Wow. The Wilderness of Girls definitely caught me off guard. I picked up the book on a whim as it sounded a little different than my normal reads. I'm so incredibly glad I did. This book was fantastic. Even halfway through I kept thinking that it was a little weird but I loved it. I couldn't put it down and finished it in a day. At times it was hard to read, and the Wild Girls' adjustment into society as well as their struggles with adjusting to how society is were so well done that they were extra heartbreaking to read. The social commentary was woven so well into the text and I just think this book was amazing.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and fair review.

4.5 star on The Wilderness of Girls.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select, Zando Projects and NetGalley for sending me an ARC and Audiobook of this title in exchange for review.

The separate copies I received of this book must have been from different editing stages because the audiobook was quite different. Not in a huge subject changing way just dual reading with both I noticed a lot of the vocabulary was different. However the narrator for this was amazing. She gave emotion and depth and in no way sounded robotic or monotone like many other audiobooks I’ve listened to.

This book…. Wow. It had me in tears. You get the feeling straight away that it’s going to be a heavy book, and it definitely delivers on that. I’d check the TW if that is concerning to you, personally it was a lot but it made me fall into the story more and feel closer with the characters. The extremely strong found family in this book is beautiful I love girls just being girls (a little bit feral) and supporting each other. I will be preordering this as soon as I finish my review to have on my shelf (I think this comes out tomorrow!!!).

It hit me hard and had me interested from page one and now I’m going to google Madeline Claire Franklin and dive into all of her works.

Special shoutout to uncle Jimmy!!!

This was a very interesting read that teases your imagination and has you questioning everything. It was quick and entertaining, magical and a bit confusing but in a good way. This was a 3.75 read for me but I’m rounding up.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin in exchange for an honest review. Wow, just wow. This book is now in my favorite lists. I felt so connected to the girls in this book and everything they went through. I also really liked how many questions Franklin left open while answering others. I felt like it made it more real, because sometimes in life we don't get to have answers and some things will always remain a mystery. I loved Eden/Rhe's (sorry about spelling mistakes, I listened to the book) Uncle and her therapist., they are both such positive adult figures. I could go on and on about this book, but I'll just say I loved it and thank you Madeline Claire Franklin for helping me feel better.

Wow! "The Wilderness of Girls", by Madeline Claire Franklin is a masterfully woven story. The audio book pulled me in right away, and the narrator did an awesome job bringing all of the characters to life. This has become one of my favorite audio books of all-time.

This unflinching YA novel had me from the get go. Diving into what it means to be a girl in our society, and how we are taught truth is. Messy and complicated, but always engaging we watch a girl discover feral girls living in the woods, and through the friendship she forges with these girls remembers the truth of her own past. Franklin manages to balance the tragic with a sense of fortitude that keeps this story from drifting into the realm of the hopeless.

Check the content warnings for this book, the message and conversations sparked are so important, but we are dealing with some heavy heavy content.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select | Zando Young Readers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars

Great audiobook. Rhi is a teenager living with her uncle, a ranger, after some family issues. While working with him she stumbles across a pack of four feral teen girls and some wolves. They become known as The Wild Girls of Happy Valley and Rhi becomes friends with them. The girls were raised by a man called Mother who they believe gave them magic. As Rhi struggles with her own past, she connects with these other girls.

Highly recommend this book. One line that stuck with me (and hopefully that I didn't misremember) was "nobody believes teenage girls". Lots of tough topics covered but so well done you get pulled into the story. Can't wait to see what Madeline Claire Franklin writes next.

Rebecca Soler did an excellent job narrating.

I had a difficult time staying focused with this one. I know, unpopular view. I was just uninterested.

Rhi is in the woods and comes upon a pack of feral girls. She integrates them into society. They believe they are princesses from another land and that Rhi is their 5th sister.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

OOF. This was nothing like what I expected and I am so pleased to have been given the opportunity to read and review it early. I love stories about girls and womanhood, especially ones focusing on their identities and strengths. I wasn't sure that this book would be that, but it was, and it completely nailed it in a brand new way.

Eden is a young girl in an unstable home, and shortly into the book finds herself a ward of her uncle. There is clearly unmentioned history of Eden's past, and we get snippets to which one can form conclusions, that drives a low-frequency anxiety throughout the whole book-making a reader committed to Eden's story and strive for her success- even though she's only one in an ensemble of incredible and unique characters- girls and boys, men and women, doctors or family, front and center or otherwise.

The "Wild Girls of Happy Valley" have their own story that abruptly intersects Eden's story - and the five work through their trials as a pack- from institutionalization to a reckoning about their destiny. The girls were not parodied either- every character was well described without being verbose; I felt like I fully understood everyone in this book.

The plot feels brand new to me and it did not disappoint. Lately, I've heard this amazing plots and the books do not rise to the challenge. This plot was thorough, dissected, and profound. It did not make a mockery of any of the girls or their experiences, of which there were many heartbreaking ones. Nor was gratuitous or "sympathy porn" in any way- it talked about some brutal topics with clarity and directness but without harshness. I tend to avoid "depressing" books whose sole purpose is to make the reader feel pained/heartbroken/sympathetic etc- I would NOT consider this to be one of them. The girls' histories are significant, but not the entire plot.

I read this as an Ebook a month or two ago and it was instantly one of my all time favorite books, so I was excited to have a chance to listen to the audiobook.
This book is amazing in both forms! It is sad, beautiful, sad again, and thought provoking. These poor girls are trying to adjust to a whole reality. Ri has been sent to live with her amazing Uncle Jimmy after years of cruel treatment at the home of her father and stepmother. While working with Jimmy she finds four feral girls in the forest with wolves. The girls have to adjust to their new lives, along with Ri, and one of the girls' twin sister. The book focuses on the girls but there are concerned parents and professionals involved as well. It is interesting to see how everyone navigates these big changes.
I am afraid to reveal any spoilers but know there are twists and clues, even though this isn't a mystery in anyway.
I love these girls. I wanted the best for them. I really felt everything.
The narration adds to the story. The narrator did a wonderful job!

Wow wow wow! This book is amazing! The emotional roller coaster you are taken on following Eden ,who takes on the name Rhi after her father is arrested and she is sent to live with her uncle, is intense to say the least.
Eden finds 4 wild girls in the woods one night and her life becomes a beautiful tangle of fiction and reality. I don’t want to spoil the storyline for anyone because honestly I went in completely blind and loved every second of this book. This book covers different traumas so beautifully and tragically. I felt like my heart was torn out of my chest and chewed into a million pieces and then slowly stitched back together again. The best way I can describe it is devastatingly beautiful. The way the author told this story continues to grab your attention and keep it consistently throughout this book. I never found myself bored or my mind wandering and for someone who is audhd that’s saying a great deal. lol
This is one of my favorite books this year and I will be needing to add a copy to my trophy shelf of books lol
Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this arc audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

This was an amazing story! I could not put this book down. I was just so gripped by the storyline that I NEEDED to find out how it ended. It was a fascinating take on girls raised in the woods and then having to navigate society, I applaud the author for how well it turned out. I know that the point was to not find out the complete truth about Mother but my curiosity is dying to know. I know we never get to really know if Lutheria was real but I hope one day we will get to find out. This book deals with heavy topics but it went so well with the story and I feel that made it that much more impactful.

I will forever remember this book from now on and I hope this will get the hype it deserves.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this audiobook.

What a messy, complicated, heartbreaking, fascinating story. At first, things felt unbalanced with the four “wild” girls and the one “normal” one, all dealing with their trauma in a messy spaghetti pile of pain and hope and anger and grief. I still think I would have liked a lot more from Grace and Rhi in the middle when the tangled whirlwind of the wild girls’ thoughts felt so overwhelming, but that too felt like a metaphor. And when we finally cracked Rhi open, spreading apart her ribs to see all the messy, scarred insides, I think Grace was the perfect one to witness.

This book is a heavy one, and there’s a good list of content warnings provided by the author at the beginning of the book.

Part of me really liked that we didn’t get all of the answers, and part of me wanted more. Because in the real world we very rarely get an answer for everything, but fiction has the freedom to be so much neater. Kinda wish we got to know which of the girls was writing the memoir we got excerpts from throughout, though; I think I have an idea, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

Overall, a very solid offering with a lot to think about (and mourn)