The Raxter School for has been in quarantine for 18 months. 18 months since the Tox turned normal life upside down.
Teachers were the first to be infected, and slowly died one by one. Then the students; their bodies being altered. left on their own with two surviving teachers, the girls dare not to go past the gate surrounding the school. The Tox has made the woods and wild creatures unpredictable and deadly.
But, when one of the girls goes missing, their friends will do anything to find her - even the woods.
So, I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about it and I think if it wasn't a group read I may have dnfed around page 50. There were some positive points, but there were more negatives (for me). Someone in the group described it as a 'marmite book' and I agree; some loved it, some didn't, so even though this is a mostly negative review it might be a great book for YOU.
So, let's get the negatives out of the way:
For me the characters felt flat. Told from two perspectives (even that was weird; you start with just Hetty and suddenly flips between them. It's quite disorientating) and I never felt like I could connect with them. For me there was no reasoning behind their actions and very little personality. It felt like Hetty was just there to drive the plot further. And then when we get to Byatt's POVs, she comes across as an empty shell; I'm not sure if this is because of trauma or she just wasn't fleshed out as much as she could have been.
I expected Wilder girls to be a lot darker and focus on the survival aspect - most of that was just brushed over. The writing style was quite weird too. It was chaotic and and choppy; It didn't work for me but others loved it.
The plot was okay? There was a lot of confusion because you aren't even given a backstory about the Tox, or the girls, or really how they've adapted. Some things got clearer as you made your way through the book but to me the plot just wasn't that strong. Even the ending (there was potential there!) felt rushed and caused utter confusion. You are left with so many questions and some things just don't make any sense at all!
One thing I noticed as well: the author contradicts herself a fair bit. Early on we're told there's plenty of rooms for over 100 girls - yet with their numbers dwindled, there's only a few rooms available? The Navy sends clothes and blankets for the original number of girls - yet they're fighting over clothes and blankets? I get the food scenario is different, as some is thrown away (it's explained why, so no spoilers here).
So, onto the positives:
I loved the romance aspect. It's a Sapphic, and the romance is subtle, and not the biggest aspect of the book. I loved the mystery of the Tox - I felt more connected to the Tox than I did any of the characters. I wanted to know more about it; what is it, what caused it, etc! I did like the world building (the woods, navy base, etc), It definitely felt quite spooky.
I also love the cover!
As I said before, Wilder girls was not for me, but if this is the type of thing you like to read (especially body horror - is that what it's called? -) then I would reccommend it to you.
Rating: 2 Stars
Reccommend: No, unless you love body horror.
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