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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
Well paced, and fully kept my interest. I had known of Magdalene laundries abroad but had no idea that they were prevalent in the US as well.
The jump from the 70’s to the present took me off guard, and I actually went back to see if I had accidentally skipped ahead. I hadn’t but it definitely threw me a bit.
This story hasn’t left me yet. If you enjoy historical fiction, definitely give this a try. There’s a lot to think about within the pages. Recommended.
*A little something more to think about - Wayward Girls is set in upstate New York takes place in a time that maga may be referring to when they say ‘make America great again’. A time when females were so wholly without agency and racism was acceptable. Thank the patriarchy (which is still doing what it can to further dismantle rights).
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the DRC
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
While this book took me longer than usual to read, it in no way reflects on the writing or the story. I can be sensitive to certain subjects, and this book was heavy for me. I had to take breaks between some chapters with another book to get out of the headspace this one put me in. Again, that is not a bad thing and shouldn’t reflect poorly on this book or its author. The book is fantastic and the storytelling is engaging. The subject matter, on the other hand, is horrific.
There are a lot of characters at play in this book, but the most prominent is Mairin. A teenager in the Buffalo, New York area in the late 1960s. She is Irish Catholic, growing up in a Catholic community where the kids all go to Catholic school, and to even utter the word sex is scandalous. Women have few rights, the Vietnam War is raging, and nobody questions what the Catholic Church or local authorities do with the so-called “criminals” in the community.
Not to give too much away, I’ll say that Mairin is sent to a home for underage girls who find themselves in trouble. Be it with the law, by finding themselves pregnant out of wedlock, or because their parents think they are on the road to ruin. These girls are sent to a home, run by nuns, to get straightened out. Yet, behind the walls of this facility, things are much worse than they seem. What hurt so bad while reading this is the knowledge that this is true. This particular book may be fiction, but it’s based on true events. It’s gut-wrenching. I was so proud of Mairin for never letting them get her down, and for Mairin’s new friends for finally fighting for themselves.
This book is separated into a few parts. The first part went by fast. Mairin’s day-to-day life and how she ended up being wrenched from her home and put in this pit of despair. The second part was the hardest part and the part that took me so long to read. The title of the book has everything to do with the second part of this story. I breezed through things once things bounce back to present day, and we see Mairin and the other ladies come together again.
Some of the characters are truly evil in this book. Others, whom I detested, had just as much trauma as the girls who were being hurt. These characters were hard to like, but I did come to understand them. From Mairin’s mom to a young nun at the facility, most of them have their reasons for how they react to the world around them.
The author did a beautiful job of weaving the stories of all the women and girls together. She did her research and took such care with the characters, the setting, and the stories.
**I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely**
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment
let me begin by thanking harper collins, william morrow, and netgalley for both the e-arc, and very unexpectedly, the physical arc of this book! so grateful
susan wiggs’ wayward girls is a heartbreaking, yet hopeful story of surviving trauma, women’s friendships, solidarity, and the abuse endured in Catholic reform schools during the 60s. alternating between a handful of perspectives, we explore the stories of a number of “wayward girls” including queer, bipoc, and pregnant wayward girls disproportionately affected by these institutions, and the significant role they played in each others survival and growth.
i’m not someone who frequents the historical fiction genre, at least not nearly as much as i did when i was younger, but i found myself consumed with this story. a truly beautiful novel
make sure to check trigger warnings, these are many heavy and intense scenes
susan wiggs’ wayward girls is a heartbreaking, yet hopeful story of surviving trauma, women’s friendships, solidarity, and the abuse endured in Catholic reform schools during the 60s. alternating between a handful of perspectives, we explore the stories of a number of “wayward girls” including queer, bipoc, and pregnant wayward girls disproportionately affected by these institutions, and the significant role they played in each others survival and growth.
i’m not someone who frequents the historical fiction genre, at least not nearly as much as i did when i was younger, but i found myself consumed with this story. a truly beautiful novel
make sure to check trigger warnings, these are many heavy and intense scenes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
dark
emotional
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
found Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs to be a well written, very well researched novel that was based on actual events in history. This is my favorite type of historical fiction novel. This book contains themes of found sisterhood, trauma, and resilience. I highly recommend it!
Synopsis:
In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd—a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns—locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.
Mairin— free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.
Angela—denounced for her attraction to girls, sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator.
Helen—the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, she saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch in to years.
Odessa—caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.
Denise—sentenced for brawling in a foster home, she dared to dream of a better life.
Janice—deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay—except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.
Sister Bernadette—rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.
Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption...and justice.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced digital copy of the book.
Be prepared to find the truth about these schools known as the Magdalene Laundries where they sent girls back in the 60s for many different reasons.
Some were sent there because of pregnancy - others were sent there just because their parents wanted them out of the house or they couldn’t afford them, but most of the reasons were not really legitimate to keep them.
They didn’t educate them. They used the girls as free labor for doing laundry for local businesses and treated them like prisoners.
These schools were run by nuns with many strict rules, very little nutritious food, horrible punishments, and with the outside world thinking the girls were being treated well and being redeemed
We meet Mairin, who was dragged there by her mother. While she is there she befriends other girls, but tries to escape every chance she can.
The girls become close and realize they need each other to endure what goes on.
You will love the characters and the lifelong friendships they made, but your heart will break for them.
WAYWARD GIRLS is another marvelously researched, pull-you-in book by Susan Wiggs that will also have you shedding tears.
Be sure to add it to your TBR. 5/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Some were sent there because of pregnancy - others were sent there just because their parents wanted them out of the house or they couldn’t afford them, but most of the reasons were not really legitimate to keep them.
They didn’t educate them. They used the girls as free labor for doing laundry for local businesses and treated them like prisoners.
These schools were run by nuns with many strict rules, very little nutritious food, horrible punishments, and with the outside world thinking the girls were being treated well and being redeemed
We meet Mairin, who was dragged there by her mother. While she is there she befriends other girls, but tries to escape every chance she can.
The girls become close and realize they need each other to endure what goes on.
You will love the characters and the lifelong friendships they made, but your heart will break for them.
WAYWARD GIRLS is another marvelously researched, pull-you-in book by Susan Wiggs that will also have you shedding tears.
Be sure to add it to your TBR. 5/5
Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow/Harper Audio for the galley and ALC of this book!
In 1969, teenager Maren is busy being a young woman, hanging with her friends, having her first date with a boy, etc. But when her stepfather gets creepy and blames it on her, he and her mother send her to a “school” for wayward girls. Disguised as taking care of these women and teaching them, it’s really just forced labor and closed adopting out their babies to “good” families. Maren and her friends mount an eacape, but it goes wrong and they get separated. Years later, they reunite and seek to uncover the truth about the home and others like it.
The first part of this was better for me than the second. In the modern portion, the dialogue and writing felt kind of hokey. Maybe it was that way in the first half, but I didn’t notice. I liked the story of young Maren and the women she formed bonds with in the reform school, and I liked the kdea of all of them coming together as old ladies to right past wrongs, but that part just fell flat for me.
The book felt long, and a lot of things felt glossed over. Kind of like just summing up years in their lives several times in between the action moments.
If you like your historical fiction feminist and appreciate a little bit of rep in supporting characters (queer, brown, black), then you might enjoy this one.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
Infinite Stars
Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs is a masterclass in historical fiction and a soul-stirring tribute to resilience. Set in the 1960s in a Catholic boarding school for wayward girls, this audiobook peels back the veneer of institutional safety to expose a world of injustice—and the fierce young women determined to break free from it.
Narrated with emotion and nuance by Susan Wiggs, Jane Oppenheimer, and Cynthia Farrell, the audiobook adds incredible depth and immediacy to an already powerful story. Each voice brings the characters to life in a way that feels intimate and unforgettable.
At the heart of the story is Mairin, a redheaded powerhouse of a protagonist whose spirit is unshakable. The daughter of an Irish immigrant mother, Mairin is sent away under the guise of protection after her predatory stepfather begins circling too close. What she finds instead is a cruel and stifling institution masked as a school. But Mairin is not one to be broken. Her faith in the Church and in the sanctity of marriage is tested, but never her belief in her own power or in the worth of the girls beside her.
Rarely do we encounter a female character written with such unyielding strength, clarity, and conviction. Mairin doesn’t just endure—she leads, inspires, and fights for the freedom of others with breathtaking resolve. Her journey is made all the more powerful by the presence of her brother, Liam, another unforgettable character who stands as a quiet but profound hero. His protective instincts and bravery is deeply moving and sharply drawn.
Wiggs’s writing is elegant and evocative, her characters complex and deeply human. The themes of oppression, sisterhood, and survival are delivered with grace and ferocity. Every page simmers with raw emotion, and every injustice feels personal. This is not just a story, it’s a call to remember, to feel, and to stand up.
Bravo, Susan Wiggs. Wayward Girls is a triumph. My favorite read of the month, and perhaps the year.
Thank you to Librofm and Harper Audio for the gifted ALC.
Thank you to Librofm and Harper Audio for the gifted ALC.
emotional
inspiring
sad
In another critical look at the Catholic Church, this book tells of the abuse on young pregnant and/or defiant women in the US. Very similar to the situations in the Magdalena laundries in Ireland, these women were held captive and forced to do laundry to enrich the sisterhoods and church. Abuse, obviously, was rampant. I did not enjoy the disgusting treatment by the nuns, but I enjoyed reading about the bonds developed between the young women in their "care." That was the highlight for me. Many other aspects of the book felt a bit too perfect or coincidental, but I recognize that people want a happy ending.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.