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sinaprst's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
this was ok
i picked this up because i liked the cover, so i knew basically nothing about the story whatsoever going into this
in short: the book is about a boarding school on an island were somesort of virus or diseases spread, that lead to several students and teachers dying while others grew second body parts or similar stuff. now the school and island have been on lock down for i believe 18 months, while the government tries to find a cure (alledgedly). we follow our main character Hetty and her friends Bryce (i think is her name) and Reese while they trie to survive and figure out what is going on the island.
first of all, i loved the writing style. the author used some interesting choices, especially with the second pov character later on, that might not be for everyone, but i absolutly adored them.
the beginning is very slow. the first like 60 pages felt like ages to me, because nothing really happens except for pages over pages of exposition and world building.
but after that i got hooked and couldn`t put it down
nonetheless i felt like the book lacked some depth in some parts. i couldn`t really connect to any of the characters and in end still felt like i knew nothing about them, eventhough the story is very character driven
the sapphic lovestory also felt very out of the blue and literally lasted like under 24h in book time???? . i was all in all very disappointing to read and i was hoping for more.
the ending was also very open and left me with more questions then answers honestly. i also wished that Bryce was really dead, her suddenly being still alive felt weird to me, idk why tho.
also, did Hetty and Reese really just leave the rest of the girls to die on the island, when they literally scolded the headmistress and this other girl for the exact same thing just like one page before that??? this behaviour really confused and is probably one of the reasons why the ending felt so weird to me.
all in all, i loved the cover, premise and writing style, but the characters felt shallow, the lovestory underdeveloped and the ending questionable, therefore well deserved 3/5 stars from me :)
edit: i have just found out that her name is Byatt and not Bryce
i picked this up because i liked the cover, so i knew basically nothing about the story whatsoever going into this
in short: the book is about a boarding school on an island were somesort of virus or diseases spread, that lead to several students and teachers dying while others grew second body parts or similar stuff. now the school and island have been on lock down for i believe 18 months, while the government tries to find a cure (alledgedly). we follow our main character Hetty and her friends Bryce (i think is her name) and Reese while they trie to survive and figure out what is going on the island.
first of all, i loved the writing style. the author used some interesting choices, especially with the second pov character later on, that might not be for everyone, but i absolutly adored them.
the beginning is very slow. the first like 60 pages felt like ages to me, because nothing really happens except for pages over pages of exposition and world building.
but after that i got hooked and couldn`t put it down
nonetheless i felt like the book lacked some depth in some parts. i couldn`t really connect to any of the characters and in end still felt like i knew nothing about them, eventhough the story is very character driven
the sapphic lovestory also felt very out of the blue
also, did Hetty and Reese really just leave the rest of the girls to die on the island, when they literally scolded the headmistress and this other girl for the exact same thing just like one page before that??? this behaviour really confused and is probably one of the reasons why the ending felt so weird to me.
all in all, i loved the cover, premise and writing style, but the characters felt shallow, the lovestory underdeveloped and the ending questionable, therefore well deserved 3/5 stars from me :)
edit: i have just found out that her name is Byatt and not Bryce
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Vomit, Animal death, Blood, Death of parent, Medical content, Murder, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Torture
sifairi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I really enjoyed this book, but It felt very slow for me. About 3/4 of the way through it does pick up and then I couldn't put it down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Blood, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Self harm, and Torture
rachelcotter1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Death, and Medical content
stressed_daisyy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Gripping and horrifyingly realistic, Wilder Girls is a tale of how things out of our control take over us, control us, and drive us to grasp tight the only things we have left.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Confinement, Grief, Gore, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicide, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
charleshasalibrary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I wanted to give this book a chance despite the lower rating, but it was worse even than I expected. For context, I rarely if ever give a book less than 3 stars. But Wilder Girls earned it. First of all, the characters were completely undeveloped. I was supposed to apparently feel something about these girls' relationships to one another, but it's like we were thrown into the story halfway through and I was given no substantial background to understand their dynamics. So I didn't care about them or emotionally believe the story at all. Secondly, the writing truly felt like my middle school self wrote it. Over the top, trying too hard to be lyrical when it didn't need to be. It made the whole book feel even more cringe-worthy. Lastly, the plot! The plot was the one thing that kept me reading this book, because I found it so intriguing and wanted to understand the mystery. But the explanations were so poorly given. The ending in general was terribly executed. For someone who apparently felt so much guilt for what she'd done, the main character chose to be incredibly selfish at the end. I won't say more so as not to give spoilers, but all in all - I hate that this book got any hype at all. It truly feels like it was written by a 14 year old.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Vomit, Blood, Body horror, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Self harm
nagem's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Body horror, Self harm, Suicide, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content
tkhenry99's review against another edition
3.5
had to sit with this for a minute but i think i liked it? i was surprised how violent it was tho. i didn’t really care for the romantic subplot, i felt like it should’ve either always been present or been super slow burn, but it kind of just came out of nowhere, there was exactly 1 scene where something “romantic” happened, and then it just never came up again?
(also for everyone complaining about how unlikeable the characters are, that is literally the point of the book)
i think the ambiguous ending was fine, it really did not leave that much room for confusion.like what does everyone think is going to happen next? the girls are in a boat heading to the mainland. it’s really not ambiguous at all maybe work on ur reading comprehension skills if it felt too open ended :-/
(also for everyone complaining about how unlikeable the characters are, that is literally the point of the book)
i think the ambiguous ending was fine, it really did not leave that much room for confusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Grief, and Medical content
gracelynnreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Child death, Death of parent, and Medical content
parkerluck's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.75
This was fine. It was a quick read with some neat concepts that don't really get dug into. I didn't find Hetty particularly compelling and the plot beats were all pretty par the course for a story like this. Didn't really have the tension/descent to warrant the Lord of the Flies billing, honestly.
I also found it distracting that the bear was just a photocopy of the Annihilation bear?? No one wanted to make that a different animal during the editing process?
Something I might rec to a younger family member as gateway horror, but not something I will remember for long now that I'm finished it.
I also found it distracting that
Something I might rec to a younger family member as gateway horror, but not something I will remember for long now that I'm finished it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Self harm
Minor: Murder, Torture, and Animal death
uraveragelesbianreader's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book will likely not be most people's 'thing' but it was absolutely mine. My recommendation is to read through all the 1-2 star reviews and if any of the criticisms are complete turn offs for you then dont read it. As someone who enjoys this book thoroughly I found myself agreeing with most of the criticisms people had but I was able to enjoy the book anyway. In order to enjoy this book you must really and truly suspend your disbelief and occasionally your morality. The main characters are not likeable, they do not have major growth or development but in my opinion this does not hurt the plot. They are children and they act their age, its like an all female lord of the flies with an added horror element. The world built for you by this series is unique in its terror. There are two main ways horror is achieved, by subverting something we know or by creating a new cosmic or existential threat and this book expertly applies both. Although we may not all go to boarding school we all know how a boarding school functions and modernly, we have all lived through and watched how powerless we are to disease. The existential horror comes in with the nature of the disease used in this story. It is absolutely not realistic in its symptoms, how it spreads or how it was created but that is what is horrifically wonderful about it. The way it takes the most ordinary things from animals to people and warps them into monsters is an underrated aspect of this book. The timing of this book hinders its ability to truly lean into the disease element and I think if it reached popularity before 2020, or if anyone could truly read books in a vacuum, it would probably be more well received as we would be able to suspend our disbelief further. I would recommend going into this book as blind as possible and really just tucking away your pandemic knowledge. Furthermore I would not recommend this book to those who like character driven narratives. This book uses its characters to tell a story but there is not much development or a deeply compelling aspect to these characters. You will have a level of sympathy for them and their plight but expect them to annoy you mildly from time to time. If you come into this book knowing vaguely what to expect and if it fits your interests and let yourself be immersed in the pocket dimension built for you, you will enjoy this book. Overall I liked this book but it is a very niche book and marketing it as anything more than that does it a disservice. I would recommend this book to only those who are looking for a book about teen girls afflicted by a horrific, body horror level, disease and their struggle to survive. If that description does not intrigue you then do not even bother with my previous advice and read lowstar reviews, simply turn back now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Gore