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A funny series of events: I was first introduced to this book at Barnes and Noble. It sounded super interesting and the cover was great, but I was a bit scared it wouldn't be as good as I thought it would be, so I requested my library to purchase and hold it for me...and they did, but I never got the notification for it so I never got to read it until now. That was last year when the book came out, haha. But man, am I glad I read it.
What an interesting book. What a great concept. It's not perfect, but it's also a debut novel, and how many books are truly perfect? The core of The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin at face value would be the mystery of the Happy Valley Wild Girls and how they ended up surviving out in the wilderness, or the truth of Leutheria, the mysterious land the girls claim to hail from. But it's so much more than that.
I was really gripped from start to finish, not just on whether or not we'll have an answer to those mysteries, but more so on the characters and their relationships, especially the main character, Rhi. As much as the story is about these four wild girls, the main focus is definitely on Rhi, who has a complex relationship with her family, and struggles to move forward in her life, no matter how hard she tries. She helps teach the wild girls how to exist in a world that only wants to tear them down and reshape them to society's image of perfect young girls; and in return, they help her let go of what is holding her down, but also give her something to hold onto in replacement. Family, love, acceptance.
The magical realism was fantastic and well balanced throughout the whole story. I wasn't left unsatisfied or questioning too much, because the story landed exactly where it was always meant to be in the end. And while I feel like the end wrapped up a bit too cleanly, I also think I would've been upset if it had ended any other way.
I admit, I had wished the author went deeper with certain characters, deeper with Mother and who he was, why he raised the girls, and the magic of Leutheria. But I think I also had high expectations as an initial look at this book reminded me of Kelly Barnhill's When Women Were Dragons, which did emotionally and mentally destroy me for a while. But that isn't to say this book doesn't have its heart-rending moments. For a YA book, things get dark and intense (please check trigger warnings if you think you'll need to!) and you really learn to love each character, from the main ones to the minor characters who only show up occasionally. Every single person has a reason for acting the way they do, even if it's totally selfish and vain.
Overall, a very solid read and easily recommendable. 4.5/5 stars.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Vomit, Trafficking, Car accident, Classism
It asks: How do you deal with pain and deep grief? What does it mean to be free? What is family?
There's a sad undertone to the story, that maybe I felt for the loss of what these girls were being pressured to become. But it also showed the growth of something beautiful.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Pedophilia, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Minor: Kidnapping
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Suicide, Toxic relationship
Minor: Death of parent
Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Gaslighting
Moderate: Eating disorder, Medical content, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
I'm not 100% of the CPS process but Eden's father being arrested and within hours her step-mother just peaced out as CPS gets there seems wrong. As does her uncle driving that night to get her from out of state (?) and CPS just has him sign a paper and listen to a spiel and he magically has custody. No home visit first, he just can take this child.
Dallas is a super feminist and there is a love triangle that is never even fully formed or developed or explored. There's really no reason at all to even mention it aside from Grace needing another reason to be resentful towards Eden.
Again, I don't know much about how small town police department work, but
Nothing goes anywhere,
This book screams "this is about Feminism" at you. You will understand the theming and symbolism of the book and then it will still yell it at you with forced dialogue. But aside from that, it wasn't terribly written and was good for a bit of a mental break.
Graphic: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent