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4.19 AVERAGE
4.19 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
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
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
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
🕊️ Before sex ed, Google, TikTok and definitely before consent was part of the conversation, there were whispered warnings and the looming threat of being “sent to the nuns.”
🦬 This story drops us into the fruit belt neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, during the late 1960s/early 70’s. Back to a time when teen girls were left to piece together the truth about their bodies, and choice was not a part of the equation.
🗺️Susan Wiggs brings us on a journey of friendship, survival and trauma as we follow the story of girls who find themselves at a reform school run by nuns. Made to work as a laundry service for profit, subject to punishments both physical and mental, one of the girls is determined to escape. After numerous failed attempts, she knows she can’t do it alone.
📖The story grabbed my attention from the first chapter. As someone who grew up in Buffalo, the setting our author created rang with authenticity. He ability to create this neighborhood I could deeply visualize in my head - from the creak of the screen door, to the feel of bike pedals beneath my feet. Phenomenal!
🎙️The narration was good - not great. Overall, the narrator told the story well. It did not detract from the reading, but also didn’t elevate it to that next level as some narrators do.
🥇 I gave this book 4.5/5 stars ⭐️ as the first 3/4 of the book was a 5⭐️ read for me and the last 1/4, a 4⭐️. Definitely recommend this one.
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
No
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A great historical fiction about a real place that starts in the late 60s and spans decades. Marin is sent to an institution run by nuns to keep her away from her step father. The institution is not what it seems and Marin fights it from day one. She meets other girls that are there and they start forming friendships and seeing their resilience through their horrible experience.
The story is about friendship, strength and determination. It spans decades and some parts of it was just heartbreaking to read.
Jane Oppenheimer and Cynthia Farrell did a good job with the narration and I felt the sternness of the nuns and the pain that these girls went through.
Thank you @williammorrowbooks @harperaudio for a copy do this book
The story is about friendship, strength and determination. It spans decades and some parts of it was just heartbreaking to read.
Jane Oppenheimer and Cynthia Farrell did a good job with the narration and I felt the sternness of the nuns and the pain that these girls went through.
Thank you @williammorrowbooks @harperaudio for a copy do this book
Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs follows six teenage girls locked away in a Catholic reform school not for crimes, but for being too much for society: too outspoken, too queer, too curious, too pregnant. Basically, for being themselves.
At the heart of the story is Mairin, a sharp and scrappy teen who forms deep bonds with the other girls as they endure forced labor, abusive discipline, and the kind of injustices that hit especially hard knowing they’re rooted in real history.
Despite all that darkness, the novel is full of strength and solidarity. It’s about friendship, found family, and the fierce will to survive and fight back. Wiggs doesn’t sugarcoat the trauma, but she also gives these girls a voice, a future, and each other. It's gritty, heartbreaking, and powerful. A book that sticks with you and makes you want to hug your younger self.
At the heart of the story is Mairin, a sharp and scrappy teen who forms deep bonds with the other girls as they endure forced labor, abusive discipline, and the kind of injustices that hit especially hard knowing they’re rooted in real history.
Despite all that darkness, the novel is full of strength and solidarity. It’s about friendship, found family, and the fierce will to survive and fight back. Wiggs doesn’t sugarcoat the trauma, but she also gives these girls a voice, a future, and each other. It's gritty, heartbreaking, and powerful. A book that sticks with you and makes you want to hug your younger self.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wayward Girls tells the story of a group of girls sent to a reform “school” simply because they have fallen by the wayside and strayed from the norm,. They are pregnant, queer, inconvenient, or even too attractive, and they are sent away to be forced into something that conforms with society’s expectations. Decades later, the girls come back together to find justice and closure.
I absolutely loved this book. The story of the girls in the “school” was heartbreaking and sometimes difficult to read. Although it takes place in the 60’s, it seemed timeless—sometimes from an earlier era, and other times much like today. The later part of the novel was more like the Susan Wiggs I am used to, and brought the novel to a satisfying, life-affirming conclusion.
Highly recommended for those who love both historical fiction and contemporary women’s fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I absolutely loved this book. The story of the girls in the “school” was heartbreaking and sometimes difficult to read. Although it takes place in the 60’s, it seemed timeless—sometimes from an earlier era, and other times much like today. The later part of the novel was more like the Susan Wiggs I am used to, and brought the novel to a satisfying, life-affirming conclusion.
Highly recommended for those who love both historical fiction and contemporary women’s fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
As a big fan of historical fiction, I was excited to read this book! Set in the late 1960s-early 1970s to the present day, the story follows the harrowing experiences of six teenagers who are sent to a reform school run by nuns to ‘cure’ them of various behaviors that were seen as problematic. The girls create strong bonds with one another as they survive trauma and mistreatment at the hands of the nuns and staff of the reform school, which is not a school at all. I became so invested in the lives and experiences of these characters. Susan Wiggs does a wonderful job of telling the story from their perspectives, shifting and changing with their age and resilience as they make it through challenge after challenge.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for an early copy of this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia