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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
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:
No
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“Wayward Girls: A strong start undone by a painfully drawn-out ending.”
Six girls sent to a Catholic reform school in 1960s Buffalo endure emotional hardship and forced labor. As they face injustice, they forge bonds, find resilience, and fight for their voices to be heard.
“Wayward Girls started with promise but lost its way in the final stretch. I found myself nodding off—twice—just trying to finish it. The first half held potential, but by the last 30%, it felt like a slow march to nowhere. By the 85% mark, I was actively willing the book to end. A decent start dulled by a drawn-out finish.”
Six girls sent to a Catholic reform school in 1960s Buffalo endure emotional hardship and forced labor. As they face injustice, they forge bonds, find resilience, and fight for their voices to be heard.
“Wayward Girls started with promise but lost its way in the final stretch. I found myself nodding off—twice—just trying to finish it. The first half held potential, but by the last 30%, it felt like a slow march to nowhere. By the 85% mark, I was actively willing the book to end. A decent start dulled by a drawn-out finish.”
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Really important subject matter that deserves to be written about. Unfortunately, this book isn’t terribly well written. The climax occurs halfway through the book, which means the back half is all denouement and epilogue. It’s good and right that the horrors the Catholic Church perpetrated on young women are being exposed, but the stories could have been so much more impactful in a more adept author’s hands.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
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:
Complicated
In the 1960s girls whose families couldn't afford them, felt they were making bad decisions, were pregnant, etc were sometimes sent to the Good Shepherd School in New York under the care of nuns who abused their power in some of the worst possible ways. Based on very real history in America and the evidence of 1.5-4 million women who lost their children to unauthorized, irregular, or forced adoption between 1946-1969, according to NY Times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail