Could not put this down! I’m hooked by anything mildly “magical” or “mystical”, so the plot line appealed to me from the very beginning. Zadie and Finn’s backstory, relationship, and ultimately their love for each other and their lost mother, Nora, really shine in this story. It’s not “magic” as you would typically think of it, although there is that. It’s the magic of deeply rooted connections that have been fractured coming back together after a long time and it’s the magic of opening yourself up to other people and accepting yourself and gifts and being vulnerable to others.

The Wilder women stole my heart in this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Having read and loved "Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances" by this author a few months ago, for my Book Club, I knew that this book would probably be magical. And it was. It was hard to put down.

Two sisters, Zadie and Finn, go on a trip together to try and find their mother, who suddenly and unexpectedly left them five years earlier, when they were only 18 and 13 years old. Zadie is psychic and Finn can recall other people's memories. They use their "magical abilities" or "special gifts" to help them on their search, traveling from Texas to Washington, chasing their mother's memories, and some of their own, in hopes of finding her. The author and the story do a great job of taking you on this journey with them.

As unconventional as their search was, I found myself rooting for the two intrepid sisters. I also loved the group of misfits, the Sixes, that they run into at a campground. If you love fiction with a good dose of magical realism and you can suspend your disbelief in things that cannot be explained, then you will definitely enjoy this book.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me the opportunity to read a digital ARC of this book. Publication date: November 15, 2022.

“How do you live in your present if your present is someone else’s past?” What a nice surprise! This book is fantasy and that is not my usual genre favorite but I gave it a shot and loved this book! Gifted sisters Finn and Zadie are searching for their Mom, Nora, who abandoned them five years ago. There are so many twists, turns, and surprises along their journey to find her. I became attached to these characters and I couldn’t stop reading until the end. Thanks to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC. I really enjoyed it.

While I enjoyed this coming-of-age, sisterhood-style beach read, I found that the story flowed slower than I would have liked after the initial setup. The two perspectives also had a tendency to mush together; while some similarities between sisters would make sense, too many blur the line between them. Other than that, this book should be on everyone's quick summer reads list! The characters are funny, relatable, and very down-to-earth for non-normal people. The loss of your mother- and trying to find her again- is a relatable storyline that had me hooked from the start. Only the middle needs some help. :)

I could not get into this book. The characters were one dimensional and both unlike blue and the premise was too far-fetched. If it wasn’t so grounded in reality, the magic would have been awesome.

4stars=I really liked it. Review to come, but ... This is slow enough to get rolling that I set it aside for a bit. Once I picked it up again, and the sisters Zadie and Finn set off to find the mother who walked away from them, I found myself thoroughly enthralled. There journey is interesting as they are leads by breadcrumbs in Finn's ability to experience other peoples' memories and the meet some intriguing people, who also have special abilities, who help them along the way. Zadie who was the hurt the most by her mother's deterioration and abandonment finally finds healing and acceptance of her own long denied psychic gifts along the way. I enjoyed this.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley - release date November 15, 2

This novel was truly captivating. I enjoyed the magical realism component, and the complicated relationship that the two sisters with extraordinary abilities have really immersed me into the reading. The entire journey as they searched for their long lost mother was pure magic. How it all tied up at the end was also genius and unexpected. Truly enjoyable read.

I received an ARC of this on NetGalley in exchange for a review. The following represents my honest opinions.

If you like any of the following five things in books, you may want to seriously consider picking this one up when it comes out in November:
- Sister relationships
- Searching for a missing parent
- Supernatural abilities
- Foster family
- Road trip/quest

The Wilderwomen is a book about two sisters who have been separated after the disappearance of their mother several years ago. One sister was of age when the mother left and, therefore, has been living on her own. The other was brought into a foster family that could better support her needs. Both the sisters have supernatural abilities of one kind or another: the older sister can see flashes of the future and the younger can feel memories in spaces/objects. When the sisters meet up to go on a week-long beach vacation during the summer, they change course and instead embark on an adventure to try and find their mom through the use of their unique abilities.

Overall, I had a fun time reading this book. The way the powers were portrayed was particularly fascinating. Definitely a magical realism vibe. I occasionally had issues with the pacing, which caused my attention to waver somewhat. But if you're looking for a book about a sister relationship that's magical realism and you love a good road trip, I'd highly recommend The Wilderwomen!

The Wilderwomen was a fantastic read. The theme of family mixed with mystery and magical realism made for a surprising and wild ride.
Two sisters, Zadie and Finn, both possess mystical powers. Yet much like the sisters themselves, their powers are very different. Zadie is a psychic and has visions to guide her decisions. Finn can feel and relive other people’s memories. The sisters use these powers to search for their mother, Nora, who walked out in them five years before. Along the way, they meet a cast of quirky and mystical characters who help them on their journey and change the way they see the world.

The sisterly bond is endearing and realistic. The twists and turns of the journey had me riveted. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend.

3.5 stars. I went into this book expecting a moderate to heavy dose of sci-fi/fantasy/magical realism. However, I though that the wilder women definitely leaned more towards mystery/thriller, which really isn’t my cup of tea. The book was well written, but wasn’t for me. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who devoured the change by Kirsten Miller

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A young adult novel with a dash of magical realism. I choose this book because of 1) its cover, 2) the plotline, & 3) fantasy young adult ooooo. Two daughters (Zadie and Finn) lose their mom five years ago and are convinced she is still out there. Their mother (Nora) disappeared one night, never to be seen again. To make the matters even more interesting, everyone in the family has a superpower (no not like incredibles, but I think a bit cooler.) Zadie is able to see situations before they happen with her psychic ability. While Finn can pick up on 'echos' which are considered memories of other people. Nora doesn't share her ability with her children, but if you're really curious pick up the book to find out what it is.

Overall, the story was medium-paced, but I became confused in certain sections of the book. There were ALOT of bird references which I didn't completely understand, but it wasn't an issue to understand the main concept of the book. It was heartwarming to watch the sister's connection with each other develop and grow as they went on the search to finding their mom. There was bickering (of course), but they both listened to each other towards the end of the book and held respect towards one another. Since Finn was too young to be on her own after her mother disappeared, she was given to an adoption family. Zadie was just past eighteen and was left to handle her issues herself as her sister was given help through the struggles of losing the only parent in their lives.

I recommend this book if you're looking for a wholesome family and fantasy novel. It's easy to sit down in one or two sittings to get through this book and I plan on reading another book by this author sometime this year. I really liked her writing and the pace of the story overall.

The Wilderwomen
Ruth Emmie Lang
This is the story of sisters each with a gift; the oldest, Zadie can see things before they happen, Finn can see the echo of other peoples’ memories. Nora Wilder disappeared five years ago. Finn was a mere 12-year-old and Zadie was 18 when their mother disappeared. Finn has been in foster care and her foster parents want to adopt her. A powerful echo grabs Finn: she sees a woman singing a song about a bird. Finn wakes up in an aviary unsure how she got there, she knows the memory belonged to her mother Nora. The sisters drifted apart after their mother disappeared. Finn must convince her sister, Zadie, that the must find their mother. Reluctantly Zadie agrees to go with Finn to follow in Nora’s path. As Finn continues to explore Nora’s echo/past she slips farther and farther away. Zadie knows she must determine how far she is prepared to go to locate their mother; the incorrect decision could lose both Finn and Nora. Along the way they meet with Sixes, people with a sixth sense. The Sixes live in Constellation Camp where the sisters and their mother camped before she disappeared.
Zadie and Finn are interesting characters and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow. The sisters were not forthright with each other; the kept secrets from each other. The plot kept me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the magic in this tale. While the sisters’ road trip ends up being a search for mom trip it is really more than that. Much of the focus of this tale is on the two sisters reconnecting. While Finn and Zadie definitely had special gifts so did many others they met on their journey. I really enjoyed this tale and will be watching for more books by author Ruth Emmie Lang.

This book was an absolute pleasure to read. Anything by Ruth Eminem Lang is actually. I highly recommend this book.

A very moving and emotional ride about the bond between women, healing generational trauma, discovering your roots, and spreading your wings as you grow into adulthood. It’s poetic, magical, bittersweet, and I loved every minute of it,

This novel was so lovely. I really enjoyed Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance so I was thrilled to read this one as well and I think I liked it more. Both sisters, Zadie and Finn, are individually well developed characters, both so different, and their relationship (which needs healing) is something I really enjoyed experiencing. I loved their extra abilities and their journey. And I love a good road trip.

Having read and loved Ruth Emmie Lang’s previous book, Beast of Extraordinary Circumstance, I couldn’t wait to read The Wilderwomen and I was not disappointed. It’s a road trip story about two estranged sisters, Zadie and Finn, trying to find their mom Nora who disappeared five years ago, but that’s not all. The sisters and the mother all have various abilities, including premonitions and being able to see other people’s memories. Zadie and Finn use their abilities to try to recreate Nora’s trail after she disappeared. Along the way they also reconnect and try to work through what’s happened in each of their lives since Nora left. Zadie and Finn are flawed, human characters, who are just trying to do the best that they can, and I loved them. I love magical realism, so this book was right up my alley. It’s weird in a really good way. There were parts of the story that fell into place a bit too conveniently, but I was engrossed and along for the ride, so that didn’t detract much for me.
Thanks to NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC. After reading and Loving Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstances I was waiting not so patiently for Lang’s next book. While I did not love this one as much as Beasts, I did still love it. It is beautifully written and I loved all the characters. Sisters Zadie and Finn took me on a fantastic and magical adventure to find out what happened to their mother who disappeared years ago.

The Wilderwomen follows the two daughters of Nora Wilder as they search for their mother and for the answer to the question that has been plaguing them for five years - what did she leave them? Lang's text presents familiar questions about family relationships, discovering our true selves, and familial behavior patterns in a unique and clever way. I enjoyed watching the personal development of the two primary characters, young women raised most of their lives by the same woman but with very different experiences in their teenage years. Throughout the book Lang also introduces other interesting and often unsual characters. They each have some role in either furthering the self-realization of the two primary characters or in moving the plot along. I did wish Lang circled back to some of these characters; a couple of these characters' exit from the story line felt abrupt. Regardless, I enjoyed Wilderwomen and would recommend it to young women and adults looking for a clever, supernatural-ish, coming of age book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book… but it just stretched a bit too long. It definitely would have benefited from some slightly tighter editing. Second biggest complaint, the shear volume of other “sixes” they run into. Large groups of magic people who don’t really hide it just… doesn’t fly (ha). People can’t keep secrets. And many of these are easily provable.

Loved Zadie. She felt super real. Finn… less so. In the last year before Nora disappeared, Finn is supposed to be 12, but she comes off closer to 8. And as a 17 year old high school grad, she comes off as older.

I’m a sucker for road-trip/destination stories, probably from my childhood reading epic fantasy, but if you aren’t this isn’t the book for you.

Zadie’s mixed feelings were one of the best parts of the book. Just loved the ongoing examination of her complicated feelings towards her mom. How to balance sadness and longing and resentment and love?

Why did Joel exist? I just… am not sure what he added. I liked that the girls’ lives were fleshed out but actually meeting some of the side characters just sort of detracted from the overall vibe and glow.

Anyway, this book has magic, motherhood, a cool female lead and other cool female characters, and just enough humor. Definitely a good way to spend a day at home with a dick kid who wanted nothing more that to melt her brain with repeated viewing of Bluey.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Wilderwomen was a pretty interesting book. In it, you will meet Zadie, Finn and Nora. Zadie and Finn are sisters and Nora is their mom. One day, she ends up leaving them and everyone's life has forever changed. Years later, Finn and Zadie are reuniting for a fun sister trip to the beach. Or at least that's what they originally planned on doing.

Their adventure was honestly a lot of fun but definitely had some confusing parts. Mostly because of the secrets they have yet to uncover. Once they started to pop up, things started to make a lot more sense. It was also interesting to see how these sisters reacted and communicated with one another since they haven't really been in each other's lives for a few years. Plus, with the other people they meet along the way.

Then there's the magic or gifts within these three and the people they meet. Each new thing we learned about definitely kept me engaged and entertained. Although, I'll admit, that I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for bad news to come everyone's way.

In the end, I'm pretty happy with how things concluded. Still a bit confused about some things, but it was a nice journey to read within one sitting. I'll definitely try another book by Ruth. Especially if it's magical like this one.