Scan barcode
gracebanks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicide, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Child death, Body horror, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Mental illness
lil13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Vomit, Child abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Minor: Abandonment, Animal death, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
maddy_s's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Child death, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Cursing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
leetriestowrite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, and Chronic illness
keen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It took me until halfway through to realize I went into this book with the wrong expectations. Not every horror story involves running away from a murderer or trying to escape the attention of a ghost. This is a story about being trapped in a bleak situation and trying to survive when everything is out to kill you. It's about the strength of love and friendship that powers you through every horror you face.
Once I realized that, the emotional horror of this book hit me. Every paragraph made me question if there was some ounce of hope in the end. I can say I was satisfied with what I received, even if in the end it felt like I had no idea where I was being led until I was punched in the gut.
Additionally, I enjoyed the characters. There were times when I was angry at them, wondering why the girls were behaving so irrationally and why the adults felt so unhelpful. I had to remind myself of what it would be like to be a 14 to 17 year old girl, trapped on an island with a virus twisting your body into a mockery of itself, with little to no hope of surviving. Alternatively, I had to imagine what it would be like to take care of these children and watch as they die off, one by one. There's no way I could react logically in either scenario. The characters did the best they could do in the situation they were forced into and trapped in.
I admire stories that make me read deeper into the thoughts of the characters. To me, a good horror story makes me compare how I would face each situation to how the characters do. In this case, every event made me want to throw up, run away, or cry.
So, yeah, this story gave me the emotional turmoil. I was joyfully horrified.
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Animal death, Eating disorder, Genocide, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Bullying and Cursing
ppixxie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
But boy does it pick up. I love to read a nasty female character, and this is no exception. I can't talk about a lot of the stuff that happens, because it's spoilers and this book is a nice one to go into with 0 knowledge. It ends on an ambiguous note (almost a sequel hook, and I've heard whispers around that there's going to be a sequel or something??) but I liked how it ended, and I probably would have been satisfied with just this book as a standalone.
Anyways, if you like gay horror, definitely check this one out!!
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse
Minor: Bullying and Cursing
moonlitemuseum's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, and Torture
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, and Homophobia
kreads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Wilder Girls is a story about the girls of the Raxter School of Girls. Eighteen months have passed since a deadly disease called the Tox hit the island where the school is situated. With the Tox making the woods outside even more dangerous and the risk of contagion (to whom, however, is unclear throughout the book) the girls have been quarantined in their school, while the government tells them they are developing a cure. The disease brings bizarre changes to their bodies until they become weaker and finally die or adapt to live with it. Hetty, along with her best friends Byatt and Reese and the other girls at Raxter is struggling in this strange and terrifying life.
The book begins 18 months after the Tox outbreak, by this time, the girls are more or less, familiar to their life in quarantine. They wake up, on days they receive a shipment of food, they fight for the best of it and the days they don't they make do with whatever scarce supplies they have, and then just hang out and go back to sleep? I guess? Since nothing about their lives is really elaborated on, unless they are in one of the two important jobs on the island, Gun Shift and Boat Shift, one of which, luckily, is what our main character is. Gun Shift girls are the ones who keep watch on the fence surrounding the school in order to make sure no danger lurking outside it can make it in or attack the Boat Shift girls, who venture outside to get the shipment of food, clothes and some other essential supplies which is dropped onto the dock by the Navy. The only adults remaining are the Headmistress and Ms. Welch, a teacher, the rest have died of the Tox, at this point. Things start going downhill when Hetty's best friend, Byatt experiences a flare-up and is taken away to the infirmary, where only the sickest girls are taken. Hetty, scared of losing her best friend, is determined to find out what is happening to Byatt and when she doesn't find Byatt in the infirmary, she ventures out of the fence, breaking the rules of quarantine and discovers there is an even more horrifying truth to their situation than she could've guessed.
The body horror is done very skillfully. Every girl is left with incredibly varied transformations, some outward and grotesque
The setting, a school on an island away from the mainland, surrounded by eerie woods on three sides and the uncertain sea on one side and their secrets was one of the few things I liked about this book. It captured the mood of the story very well and provided it with the exact spooky atmosphere it needed.
The writing style I did enjoy in some places, like the way Byatt's narrative is written fit really well with her emotions and thoughts perfectly, described as a storm. However, it does fall short in places, it gets confusing and the scenes become a bit unclear. I did really like her descriptions for the most part.
The plot is incredibly underwhelming, we never really find out satisfactory or even any answers to the whys and hows and whats. What caused the Tox? Why did it affect the girls differently than the others
Hetty, the main character, is full of potential, which, sadly isn't explored as much as it could've been. The life on the island and the Tox have made her tough and capable of making the hard choices , she is only looking out for herself...and her best friend Byatt and their friend Reese, whom she likes but has been repressing it because she thinks Reese is too cold and would not let anyone close to her. The Tox has left her blind in one eye but she is a very good shot, despite it.
Reese would definitely be one of my favourite character in this book if she was developed a bit more. She has a very guarded, stoic personality, a consequence of all the loss she has experienced. However, she cares deeply about people but is just scared to show it, her love for her father is heartwarming. The Tox has left her with a silver scaled hand, which has really affected her shooting abilities,
Now, this brings us to Byatt, Hetty's best friend, who without a doubt was my favourite character in this book and I am so very sad that we do not get to see more of her. For me, Power made a much more lasting impact with the chapters written in Byatt's broken, messy narrative than most of the book and I would have definitely loved to read more of it. Byatt is a very interesting, morally ambiguous character, who is unapologetic about it, which is what I love the most about her. There are no justifications for most of the things she does and in such a fashion a justification is never provided.
The ending sighhhh is just frustrating and disappointing. Usually, I am a sucker for open, ambiguous endings but it just leaves so many questions left unanswered that it doesn't work out, at all. There are more and more questions introduced until the end while no answers are presented to any questions, old or new, making it very unsatisfying.
I really do believe both, the plot and the characters had a lot of potential, which could've been explored maybe if the book was a part of a series or even had more pages. This book has a very strong premise and by the time it ends, it leaves you wanting for more, only for you to find out there is no more. If you enjoyed the movie Annihilation, you will surely like this book. Sadly it just wasn't for me.
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Suicide, Death, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Eating disorder, Medical content, Medical trauma, Self harm, Mental illness, and Vomit