Wilder Girls

I received a copy of this book via Delacorte Press and BookishFirst in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! In no way does this affect my rating or review. All included quotes have been taken from an ARC and may not match the finished publication. Content Warning (from the author's website directly): Graphic violence and body horror. Gore. On the page character death, parental death, and animal death (the animals are not pets). Behavior and descriptive language akin to self harm, and references to such. Food scarcity and starvation. Emesis. A scene depicting chemical gassing. Suicide and suicidal ideation. Non-consensual medical treatment. DNFing at page 31. Here I am again, with another DNF. I must admit that I’m rather relieved to set this one down with a sense of finality. Wilder Girls first caught my attention when it was said to be a Lord of the Flies retelling with an emphasis on feminism. I’m not one for feminist stories (or the targeted audience for that matter), but the retelling portion had me intrigued. Lord of the Flies is a title that I won't forget, despite having only read it once when I was in high school. When I kindly received a physical ARC from BookishFirst, I had to try it out, despite my hesitations. After only getting thirty pages in, I realized that I should have just gone with my gut instinct on this one. I had read a short snippet of the book before receiving an ARC, and was somewhat wary towards the writing style. I hoped that the snippet I read was singular, and meant as a voice of introductory narration. To my dismay, the entire story is told in a conglomeration of fragmented sentences and incomplete thoughts. For a movie, this style may have been more appropriate. For a novel, it does not work. Undoubtedly, the style hints at a crudeness that fits the premise. It felt blunt and even barbarous, at times. While effect in that aspect, it doesn’t work for a novel because it prohibits flow and unity. In regards to it being a Lord of the Flies retelling, I cannot really say. Seeing how I didn’t (and couldn't tolerate) read far enough to wager whether Wilder Girls did, in fact, follow the themes, or not. From what I read, I believe relationships will take on a higher importance and focus than its counterpart. Since this is a DNF read, I will not be assigning a star-review.

Hetty is the teen protagonist who wants not only to survive but to truly live in this gruesome, immersive, and gorgeous story that takes place in an all-girls school set on an island that has been infested by the deadly “tox”. This story is not for the faint of heart as the tox causes monstrous deformations in the host bodies- both physical and psychological. And the author does not hold back on causing every single one of her characters pain! Nor is this story for the grammar police. The prose is absolutely stunning in the poetic sense. The author goes ALL IN on voice, throwing grammar conventions out the window. The result is almost a cinematic experience—virtual reality, at times, and I think it is completely fitting for this story. If you’re looking for an engrossing tale that is dark and raw, devoid of superficial beauty or expectations, about girls, survival, friendship, and f/f romance, and find beauty in the strange and sometimes macabre...then you will enjoy this book!

2.5 Rounded to a 2 I was expecting a lot more with this one after reading the premise. It was very interesting to start, but just didn't catch my attention much. It felt rushed in some spots and slow in others. Not a very put together format or flow (for me anyway). I'm honestly not sure if this is a series or ... the ending leads one to believe there should be more to it. I honestly can't stand when a story just abruptly cuts off and leaves me feeling unsatisfied...open-ended finishes are great when they work and make sense. This did not. Find me on Instagram @bookn.all.night