has had no one to protect and care about her. Despite their longing to heal the wounds in their bond, all the things they are hiding is pushing them further apart.

Hope is dangerous, Zadie figures her mother may as well be a ghost, just as unreachable. She resents everything that has befallen them since Nora vanished. None of it makes sense, there is a lot of anger aimed toward Nora, and herself. There may have been one moment when she could have prevented it all, something Finn isn’t aware of, Finn convinces Zadie to search, but she is still conflicted. A strange premonition is haunting her, the phrase “The sky is full of birds.” Useless, she thinks, despite it ‘sticking to her brain like a burr’. Finn is tapping into their mother’s memories, and it is far more powerful than any other echoes she has experienced, they just have to find places Nora has been, and this leads them on a bizarre journey, like the Constellation camp sleeping under stars that speak (via horoscopes). They also meet people on the way that have their own strange abilities. Will their meandering truly give them the answers to the biggest mystery in their young lives? The echoes Finn experiences are starting to take over, how much of herself must she sacrifice, is it worth it? Will Zadie lose the only family she has left, if nothing comes of their search? Just where did Nora go? Are they ready for the truth?

It’s a decent magical realism story and the ending is as odd as the cast of characters. At heart it’s about family and identity. I only wish we had more of the past to feed on, I think it would have pulled me in more.

Publication Date: November 15, 2022 Available Now

St. Martin’s Press

This book is not my usual read, but I had heard fantastic reviews and so I applied for the arc!

Really well done! The characters were well written, the story kept me turning pages. Plot twists kept me guessing.

I did find the storyline a bit difficult to follow at times, and that is my one and only complaint.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thanks to @netgalley for the arc of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this unique story of Zadie and Finn and their search for their mother. All of the characters were so interesting and I especially enjoyed Zadie's growth throughout the book. I loved the magical elements, all the different gifts were so fun to read about. I couldn't put this one down!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced review copy.

My review has been shared to goodreads, Amazon, and Instagram.

The Wilderwomen is a book thats a bit difficult to describe - its magical realism, coming of age meets mystery with womens fiction thrown in as well.

Synopsis: When their mother disappeared, life changed for sisters, Zadie and Finn. Zadie should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning. And while Finn can't see the future, she has her own magical ability. Finn can see the echoes of memories other people have left behind.

Always wanting to know what happened, Finn convinces Zadie to hit the road in a search for their mom with the hope they can uncover the answer to the question that has been haunting them for years: Why did she leave?

My thoughts: Sisters, Zadie and Finn, are both about to make major life decisions, but before they do that, they need to understand their past. I love a good roadtrip story and Lang brings us on a journey, not just for figuring out life, but for experiencing the US along the way. The blurb alludes this is a story of magical moments (and it is), but its also steeped in real life. - for aren't we all a bit changed by the friends we meet and our experiences?

The Wilderwomen is a story about family, love, forgiveness, acceptance, and finding happiness amongst the obstacles in life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing Langs poetic story about the bond between women and discovering your roots.

This is the story of Zadie and Finn, two sisters on the search to uncover the truth of what happened to their mother who abandoned them five years previously. Where did she go, and more importantly…why did she leave?

I really enjoyed this book! The mix of magical realism and mystery worked for me in a way that was delightfully unexpected. These two sisters, each gifted with their own unique sixth-sense, had very distinct personalities and voices, and it was really interesting to get to know each of them, and to understand their own motivations for undertaking this journey. I also liked that we got to see them explore their sisterly relationship within the context of their very different memories of their mother. But what tied it all together for me, and really made it work was how much the author relied on the magical aspects of their psychic gifts to guide this story. Using Zadie’s ability to see the future, and Finn’s ability to see other people’s pasts as the means to unravel the mystery was so clever and, at least in my opinion, really successful!

I’d recommend this book to anyone who enjoys character driven stories, mysteries, and/or books with heavy doses of magical realism.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital review copy in exchanged for my honest review.

Such complexity and dynamic character building!

This is my first foray into the writing of Ruth Emmie Lang and it will not be my last. This was such a personal and incredible journey for these characters and the magical realism just added in an extra layer of emotions and questions.

This is not your average coming of age tale. It’s the story of two sisters torn apart when their mother leaves them, but why did she leave? And is she still out there?

As a teenager, there seem to be simpler things to be dealing with: homework, getting your drivers license, graduation, extra curricular activities, looking at universities and so on, but what if you had a secret ability that just made things more difficult? Zadie, the elder sister, can tell the future while her younger sister, Finn, can relive memories that people left behind. At what cost would you use these abilities?

This story was so descriptive that I felt like I was there. It really takes you to another world both in landscape and through the eyes and minds of the people in the story. It makes you wonder to what lengths you would go for the ones you love while also remaining true to yourself.

Thank you so much to the author, Ruth Emmie Lang, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC of The Wilderwomen.

I was drawn to this book because of the concept of two sisters with supernatural powers looking for their mother who went missing five years ago. I liked the magical realism concept of the book, but I felt like the plot was not fleshed out. There were plot holes and opportunities to add more context to the story. Some of the elements, such as the bird concept, were lightly touched upon and felt disjointed. It kept my attention, but could have been executed better.

Thank you Netgalley & publisher for this e arc of The Wilderwomen by Ruth Emmie Lang.
This is a fantasy or magical realism novel. 3.5*
Synopsis: "Five years ago, Nora Wilder disappeared. The older of her two daughters, Zadie, should have seen it coming, because she can literally see things coming. But not even her psychic abilities were able to prevent their mother from vanishing one morning.... Two sisters who slowly drift apart after their mother’s abandonment, decide to take a trip together for rebounding which turns into a search for their missing mother’s whereabouts and dig out more about secrets of their past. ...But the more time Finn spends in their mother’s past, the harder it is for her to return to the present, to return to herself. As Zadie feels her sister start to slip away, she will have to decide what lengths she is willing to go to to find their mother, knowing that if she chooses wrong, she could lose them both for good."

3 things I liked:
1. The start - stong start
2. Nature, astrology, or gifts
3. MCs: Zadie and Finn

3 things I disliked:
1. Too much confusion until the end - middle very slow for me
2. Oddness
3. Magical realism too far with the bird analogies maybe

I was glad to get an arc for this one.

Zadie Wilder can see the future, but never saw that her mother would disappear five years ago. Her sister Finn can sense memories imprinted on objects, giving her the appearance of being easily distracted. At Finn's graduation party, she catches the echo of a woman singing, and knows it's her mother. Finn convinces Zadie to come with her to find their mother, but the more she slips into the memories to find her, the more she loses grip on herself. Zadie feels her sister slipping away, and must decide if finding their mother is worth losing her sister.

It's sad that Zadie was essentially shunted aside because she was already eighteen when Nora left, separating her from Finn. Of course, the girls would grow apart in five years, and it's a consequence of the foster care system. Following echoes of memory fragments left behind brings them together, but both still have their secrets they don't discuss: Zadie is pregnant and had watched her mother walk away the day she disappeared, and Finn’s foster parents offered to adopt her. Along the way they find people their mother met, including those with psychic abilities of different kinds.

This is a story about sisters rekindling a relationship as much as they're searching for their mother. Memories of the past that grew painful for Zadie are brought to light, especially when they offer clues to what their mother once felt was important. Throughout the novel we also see glimpses of Nora with the girls, and the gradual slips in her memory getting more intense. It's a fascinating story, and one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading.

This gem involves a mystery disappearance of a mother, two sisters reconnecting on a journey to find answers, and whimsical gifts. I adored both girls who both have strong voices. The prose is just as magical and lyrical. This review ended up being so short just because I am at a loss for words. I enjoyed it so much.

I’ve sat here staring at my laptop screen for a bit, trying to think of the best way to start out this book review because I just can’t stay away from the word “ineffable” when it comes to this book. When I pull away from the intricacies and intimacies of the story and look at it from afar, it’s just something so enigmatic and beautiful I simply don’t know where to start with it.

Why don’t I try starting with the plot, boiled down to its base elements? This book is, at its roots, a Great American Road Trip novel. It’s the story of two sisters who decide to set out and find their mother, who has been missing for five years, and now that they’re both adults they decide to find out once and for all what her fate was, because they think they have the tools to do so. This wouldn’t be a special book at all if it weren’t for the sheer, raw talent and imagination of Ruth Emmie Lang.

Characters and atmosphere are what drive this book, and both are magnificent engines. I’d say atmosphere carries slightly more weight than the characters, but that may be due to the fact that Lang’s mesmerizing, earnest, and almost hypnotic prose lends the atmosphere strength, while only half of characterization is carried by prose (the rest being carried by heartfelt, well-written, and sometimes heartbreakingly vulnerable dialogue).

The themes of sisterhood, motherhood, guilt, shame, secrets, and regret are all central to this book, overlaid with mystical melodies surrounding memory, music, birds, and migration. These themes and literary melodies are where the book gets ineffable for me, because I feel I could write a whole essay about how memory, music, birds, and migration patterns all tie into one another, but that would never fit into a book review. This one is running long as it is.

Our two main characters, Finn and Zadie, are both wonderful and heartbreaking to read, with their opposite worldviews and personalities. If you have a sister you might know that feeling of simultaneously wanting to hug them and throttle them but you’ll do whatever it takes to keep them safe. When it comes to their disparate world views regarding their missing mother, you can also see that big sister/little sister dynamic in action as they both regard their mother and her actions in different ways, memories and emotions colored differently by their age when the events happened and whether or not they were there when certain things happened. It causes strife and discord as Zadie tries to shield and protect Finn from what happened in the last six months their mother was around before she disappeared, but it’s hard to stop those protective instincts, and you can feel the weight of Zadie’s emotions regarding the matter.

Yes, I cried.

There are fabulous interludes throughout the book as Zadie and Finn travel from Texas to Washington in their endeavor to find their mom, from stargazing in Arizona to communing with trees in the Cascades. Every new supporting character that’s brought into the story contributes something significant to the story and never takes away from the plot or feels like filler material. It’s just one more stepping stone and one more mile to go.

I simply loved it. Everything about it. It was compelling from the first sentence, reeling me in immediately and it kept me captivated to the very end. It won’t disappoint you.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

File Under: Coming of Age/Magical Realism/New Adult/Mystery

This was a phenomenally written, at times meandering (in a good way), compelling novel of two sisters, their supernatural abilities, a trip to find their missing mother, and their relationship with each other. Their relationships with each other and all the people they met on the way were so intriguing and it kept changing and turning that I could not tell you what was going to happen next. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a good sister plot line or is intrigued by events and abilities we can't quite explain!

I thought this book was very intriguing. The story is really quite different, and I felt quite fresh. I found myself quickly consumed by the unfolding story and the many questions that desperately needed answers. The twists are plentiful, and a lush aura of tension and anxiety permeates this gripping tale.

For me, the writing was the most interesting part of this book. It was fun soaking up these words and the story and the characters. I recommend to those that aren’t looking for a terribly heavy read.

Thank you for this opportunity!

In 2017 I read [book:Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance|33574161].
Ruth Emmie Lang managed to rip out my heart, give it a hug and place it back in my chest.
To say that book destroyed me would be an understatement.
Did I have high hopes for her sophomore book?
Maybe a little.
I may have put off reading this for a couple months because I was worried it wouldn't live up to my expectations. I regret that decision.
Finn & Zadie are beautifully developed characters with fantastic personalities and a deep well of emotions. It's about sisters in need of reconnecting, add a road trip, psychic abilities, and a mystery surrounding their mum and I'm not really sure why I was worried about reading it now.
Sooo freaking good!
Much love to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press & Ruth Emmie Lang for my ARC!

WOW.

I was really blown away by the time I finished this book.
The Wilderwomen had the (in my opinion) perfect blend of women's family fiction and magical realism.
And while almost erratic feeling at times, the story flowed really well and it wasn't difficult to keep up with character changes, "flashbacks", etc.

The characters were not the most rounded, but I felt they were all likable, nonetheless.

I was always invested in what may happen next and felt the length of the book suited just fine.
For myself, this was a hard one to put down and I was constantly wandering what was going to happen next and where our main characters were going to end up.

Kudos to Ms. Lang, the author. And thanks to NetGalley and pubisher for the early read!
4/5 stars

4/5 stars

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the eARC of THE WILDERWOMEN!

I’m so thrilled that another Ruth Emmie Lang book is out in the world. I adored BEASTS OF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCE and if you missed it when it came out in 2017, you must go back and read it!

THE WILDERWOMEN has some of my favorite elements in a book: a story about sisters, magical realism, a mystery, a road trip and characters coming to terms with their powers.
Zadie and Finn’s mother Nora disappeared one morning 5 years ago. They haven’t heard a thing from her since she left. Which is surprising since Zadie is a psychic and Finn can read the echoes of memories left behind by people. On the day of her high school graduation party, Finn stumbles across an echo from their mother. She convinces Zadie that Nora is out there somewhere and they must find her!

Cue a sister’s road trip montage. Along the way they meet more extraordinary people with unique powers and begin to heal the wounds in their relationship.

Interwoven with Zadie and Finn’s chapters are flashbacks to Nora leading up to the day that she disappeared.

Ruth Emmie Lang’s writing is beautiful and comforting. I didn’t want the story to end. If you love magical realism, gorgeous writing or books about sisters, definitely pick this one up!

THE WILDERWOMEN is out 11/15!

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4649430528?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_TpYUJSGD/

Rating 3.5

A road trip of a lifetime for two sisters who set out to find their missing mother. The Wilderwomen features elements of magical realism for a unique journey of love for ones mother. There were truly heartwarming moments and those filled with incredible sadness. The pavement is bumpy as each girl learns to forgive and overcome guilt and anger to mend their broken hearts.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary copy.

This book was so different than what I normally read. Very well written. The characters are definitely likable. I enjoyed it.

I loved the writing style but was expecting something a little
more plot driven than character driven. I think the premise had a lot of potential but fell a little flat for me. I would still read more from this author!