Reviews with content warning for Torture - Wilder Girls

This novel was the perfect YA blend of "Lord of the Flies" and "Annihilation". This story follows a group of girls who are isolated because they have been exposed to the "tox" and now find themselves mutating in different ways. The government drops off food to them periodically, and they have no other contact with the outside world. When one of the girls goes missing, they start to investigate further why they are mutating as they are, and why no one seems to help them.
There was quite a bit of graphic body horror in this book, so be warned before embarking on the journey of this book. I really enjoyed seeing the mystery play out, and I was very satisfied with the ending. This was a very strong debut, and I am excited to see more from Rory Power!

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lizzyc_16's review

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Honestly this was 5 stars for me until I got to the end. I really loved the book, but at the end it felt unfinished and kind of anticlimactic.

for example, reese, byatt, and hetty highkey just rode a boat away from all their friends who were being LITERALLY BOMBED and the book fricking ended there -_-

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andromeda_1998's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Wilder Girls by Rory Power was one of those books I bought for the stunning cover design. I have to admit that I’m weak for pretty books…. 😅. I didn’t let me down but I believe this story would have been better as a duology. Why do you ask? Well, I will tell you:

Characters
Hetty; Im not sure about my opinion about her. She is a bit typical main character but I didn’t really mind reading about her. She is a teenager, makes mistakes that a girl her age would make and she can do things without thinking them through.

Byatt; she seems nice, she’s a good friend and an interesting character to read about. I’m not sure if I like the writingstyle that Rory Power decided to use for her but I’m okay with it.

Reece: Well she is the typical bitchy character with trauma. Who reacts a curtain way to protect herself.

Writing
Rory Power uses two different writingstyles throughout the book and where I liked one, I disliked the other, but from the beginning it was a clear choice. She made that choice for a reason and I do respect that.

Worldbuilding
For me the idea of the setting was good, but I’m not sure if she explains her world enough.

Plot
We start the story a full year after the tox has invaded the island. The tox changes everything it touches. Wildlife became more aggressive and dangerous, and plants that where normal are becoming toxic and even the girls on the island change in ways they don’t understand. Nobody knows why. On island is an only girl school where survivors of the tox still live. Hetty, Reece and Byatt are three of those survivors. When one of Hetty’s friends goes missing she has to find out what happened or face the consequences.

The story has queer elements, is high stakes and the book has its ways to keep you invested in it from the start. It’s fast paced, the ending blows you away and sadly leaves you with questions unanswered.

Why a duology instead of a stand-alone?
The worldbuilding, I felt that there was more to explain about the island and the tox. But while the explanation my be there, it’s done rushed and I believe the story suffers for it. I think it would have been better as a duology. The first book would be the beginning of the tox, we would see the island crumble under a new disease. We could have seen the first months, since it’s clearly important to know about it but Power doesn’t seem to find time to go in depth. The second book would be this one, but with more room for the explanation behind the tox and maybe even a third pov from one of the still remaining grownups on the island. Power would have time to answer most questions and she would still have been able to end the story the she did.

Recommendations: I do like this book, and I think that readers who enjoyed this one would love gone by Micheal Grant.

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