Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Ember (2020), 400 pages
Description
Suspense. Thriller. Young Adult Fiction. HTML: A feminist Lord of the Flies about three best friends living in quarantine at their island boarding school and the lengths they go to uncover the truth of their confinement when one disappears, this fresh, new debut is a mind-bending novel unlike anything you've read before. It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine, since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her. It started slow. First the teachers died, one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything. But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member sylliu
I'm not usually a fan of horror, but Wilder Girls was absolutely mesmerizing. The writing is beautiful and gripping; the characters fierce and unforgettable; and the story itself reminded me of a strange mashup of The Walls Around Us and Annihilation. The body horror in the story is gory, grim and
Show More
hard to read, but one of the characters memorably says, "I'be been looking for it all my life--a storm in my body to match the one in my head." An unforgettable debut. Show Less
LibraryThing member JypsyLynn
First of all, I love the cover. It's like a surrealist work of art. Otherwise, Wilder Girls was not my type of book. I like dark, but this one was a bit too dark, mostly because it's grotesque in a way that is unexpected. The yuck factor is high, so I skimmed through parts of the book. The overall
Show More
picture was too overwhelming for me, unfortunately. The trigger warnings are legit, so proceed with caution if this applies to you. Although Wilder Girls didn't suit me, it's a matter of taste. Readers suited for the genre will likely enjoy the book. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review. Show Less
LibraryThing member bibliovermis
This book is not for the faint of heart, it's full of extremely explicit body horror. 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.
LibraryThing member jnhk
There has to be a book two, right? I want there to be a book two. I NEED there to be a book two. Please let there be a book two!
Reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy with a little of William Golding’s Lord of Flies thrown in—this wholly original, young adult, feminist
It’s been eighteen months since Hetty, Reese and Byatt—along with a number of other girls and a few teachers—have been quarantined at the Raxter School for Girls. A strange sickness called the Tox has infected the girls, the wildlife, and the island and nobody can determine what it is or why it started.
What I most enjoyed about this book was how the author was able to keep me (the reader) feeling just as lost and uninformed as the girls. This is a story about survival, courage and friendship. Very unique, very enjoyable, very strange... just how I like it.
Here’s hoping for a second book!
Reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy with a little of William Golding’s Lord of Flies thrown in—this wholly original, young adult, feminist
Show More
horror/science fiction/LGBTQ weirdness of a book is gripping in a “slow burn” sort of way. It’s been eighteen months since Hetty, Reese and Byatt—along with a number of other girls and a few teachers—have been quarantined at the Raxter School for Girls. A strange sickness called the Tox has infected the girls, the wildlife, and the island and nobody can determine what it is or why it started.
What I most enjoyed about this book was how the author was able to keep me (the reader) feeling just as lost and uninformed as the girls. This is a story about survival, courage and friendship. Very unique, very enjoyable, very strange... just how I like it.
Here’s hoping for a second book!
Show Less
LibraryThing member mzonderm
Raxter. The name of the island, and the small girls' boarding school on it. And now, the Raxter Phenonomen, or the Tox, which is turning the island, and everything on it wild in various ways. Nearly all of the teachers, and many of the students are already dead, and those who remain are holed up on
Not all of those questions come with clear answers, although they're all answered enough to be satisfying by the end of the book. But the one big question I was left with was, what was the point of this book? Was it supposed to be something like Lord of the Flies where we see what happens to a society of adolescents when they're left on their own in dangerous circumstances? Or was it supposed to be more about the Tox itself? I just couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be getting out of this book. Like I said, though, you will keep reading right to the end just to see who, if anyone, makes it out alive and whether they have any answers with them if they do.
Show More
the school grounds, waiting for the Navy and the CDC which are supposedly working on a cure. Or are they? It's clear that everything is not as it seems, and you'll keep reading this book to try to figure out what the real story is. What is the Tox? Where did it come from? And is everyone actually on the same side?Not all of those questions come with clear answers, although they're all answered enough to be satisfying by the end of the book. But the one big question I was left with was, what was the point of this book? Was it supposed to be something like Lord of the Flies where we see what happens to a society of adolescents when they're left on their own in dangerous circumstances? Or was it supposed to be more about the Tox itself? I just couldn't figure out what I was supposed to be getting out of this book. Like I said, though, you will keep reading right to the end just to see who, if anyone, makes it out alive and whether they have any answers with them if they do.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JillRey
The tox has infected the students of Raxter Island. Quarantined until a cure can be found, Hetty and the rest of the surviving students carry on with their tasks (gun watch, boat crew, door guard, etc.). However, when Hetty's best friend Byatt gets taken to the infirmary for her most recent "flare
This survivor-esque read will keep you on your toes as you root for Hetty and the girls of Raxter's private school. Author, Rory Power, does a great job of setting the scene and the onslaught of "The Tox," while successfully maintaining an engaging, "forward focused" plot. Power also sets the readers up for a dramatic finish, leaving us hoping for a sequel.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Show More
up," Hetty takes matters into her own hands. This survivor-esque read will keep you on your toes as you root for Hetty and the girls of Raxter's private school. Author, Rory Power, does a great job of setting the scene and the onslaught of "The Tox," while successfully maintaining an engaging, "forward focused" plot. Power also sets the readers up for a dramatic finish, leaving us hoping for a sequel.
*Disclaimer: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JRlibrary
This review contains spoilers so stop reading if you don't want to know things.
Somewhere on an island in Maine, at the Raxter school for girls, a quarantine has been implemented…
It’s now been eighteen months since the tox hit. The teachers, most of them, were the ones who died first and then
Some of the girls now have extra bones jutting out of their bodies, or a second spine but made of horns, a third eyelid, a set of gills, vines growing alongside veins and arteries… and worse.
When the change hits, those who can’t handle the pain usually get taken to the infirmary, but often don’t ever return. When hetty’s best friend Byatt has a fit, she also vanishes, but hetty refuses to accept that she is gone. Hetty and her other friend, Reese, set out to find and rescue Byatt from wherever they’ve taken her and in so doing, set off a disastrous chain of events.
Warning: this book could lead to serious difficulty sleeping or very very bad nightmares.
Somewhere on an island in Maine, at the Raxter school for girls, a quarantine has been implemented…
It’s now been eighteen months since the tox hit. The teachers, most of them, were the ones who died first and then
Show More
it began to affect the students; individually mutating their bodies in completely unpredictable, horrific and gruesome ways. Some died, and those students left alive, along with Mrs. Welch and the Headmistress are doing their best to survive. The girls believe that somewhere on the mainland, both the navy and the cdc are working on a cure. The question is, will it come in time?Some of the girls now have extra bones jutting out of their bodies, or a second spine but made of horns, a third eyelid, a set of gills, vines growing alongside veins and arteries… and worse.
When the change hits, those who can’t handle the pain usually get taken to the infirmary, but often don’t ever return. When hetty’s best friend Byatt has a fit, she also vanishes, but hetty refuses to accept that she is gone. Hetty and her other friend, Reese, set out to find and rescue Byatt from wherever they’ve taken her and in so doing, set off a disastrous chain of events.
Warning: this book could lead to serious difficulty sleeping or very very bad nightmares.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Faith_Murri
I received this ARC from Delacorte Press via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof and are subject to change.
I better be getting a sequel or I will personally strangle Rory Power.
The
Obligatory Summary
It's been 18 months since an insidious and horrific disease known as the Tox took over Raxter Island, and the girls trapped there are beginning to unravel. The Tox takes something from each of them, humans and animals alike—some their eyes, some their sanity—and gives them something else in return.
Hettie and her two best friends, Byatt and Reese, have managed to maintain a friendship throughout all this turmoil. But things are changing, and when one of them disappears, Hettie will do whatever it takes to find her.
Part psychological thriller, part psychological horror, Wilder Girls is about bodies and minds and how to break both.
There's this place in her, somewhere nobody can touch, not me or Reese or anyone. It's just hers, and I don't even know what it is, really, just that it's there, and that she takes it with her when she goes.
My Thoughts
Phenomenal!! Absolutely phenomenal!!! I've never read a book more accurately compared to another work of fiction; Wilder Girls truly is the YA Annihilation, for both the book and the movie version. It's also very similar to Lord of the Flies in all the best ways. It's atmospheric. It's spooky. It's got all the feels. It gives you burgeoning existential dread. I loved every second of it.
The writing is a tad difficult to get into at first, but once you're in, you really can't get out. It has a very stream-of-consciousness style that usually doesn't work for me with first person, but it worked amazingly well in this. Those messy, confusing scenes were some of my absolute favorites, and I can't wait to reread this just to experience them again.
I think I have been a problem all my life. Here I am where problems go. First Raxter and now here, and I have always been heading here, haven't I, haven't I. Too bright and too bored and something missing, or perhaps something too much there.
I will warn you now: this emulates Annihilation in more than just atmosphere and eco-spooks. It has one of the most open endings I've ever read for a book that isn't in a confirmed series. It's more vague than The Giver (and that did get confirmed!) I personally didn't mind it (that much; I am willing to strangle Rory Power if I never get an answer, mind you) but I can imagine it bothering a lot of people. I've generally accepted that horror usually doesn't give you any concrete answers, because explanations tend to eliminate the spook factor. I mean, just look at Lost.
As for characters, I did get a little bored with Hettie sometimes, but only because of certain things that were happening with Byatt at the same time and I really wanted to know her side of things more than Hettie's. Overall, though, I loved all the characters. I loved the LGBTQ+ inclusion, and how it wasn't done in a self-indulgent, ~ooh, look at me! I'm inclusive~ kind of way. It was natural and realistic and I loved it. The way Power planted little seeds of character development (and really, worldbuilding too) and then expanded on them in a reveal either shortly after or way later was honestly so masterful. I will literally rave about how well everything was set up for hours if you let me.
A wilderness in everyone, like the one I've always felt in me. Only real this time. In my body, and not just in my head.
Essentially, it all comes down to this. TL;DR this was lovely and if you like body horror and Lord of the Flies, then you'll probably love this.
I better be getting a sequel or I will personally strangle Rory Power.
The
Show More
Tox didn't just happen to us. It happened to everything.Obligatory Summary
It's been 18 months since an insidious and horrific disease known as the Tox took over Raxter Island, and the girls trapped there are beginning to unravel. The Tox takes something from each of them, humans and animals alike—some their eyes, some their sanity—and gives them something else in return.
Hettie and her two best friends, Byatt and Reese, have managed to maintain a friendship throughout all this turmoil. But things are changing, and when one of them disappears, Hettie will do whatever it takes to find her.
Part psychological thriller, part psychological horror, Wilder Girls is about bodies and minds and how to break both.
There's this place in her, somewhere nobody can touch, not me or Reese or anyone. It's just hers, and I don't even know what it is, really, just that it's there, and that she takes it with her when she goes.
My Thoughts
Phenomenal!! Absolutely phenomenal!!! I've never read a book more accurately compared to another work of fiction; Wilder Girls truly is the YA Annihilation, for both the book and the movie version. It's also very similar to Lord of the Flies in all the best ways. It's atmospheric. It's spooky. It's got all the feels. It gives you burgeoning existential dread. I loved every second of it.
The writing is a tad difficult to get into at first, but once you're in, you really can't get out. It has a very stream-of-consciousness style that usually doesn't work for me with first person, but it worked amazingly well in this. Those messy, confusing scenes were some of my absolute favorites, and I can't wait to reread this just to experience them again.
I think I have been a problem all my life. Here I am where problems go. First Raxter and now here, and I have always been heading here, haven't I, haven't I. Too bright and too bored and something missing, or perhaps something too much there.
I will warn you now: this emulates Annihilation in more than just atmosphere and eco-spooks. It has one of the most open endings I've ever read for a book that isn't in a confirmed series. It's more vague than The Giver (and that did get confirmed!) I personally didn't mind it (that much; I am willing to strangle Rory Power if I never get an answer, mind you) but I can imagine it bothering a lot of people. I've generally accepted that horror usually doesn't give you any concrete answers, because explanations tend to eliminate the spook factor. I mean, just look at Lost.
As for characters, I did get a little bored with Hettie sometimes, but only because of certain things that were happening with Byatt at the same time and I really wanted to know her side of things more than Hettie's. Overall, though, I loved all the characters. I loved the LGBTQ+ inclusion, and how it wasn't done in a self-indulgent, ~ooh, look at me! I'm inclusive~ kind of way. It was natural and realistic and I loved it. The way Power planted little seeds of character development (and really, worldbuilding too) and then expanded on them in a reveal either shortly after or way later was honestly so masterful. I will literally rave about how well everything was set up for hours if you let me.
A wilderness in everyone, like the one I've always felt in me. Only real this time. In my body, and not just in my head.
Essentially, it all comes down to this. TL;DR this was lovely and if you like body horror and Lord of the Flies, then you'll probably love this.
Show Less
LibraryThing member stevealtier
Every once in awhile a book comes along that takes my breath away.
One I can't put down, this was that story for me.
Brilliant characters with a fantastic storyline.
One I can't put down, this was that story for me.
Brilliant characters with a fantastic storyline.
LibraryThing member ecataldi
Dark, ominous, and creepy, this young adult book about a deadly disease ravaging an island secluded all girls school will give you the heebie jeebies. Cut off from the rest of the world they are told to stay within their quarantine if they want to stay alive and hope to get a cure. The tox affects
Show More
each girl differently, it could be scaly skin, massive body sores, a second spine, a ravaged eye, or even death. Over half the girls, most of the teachers, and the local wildlife have succumbed to the tox. It's been 18 month and the food rations are getting less and less. What happens when the government stops sending food? Will they die on this godforsaken island? Hetty has grown numb to the everyday nothingness in the school. She has her two best friends Byatt and Reese to keep her sane but when Byatt goes missing, Hetty must decide if she's worth breaking the quarantine from. Gory, creepy, and unique. A new take on the horrors of isolation, disease, and starvation. Show Less
LibraryThing member JanaRose1
Almost two years ago, the Raxter School for Girls was placed under quarantine after a mysterious disease, the Tox hit. The Tox hits everyone differently. One girl grew gills, another bio luminescent hair, and one grew a second spine. Plagued with terrible pains, bruises, and sometimes death, the
This was a bizarre, hard to put down book. I found myself reading late into the night. The characters were extremely interesting. They were also very realistic. I would love to read more from this author. Overall, highly recommended.
Show More
girls are largely left alone. All but two of the adults have died, their bodies unable to handle the invading Tox. The local navy base delivers supplies across the island. Hetty, chosen to join the boat girls, treks across the island, only to uncover a horrible secret. This was a bizarre, hard to put down book. I found myself reading late into the night. The characters were extremely interesting. They were also very realistic. I would love to read more from this author. Overall, highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member clrichm
Yarrr, here be spoilers.
This book traumatized me. I am officially Scarred. Okay, that's hyperbolic, but still. The narrative pulls absolutely no punches, and the horror is body horror (a dozen or so pages in, and it was EYE TRAUMA of a graphic nature). I appreciated the way the alternating
I would not necessarily recommend this book to everyone, in light of the visceral horror, but it was certainly powerful. The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars is because the open ending was a little too open for my tastes.
This book traumatized me. I am officially Scarred. Okay, that's hyperbolic, but still. The narrative pulls absolutely no punches, and the horror is body horror (a dozen or so pages in, and it was EYE TRAUMA of a graphic nature). I appreciated the way the alternating
Show More
perspectives truly showed the characters' inner selves and their differences, particularly when one of them is hospitalized, gravely ill, and heavily medicated in a way that altered her ability to process reality. Also loved that several of the primary characters were queer, without that being the main focus of the story.I would not necessarily recommend this book to everyone, in light of the visceral horror, but it was certainly powerful. The only reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars is because the open ending was a little too open for my tastes.
Show Less
LibraryThing member over.the.edge
Wilder Girls
by Rory Power
2019
Delacorte
4.0 / 5.0
This is a very good young adult fantasy, with positive LGBTQ characters and relationships. I was attracted to the cover, and am glad I took a chance. It may not be for everyone because of the fantasy elements, but I enjoyed it and its representation of
Hetty is a student at Raxter School for Girls, a school put under quarantine when the deadly Tox makes it way from the woods, and infecting the students, turning their body into strange shapes. The students are all awaiting a cure they are sure is coming, but instead learn it's gotten worse....all the food and water has been contaminated and it may be intentional.
Hetty becomes close to, and develops a relationship with another girl, Byatt, so when Byatt just disappears, Hetty sets out to find her and will do anything to have her back.
by Rory Power
2019
Delacorte
4.0 / 5.0
This is a very good young adult fantasy, with positive LGBTQ characters and relationships. I was attracted to the cover, and am glad I took a chance. It may not be for everyone because of the fantasy elements, but I enjoyed it and its representation of
Show More
lesbian relationships. Hetty is a student at Raxter School for Girls, a school put under quarantine when the deadly Tox makes it way from the woods, and infecting the students, turning their body into strange shapes. The students are all awaiting a cure they are sure is coming, but instead learn it's gotten worse....all the food and water has been contaminated and it may be intentional.
Hetty becomes close to, and develops a relationship with another girl, Byatt, so when Byatt just disappears, Hetty sets out to find her and will do anything to have her back.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Faith_Murri
I received this ARC from Delacorte Press via BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of this book in any way. All quotes are taken from the uncorrected proof and are subject to change.
I better be getting a sequel or I will personally strangle Rory Power.
The
Obligatory Summary
It's been 18 months since an insidious and horrific disease known as the Tox took over Raxter Island, and the girls trapped there are beginning to unravel. The Tox takes something from each of them, humans and animals alike—some their eyes, some their sanity—and gives them something else in return.
Hettie and her two best friends, Byatt and Reese, have managed to maintain a friendship throughout all this turmoil. But things are changing, and when one of them disappears, Hettie will do whatever it takes to find her.
Part psychological thriller, part psychological horror, Wilder Girls is about bodies and minds and how to break both.
There's this place in her, somewhere nobody can touch, not me or Reese or anyone. It's just hers, and I don't even know what it is, really, just that it's there, and that she takes it with her when she goes.
My Thoughts
Phenomenal!! Absolutely phenomenal!!! I've never read a book more accurately compared to another work of fiction; Wilder Girls truly is the YA Annihilation, for both the book and the movie version. It's also very similar to Lord of the Flies in all the best ways. It's atmospheric. It's spooky. It's got all the feels. It gives you burgeoning existential dread. I loved every second of it.
The writing is a tad difficult to get into at first, but once you're in, you really can't get out. It has a very stream-of-consciousness style that usually doesn't work for me with first person, but it worked amazingly well in this. Those messy, confusing scenes were some of my absolute favorites, and I can't wait to reread this just to experience them again.
I think I have been a problem all my life. Here I am where problems go. First Raxter and now here, and I have always been heading here, haven't I, haven't I. Too bright and too bored and something missing, or perhaps something too much there.
I will warn you now: this emulates Annihilation in more than just atmosphere and eco-spooks. It has one of the most open endings I've ever read for a book that isn't in a confirmed series. It's more vague than The Giver (and that did get confirmed!) I personally didn't mind it (that much; I am willing to strangle Rory Power if I never get an answer, mind you) but I can imagine it bothering a lot of people. I've generally accepted that horror usually doesn't give you any concrete answers, because explanations tend to eliminate the spook factor. I mean, just look at Lost.
As for characters, I did get a little bored with Hettie sometimes, but only because of certain things that were happening with Byatt at the same time and I really wanted to know her side of things more than Hettie's. Overall, though, I loved all the characters. I loved the LGBTQ inclusion, and how it wasn't done in a self-indulgent, ~ooh, look at me! I'm inclusive~ kind of way. It was natural and realistic and I loved it. The way Power planted little seeds of character development (and really, worldbuilding too) and then expanded on them in a reveal either shortly after or way later was honestly so masterful. I will literally rave about how well everything was set up for hours if you let me.
A wilderness in everyone, like the one I've always felt in me. Only real this time. In my body, and not just in my head.
Essentially, it all comes down to this. TL;DR this was lovely and if you like body horror and Lord of the Flies, then you'll probably love this.
I better be getting a sequel or I will personally strangle Rory Power.
The
Show More
Tox didn't just happen to us. It happened to everything.Obligatory Summary
It's been 18 months since an insidious and horrific disease known as the Tox took over Raxter Island, and the girls trapped there are beginning to unravel. The Tox takes something from each of them, humans and animals alike—some their eyes, some their sanity—and gives them something else in return.
Hettie and her two best friends, Byatt and Reese, have managed to maintain a friendship throughout all this turmoil. But things are changing, and when one of them disappears, Hettie will do whatever it takes to find her.
Part psychological thriller, part psychological horror, Wilder Girls is about bodies and minds and how to break both.
There's this place in her, somewhere nobody can touch, not me or Reese or anyone. It's just hers, and I don't even know what it is, really, just that it's there, and that she takes it with her when she goes.
My Thoughts
Phenomenal!! Absolutely phenomenal!!! I've never read a book more accurately compared to another work of fiction; Wilder Girls truly is the YA Annihilation, for both the book and the movie version. It's also very similar to Lord of the Flies in all the best ways. It's atmospheric. It's spooky. It's got all the feels. It gives you burgeoning existential dread. I loved every second of it.
The writing is a tad difficult to get into at first, but once you're in, you really can't get out. It has a very stream-of-consciousness style that usually doesn't work for me with first person, but it worked amazingly well in this. Those messy, confusing scenes were some of my absolute favorites, and I can't wait to reread this just to experience them again.
I think I have been a problem all my life. Here I am where problems go. First Raxter and now here, and I have always been heading here, haven't I, haven't I. Too bright and too bored and something missing, or perhaps something too much there.
I will warn you now: this emulates Annihilation in more than just atmosphere and eco-spooks. It has one of the most open endings I've ever read for a book that isn't in a confirmed series. It's more vague than The Giver (and that did get confirmed!) I personally didn't mind it (that much; I am willing to strangle Rory Power if I never get an answer, mind you) but I can imagine it bothering a lot of people. I've generally accepted that horror usually doesn't give you any concrete answers, because explanations tend to eliminate the spook factor. I mean, just look at Lost.
As for characters, I did get a little bored with Hettie sometimes, but only because of certain things that were happening with Byatt at the same time and I really wanted to know her side of things more than Hettie's. Overall, though, I loved all the characters. I loved the LGBTQ inclusion, and how it wasn't done in a self-indulgent, ~ooh, look at me! I'm inclusive~ kind of way. It was natural and realistic and I loved it. The way Power planted little seeds of character development (and really, worldbuilding too) and then expanded on them in a reveal either shortly after or way later was honestly so masterful. I will literally rave about how well everything was set up for hours if you let me.
A wilderness in everyone, like the one I've always felt in me. Only real this time. In my body, and not just in my head.
Essentially, it all comes down to this. TL;DR this was lovely and if you like body horror and Lord of the Flies, then you'll probably love this.
Show Less
LibraryThing member villemezbrown
A trio of surly, unlikeable girls are quarantined with their classmates in an all-girls boarding school on an island off the coast of Maine due to a mysterious disease that is twisting and maiming their bodies. We join the story months into the quarantine, so we don't get to know what any of the
I was hoping for Lord of the Flies and got The Maze Runner. Like the latter, the more I think about it, the less I like it, so I'm just going to stop here.
Show More
characters were like before this situation, and beyond the core trio, the rest of the characters are personality-free bits of cannon fodder.I was hoping for Lord of the Flies and got The Maze Runner. Like the latter, the more I think about it, the less I like it, so I'm just going to stop here.
Show Less
LibraryThing member birthsister
I understand this is YA fiction, but I felt the author was capable of a much higher quality of literature. It's almost like a better book was dumbed down. The plot was both simplistic and unnecessarily complicated, the science was thin at best, and I had a hard time connecting with any of the
Show More
characters. It was very Lord of the Flies meets Island of Dr. Moreau. It's a quick read if you're not expecting much substance. I hope the author finds her literary sea legs in her next work and lives up to the potential she only hints at in this piece. Show Less
LibraryThing member hexenlibrarian
4.5 i am distraught
LibraryThing member lflareads
Wilder Girls was a read that reminds you to think for yourself, follow your intuition, and do not accept your fate according to others! Teachers are dying, girls are infected, and supposedly someone is coming to help. Friendship and “girl” power unite them, as they decide to fight to live or
Show More
settle on death. Amazing read by a debut author! Show Less
LibraryThing member m_mozeleski
Excellent novel.
The prose was a liiitle....too many metaphors/similes, I guess. But it was otherwise lovely.
The prose was a liiitle....too many metaphors/similes, I guess. But it was otherwise lovely.
LibraryThing member sweetiegherkin
A dangerous disease known as "the Tox" affects a bunch of teen-aged girls as well as the animals on the grounds surrounding their boarding school. After being quarantined for more than a year on the otherwise deserted island, the girls are fighting for survival between the disease's ravages and the
This was a super interesting sci-fi premise. The Tox affects the girls in different ways, from scaly hands to second spines, making it unclear what exactly is behind the disease. Being quarantined not only within their school but also to a remote island off the coast of Maine really raises the stakes. There are aspects of mystery, adventure, and even horror to the story, giving it a little something for everyone.
The characters are interesting and well drawn on the whole. I immediately connected with Hetty, and Reese was intriguing. Byatt was harder to get a read on, but that made her character all the more realistic as people in real life are sometimes difficult to know and define easily. The blooming romantic relationship between Hetty and Reese is sure to gather fans to ship them as a couple. The numerous other characters that round out the cast vary in their degrees of well-roundedness, but no one really feels like a stock character.
The main audiobook narrator did a great job in keeping the tension palpable and giving voice to the characters; having a second audiobook narrator didn't really seem to do much for this particular title but it may be helpful to some readers who want that distinction for the two different perspectives in the narrative. (Hetty and Byatt each tell parts of the story, although Hetty is the narrator for the majority of it.)
My only real complaint with the book is that it ended too soon. I felt like we were just getting to know the details behind the Tox -- how and why it happened, what can possibly be done or not to stop or heal it, what motivated the headmistress and others to act the way they did, and so on. The end feels ambiguous enough that a sequel could be written, but it appears that the author's next book is unrelated to this one.
Still, this was engaging enough that I would recommend it to others, especially science fiction fans.
Show More
food scarcity.This was a super interesting sci-fi premise. The Tox affects the girls in different ways, from scaly hands to second spines, making it unclear what exactly is behind the disease. Being quarantined not only within their school but also to a remote island off the coast of Maine really raises the stakes. There are aspects of mystery, adventure, and even horror to the story, giving it a little something for everyone.
The characters are interesting and well drawn on the whole. I immediately connected with Hetty, and Reese was intriguing. Byatt was harder to get a read on, but that made her character all the more realistic as people in real life are sometimes difficult to know and define easily. The blooming romantic relationship between Hetty and Reese is sure to gather fans to ship them as a couple. The numerous other characters that round out the cast vary in their degrees of well-roundedness, but no one really feels like a stock character.
The main audiobook narrator did a great job in keeping the tension palpable and giving voice to the characters; having a second audiobook narrator didn't really seem to do much for this particular title but it may be helpful to some readers who want that distinction for the two different perspectives in the narrative. (Hetty and Byatt each tell parts of the story, although Hetty is the narrator for the majority of it.)
My only real complaint with the book is that it ended too soon. I felt like we were just getting to know the details behind the Tox -- how and why it happened, what can possibly be done or not to stop or heal it, what motivated the headmistress and others to act the way they did, and so on. The end feels ambiguous enough that a sequel could be written, but it appears that the author's next book is unrelated to this one.
Still, this was engaging enough that I would recommend it to others, especially science fiction fans.
Show Less
LibraryThing member thereserose5
A good premise, but there were many aspects of the plot that were not explained and really needed to be.
LibraryThing member reader1009
adult/teen fiction (girls' school in quarantine on an island that suffers from a mysterious contagion that kills some and leaves others with weird mutations, incidental LGBTQA interest)
This is very dark, more of a horror story than I would typically pick up off the teen lit shelves. Definitely for
This is very dark, more of a horror story than I would typically pick up off the teen lit shelves. Definitely for
Show More
mature readers (there is significant gore and murder/suicides). The three main friends have an unexpressed romantic attachments to each other, but the story is mostly about the horror of their situation. Show Less
LibraryThing member thebookqueensx
I went into Wilder Girls with high expectations, and that is probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as I wish I did. I am giving it about a 3.5 overall.
The overall concept is what really drew me into wanting to read the book. That and some of my favorite booktubers and bookstagrammers giving a lot
My main issue is that I felt that there was very little character development throughout the book and I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I also wish that there was more of a horror aspect to the book. I think that if the book was about 100-150 pages longer, there could have been more character development and more overall plot development and world exploration. I also wish that the LQBTQIA+ representation would have been a little more developed and not just "these girls have lived with a bunch of girls so now they like girls".
~rachel
The overall concept is what really drew me into wanting to read the book. That and some of my favorite booktubers and bookstagrammers giving a lot
Show More
of hype to it. The idea of these girls going to a remote school and then becoming sick with this disease that changes them? Count me in. I absolutely love the details in the description of the girls and their mutations. I can picture all of them in detail when the author describes them in the book.My main issue is that I felt that there was very little character development throughout the book and I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I also wish that there was more of a horror aspect to the book. I think that if the book was about 100-150 pages longer, there could have been more character development and more overall plot development and world exploration. I also wish that the LQBTQIA+ representation would have been a little more developed and not just "these girls have lived with a bunch of girls so now they like girls".
~rachel
Show Less
LibraryThing member Completely_Melanie
It was weird. It was gruesome. It wasn't a bad book, but it just wasn't for me. I am sure others will love it. For me it was just ok.
LibraryThing member oldandnewbooksmell
TRIGGER WARNINGS (as stated on Rory Power’s website):
Graphic violence and body horror. Gore.
On the page character death, parental death, and animal death, though the animals are not pets.
Behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such.
Food scarcity and starvation.
A scene depicting chemical gassing.
Reference to suicide and suicidal ideation.
Non-consensual medical treatment.
Raxter School for Girls went under quarantine after the TOX broke out a year and a half ago. Two surviving teachers and a few girls are all that is left at the island boarding school. The TOX affects everyone differently – an extra spine, a sealed eye with something moving underneath, a silver hand… The TOX has also turned the wilderness beyond the school’s gates wilder than before. Hetty and her best friends Byatt and Reese, must fight for survival with the others while they wait for a cure.
Firstly, I immediately fell in love with the cover of the book – HOLY COW IT’S BEAUTIFUL! I would have this as a poster hanging in my house. The art gives the book even more beauty once you know its secrets.
As I’ve seen many other describe it, I would say the genre is “dystopian feminist horror”. The horror wasn’t a scared, tense-filled horror, but more of an uncomfortable, skin crawling horror. It was gruesome in parts, but only because it would be describing what was happening with the girls.
“It’s like that, with all of us here. Sick, strange, and we don’t know why. Things bursting out of us, bits missing and pieces sloughing off, and then we harden and smooth over.”
The writing was a bit choppy in parts, but it worked because it was the character’s thought process. It was so well written I nearly read it all in one setting. I stayed with it and kept turning pages because I wanted to know what would happen to Hetty, Byatt, and Reese. I also wanted desperately to know how the TOX happened to begin with.
Graphic violence and body horror. Gore.
On the page character death, parental death, and animal death, though the animals are not pets.
Behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such.
Food scarcity and starvation.
Show More
Emesis.A scene depicting chemical gassing.
Reference to suicide and suicidal ideation.
Non-consensual medical treatment.
Raxter School for Girls went under quarantine after the TOX broke out a year and a half ago. Two surviving teachers and a few girls are all that is left at the island boarding school. The TOX affects everyone differently – an extra spine, a sealed eye with something moving underneath, a silver hand… The TOX has also turned the wilderness beyond the school’s gates wilder than before. Hetty and her best friends Byatt and Reese, must fight for survival with the others while they wait for a cure.
Firstly, I immediately fell in love with the cover of the book – HOLY COW IT’S BEAUTIFUL! I would have this as a poster hanging in my house. The art gives the book even more beauty once you know its secrets.
As I’ve seen many other describe it, I would say the genre is “dystopian feminist horror”. The horror wasn’t a scared, tense-filled horror, but more of an uncomfortable, skin crawling horror. It was gruesome in parts, but only because it would be describing what was happening with the girls.
“It’s like that, with all of us here. Sick, strange, and we don’t know why. Things bursting out of us, bits missing and pieces sloughing off, and then we harden and smooth over.”
The writing was a bit choppy in parts, but it worked because it was the character’s thought process. It was so well written I nearly read it all in one setting. I stayed with it and kept turning pages because I wanted to know what would happen to Hetty, Byatt, and Reese. I also wanted desperately to know how the TOX happened to begin with.
Show Less
Awards
Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2020)
Arkansas Teen Book Award (Nominee — 2021)
The Flume: NH Teen Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2021)
Westchester Fiction Award (Honorable Mention — 2020)
ALA Rainbow Book List (Selection — 2021)
Ladies of Horror Fiction Award (Winner — Young Adult — 2019)
New England Book Award (Finalist — 2019)
NPR: Books We Love (2019)
Nerdy Book Award (Young Adult Literature — 2019)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Teens (Fiction — 2019)
Just One More Page Recommendation List (Young Adult — 2020)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2019
Physical description
8.13 inches
ISBN
0525645616 / 9780525645610
Similar in this library
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi