Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Wilder Girls

I absolutely loved this read!! I couldn’t put it down. My heart went out to all of the characters and I was genuinely invested and enthralled. The imagery and writing in general was incredibly realistic. I would’ve liked a bit more explanation about Byatt’s situation, about the Tox, and the end felt a little bit vague, but overall I loved it and would reread for sure.

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keen's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

Initially, I felt off about this book. It didn't feel like horror, it felt like a thriller. High-stakes and tense moments, but nothing scary past the graphic body horror. As a body horror fan, that was enough to keep me going, even if I wasn't sure I was reading a horror book.

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.

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belleden's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I’ll give a better review later because I’m still reeling from this book!
Best WLW romance I’ve read so far this year
I usually can’t stand gore/horror but it was so well-written in this book I didn’t mind
The mystery was so deeply intriguing and it makes the reader feel like putting the clues together is your job.
The switching perspectives were SO well done - this definitely has the potential to fuck up perfectly good books but Power uses it sparingly and it adds so much to the book.

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ppixxie's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

I've been putting off reading this for the LONGEST time for no goddamn reason. Then my library hold(s) came in. Oh my GOD was I not disappointed. Going in, I thought there would be a lot more horror/body horror elements/cosmic horror-esque elements, which was probably why I found it hard to get into the first half of the book where it focuses mainly on world-building. (The beginning mainly reads like a dystopian survival horror?)

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!!

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fern182's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I wish it was longer!!! I was absolutely hooked. I love this book and all I want is to immerse myself in the world more.

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bwritesreviews's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Characters: 5/5

Rory Power did an excellent job of creating characters that are well written and complex and kind of messy and not the purely good characters you see a lot of in YA novels. They're allowed to be messy and do some kind of messed up things, because they're in a pretty messed up situation. The relationship between Hetty and her two best friends, Reese and Byatt was written so well. The dynamics were different yet similar and they felt like messy teenage girls, which is what they are. Power didn't shy away from complex teenage feelings, and how sometimes they're messed up but no one's to blame, it's part of being sixteen even when you aren't worried for your life. All of the side characters felt alive, and just as complex as the main characters. They all had their motivations, and a lot of the were sympathetic.

Writing Style: 3.75/5

While I really did enjoy the book, there were times where the writing style brought me out of it. The beginning of the book felt like a dump of information, a lot of telling instead of showing. She was trying to build the world so we understood what was happening, but at times it felt like there wasn't a lot of exposition, it was just information being shared. Not only that, at times it felt like she was changing the characters to match the scene, instead of the other way around to get a point across and it just came across as odd. However, as the plot picked up so did the writing style, and it shifted from telling and not showing to showing instead of telling. She did a good job of weaving the characters and plot together, and I had a fun time trying to piece together what I thought was going on. Power is very good at foreshadowing. Byatt's chapters were especially interesting when it came to writing style, and I think Power did a really good job of showing her internal thoughts and how broken up they were.

Plot: 4.5/5

Wilder Girls took a really interesting look at a "Lord of the Flies" situation, and how different it was when it was girls, but there were times when the larger plot felt rushed. While Power did a good job of foreshadowing, and building up to bigger scenes, there were times where I felt like I was missing pieces and answers, and I couldn't tell if it was purposeful or not. Also, there were times where she seemed to contradict herself in the worldbuilding, and while they weren't major plot points, they were noticeable. However, the plot of the book was still extremely interesting and the groundwork she laid in foreshadowing and character dynamics really paid off when the big, plot heavy scenes happened. It's hard to talk about the plot of the book without any spoilers, so I'll just say that when it all started coming together closer to the end, I was really impressed with the story.
Movie Rating: R, really for the things that I mentioned in the TWs, there were times where it was too much, even for me who doesn't mind gore, and I had to skip over the more graphic descriptions

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sincerelykore's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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meganlilyflower's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

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? Yes

5.0

I really enjoyed this book. I found it gripping and well written so that it is very atmospheric and sticks with you. The action scenes are well spaced and written clearly (which is saying a lot as people get injured and a lot happens sometimes details are hard to follow but I never lost my grip on a scene).

The book is very self contained and about characters more than plot or logistics and so I liked that we got the slice of the story that we did and I can be left theorizing. It gives the book a classic and timeless feel

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