Wilder Girls book review | 4 star read

Wilder Girls by Rory Power
Published by Delacorte Press on July 9, 2019
Pages: 357
Goodreads

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.

I heard so much about Wilder Girls and how great the friendships were all the way through. Plus I really admired the dystopia setting. I will say the dynamics were really interesting. There were moments of rawness that I don’t think I’ve seen for a really long time in a book. I actually really loved the setting and I think it brought so much to the story. It was a more original take on the ‘zombie’ type of dystopian. I did have one issue with the story and some of the unrealistic things that happen. With no spoilers, there are unexplained things happening. They go unnoticed. I would have liked for the ending and the tox to have more of an explanation as a whole.

Characters in Wilder Girls

Wilder Girls follows three friends who all attend the Raxter school. Revealed at the beginning the virus which has afflicted the student body and teachers. As these three girls deal with the different symptoms and the changing world around them they find out how awful the world really is. I love the relationships in this book. The characters are so well-loved, and I see why. Watching them work out where they stood and as a result, a survival plan was one of my favourite parts. It’s so rare to read about girls who are building each other up rather than pulling each other down. Wilder Girls does this perfectly.

I actually think my favourite character is Reese. I loved her outlook on life and the way she deals with everything that happens in her life. She is so raw, and consequently the most relatable. I’m not sure what I would do if I was in this position but I would definitely hope to aim to be like Reese. Her calm and feral demeanour is beautifully done, so I definitely loved her the most out of all the girls.

Good and the bad in Wilder Girls

I’ve spoken about my love of the characters so that would definitely be a good part of Wilder Girls. I also loved the fact the virus was taking over the school and students but there was no idea what it was. It was different from other ‘zombie’ books which always seem to have clear cause and effect. Watching the girls struggle with the ‘flare ups’ and still have no idea what was causing was a really interesting part of the story for me. It added a level of intrigue and mystery to everything that was going on, adding to the stakes. There was just the perfect blend of character development and suspense for me.

The bad bits for me has to be the ending. I didn’t realise that this was a series and that there is going to be another book. Which does temper the disappointment a little bit. However, it just felt so unrealistic and a little bit of a cop out. I don’t want to spoil it, but it really didn’t make much sense and I felt as though it had wiped all of the suspense out in a couple of pages. It was all just too convenient.

Recommendation

I would recommend Wilder Girls, I enjoyed it. I think it’s an interesting take on a dystopian and it leaves you wondering what is actually going on. There are some gory parts but they didn’t bother me too much, and I am a self-diagnosed wuss! I hope you pick this one up and like it as much as I did!

Have you read this one? What did you think? Was it worth the hype? Let me know!