A review by charleshasalibrary
Wilder Girls by Rory Power

dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I wanted to give this book a chance despite the lower rating, but it was worse even than I expected. For context, I rarely if ever give a book less than 3 stars. But Wilder Girls earned it. First of all, the characters were completely undeveloped. I was supposed to apparently feel something about these girls' relationships to one another, but it's like we were thrown into the story halfway through and I was given no substantial background to understand their dynamics. So I didn't care about them or emotionally believe the story at all. Secondly, the writing truly felt like my middle school self wrote it. Over the top, trying too hard to be lyrical when it didn't need to be. It made the whole book feel even more cringe-worthy. Lastly, the plot! The plot was the one thing that kept me reading this book, because I found it so intriguing and wanted to understand the mystery. But the explanations were so poorly given. The ending in general was terribly executed. For someone who apparently felt so much guilt for what she'd done, the main character chose to be incredibly selfish at the end. I won't say more so as not to give spoilers, but all in all - I hate that this book got any hype at all. It truly feels like it was written by a 14 year old.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings