Review by kreschy - The Wilderness of Girls

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kreschy 's review for:

The Wilderness of Girls by Madeline Claire Franklin

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The idea behind a cult is to isolate members from society so only the group mentality matters and, inevitably, becomes the only truth. People who escape from cults and must re-enter society struggle to understand what we could call normal societal ideas. So, what happens in you are secluded in the woods from birth, having no idea that there is a society outside of your 3 sisters, parental figures, wolf pack, and the castle in the woods you built together?

"The Wilderness Girls" narrates deep topics of survival among the girls who lived their whole lives in the wilderness, but also shows how dangerous it is for girls to survive in everyday society.

Trigger Warning: This book contains topics of mental health, manipulation, emotional abuse, physical abuse, rape, suicide, and attempted suicide.

***Spoilers Below***

The story began with Eden, a teenage girl who is emotionally abused by her stepmother and father. The wealthy family is sitting down to, what to them is a normal meal. And by “normal,” I mean a bland and minimal meal for Eden, wine for the stepmother, and a large stake for the father who is talking on the phone while simultaneously fighting with the stepmother.

Officers suddenly interrupt their meal to arrest Eden’s father for money laundering, among other crimes that only pertain to rich people. To which her stepmother immediately announces she needs a vacation and abandons Eden. This is where the story truly begins — with a fresh start for Eden.

I wasn't sure how the wilderness girls would come into the story line because of how much content there was surrounding Eden and her family; but she is truly the kingpin — or should I say fifth sister — to this entire story.

After moving in with her uncle, Eden (now Rhi) is still an outcast at her new school. What brings her into her element — pun absolutely intended — is working for the wildlife preserve her uncle works for.

This is when Rhi discovers the girls in “The Wild Girls of Happy Valley” and brings them back to civilization. In a truly magical moment, the four girls sit together to try to heal the leg of one wild girl who got caught in bear trap: Rhi finally feels the magic the girls have been talking about and feels as though she belongs for the first time.

All the abuse that Rhi encountered in her life — emotional, physical, verbal, sexual — is now culminating in a dissociation from reality. Without realizing, Rhi uses the wild girls as an excuse to escape her mind and what has just happened in her life. This begins the underlying plot and study of how girls in society must act and steel themselves away in order to survive.

The following days and weeks depict the girls learning how to act in a normal society and ultimately learn that the magic their wild parents taught them as truth, was the culmination of one man's mental illness and delusions.

Although devastating, I’m glad Franklin chose for one of the wild girls to commit suicide. From the amount of adjusting these girls had to do to live in our society to understanding everything they were taught from a young age was a lie, I would be shocked if they didn’t act on their mental instabilities. This made the novel even more believable and fully immersed me in the world Franklin created.

The combined narration from the wild girls and Rhi show the reader how easily the wild girls were able to survive in the wilderness. Of course, they needed the magic, whatever the magic was supposed to be, that Mother brought them, but there were no external dangers. Comparing Grace and Rhi’s lives to the wild girls makes our world seem worse to live in — all to the thanks of horrible adults and men.

What I wasn't expecting Franklin to delve into so much detail about how the wild girls learned to act in society and how they were expected to assimilate – but I’m so glad that she did! Them constantly having to think about being accepted and acting respectably directly mirrors how Rhi and Grace feel in their “normal” homes when they are trying to survive in our society as girls and young women.

The biggest shock — which unfortunately did not come as much of a shock after learning about Eden's background — was the abuse, manipulation, and eventual sexual abuse brought by Eden's stepbrother. This is when we see the biggest growth in Grace, whether this is character growth or her finding her voice and trusting the girls. Rhi finally opens about her sexual assault to Grace when her life difficulties become too much to bear, which culminates in Rhi’s full disassociation into the magic world the wilderness girls told her about.

Grace's importance to the group strikes me more than any relationship in the book. She helps the girls minimally at first, but then stands up for her sister, tries to connect with her, defends her physically, and grows to understand the emotions of the girls like Rhi has grown to. Grace's reaction when Rhi tries to leave through the portal — a beautifully artistic way to show how desperate Rhi was to leave her situation — is so incredibly touching and shows not only her compassion, but how much you can bond with someone who has been in a similar situation.

As a queer teenager, I tried desperately to fit in and suffered from my own mental health challenges because of it. Although I'm lucky enough to have had a safe home environment, I can't help but empathize and relate to Rhi. I spent my time reading and escaping into the worlds my books described: I was the nerd that desperately wanted vampires to be real so I could escape my life. Reading how Rhi began to fully believe in the made-up magic that the girls' unstable Mother preached speaks worlds to Rhi's mental instability.

Unlike many books I’ve read recently, I didn’t expect any of the events and plot points. I want the book to naturally move forward without the author giving hints to the reader about what is going to happen next, ultimately revealing the climax and/or resolution. I certainly couldn’t have imagined Rhi would try to enter the portal. The one thing I would like to know – who wrote the girls’ memoir that we got excerpts of?!

The book I gave 5 stars was "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," which also had profound themes and double meanings behind the plot points that weren’t apparent on the surface. "The Wilderness Girls" fully deserves my five-star review. I have no qualms about how it was written, character development, voice, editing, or plot.

I listened to the narration of this book, which was also phenomenal, and I look forward to buying myself a physical copy to notate.

Grab a box of tissues and do yourself the favor of reading this book.

Book Club Questions:

- How does Rhi’s decision to change her name reflect her desire to escape her past? Does this hinder or help her journey?

- The girls believe they are princesses from another land. How does this belief system serve as a coping mechanism for their trauma? What does that suggest about the power of belief shaping one’s reality?

- The girls struggle to adapt to societal norms after their time in the wilderness. What commentary does the novel offer on societal expectations of young women and the concept of "normalcy"?

- In what ways does the wilderness serve as a metaphor for freedom, danger, or the unknown?

- How does the figure of 'Mother' function within the story? What does this character represent in terms of authority, control, or guidance?

- Did you find aspects of yourself reflected in any of the characters? How did this affect your connection to the story?

Content Warnings