A review by monsterofidaho
Wilder Girls by Rory Power

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

4.0

Wilder Girls is the best possible amalgamation of The Lord of the Flies and Jeff VanderMeer's Annihilation. Take a small island, a pack of feral girls, and a mysterious nature-based plague, blend them together with a hearty helping of body horror, and this is what you get. I found myself squirming more than once, which is a lot coming from someone who pretty consistently reads intense horror. But more than that is the beautiful relationships between the three main characters. Rory Power shows in stark beauty how complicated relationships between women can be, how simultaneously nuanced and rewarding and petrifying they are. And, of course, all of this is only magnified by  the dually intelligent, sympathetic narration of Eileen Stevens and Jesse Vilinsky. Wilder Girls is a good read for any time of year, an instant transportation to a world that looks more and more like ours in the wake of our own pandemic.
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