This was probably the most hyped book I heard about in 2019 and I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. It's part dystopian and part horror and I loved it. It was so atmospheric but had real character development. I usually prefer to have a good idea what a book is about before I start reading it, but in this case I enjoyed that all of the reviews I had were vague. It follows a group of girls who have been quarantined on an island after a mysterious disease ravages them. Every girl has different symptoms but they're all horrific! It's a battle of survival as food and clothing runs out but amongst that is a friendship so strong and pure.

The only thing I wish is that it delved deeper into the disease itself, as I found it fascinating!

A quick read that was enjoyable. Set in a dystopian future, girls are quarantined at their school, unable to leave because of the pox that has caused harm to them. The story was enjoyable, if a little predictable. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

As dystopian novels go, Wilder Girls ticks a lot of boxes. Set in an all girls boarding school during an outbreak of a mysterious 'Tox' the story follows Hetty and her best friends Reese and Byatt as they attempt to navigate the new normal they've found themselves in. Part Mean Girls, part X-Men, part The Stand there's a whole lot going on here in what is a relatively short book and I feel like that's why this fell a little flat for me.
It's a decent read, don't get me wrong, but too much is given over to descriptions of the island and the effects of the Tox rather than comprehensive explanations of what's going on. Sometimes I like vague, where a lot is left up to interpretation, but here I just found it frustrating.
More time could have been given to the plot and story to provide more of a balance. That said, I did enjoy Power's style and I'll check out more of her books in the future.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Macmillan Children's Books in exchange for an honest review.

This book was entirely different from what I was expecting. I'd heard that it was a horror book about a group of girls in a boarding school who start developing terrifying mutations as part of an infection-type thing they call 'the Tox'. And yes, that technically is the plot! But it doesn't give you a lot to work with in terms of genre or tone. Even after reading this, I'm still struggling to classify it a little but I think sci-fi is the label that fits it best.

So, many people in the Booktube community have raved about Wilder Girls and I do think that's a bit of a shame really because, after reading it, I'm struggling to see why. Don't get me wrong, there were some really cool things about this book. The characters were fairly decent, the plot once it kicked in was really absorbing and I had no idea how things were going to pan out. But at the same time, there were definitely things that were lacking. With the horror aspect being played up in the way this book is marketed (or at least, classified) I expected more of a focus on what the Tox actually does to these girls' bodies. In actuality there is almost no detail given. At first I assumed this was to build suspense but this is not followed up by any payoff and so it all fell a bit flat for me. It was hard to visualise the true nature of the Tox when we had so little to go on.

Overall, I think I wanted to like this book more than I did. I went in very blind beyond the basic description and, while I tried so hard not to let rave reviews influence me, I was sadly left wondering what all the fuss was about. The climax felt rushed and messy, once again vague on details. I did like the ending paragraphs and parts of the plot were done really well. I just wish there'd been a little bit more of everything.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars

A strange and unsettling story about the impact of a strange disease, known only as the Tox, that hits a remote girls' school on an island. In an effort to maintain the outbreak, the school is cut off from the mainland and increasingly dwindling supplies are sent over on a ship. The novel opens 18 months after the intial outbreak, when life on Raxter island has changed unrecognisably. Those girls who haven't been killed by the virus have undergone strange physical changes, from spiny second backbones erupting from their skin to shiny metallic scales covering whole limbs. Hetty, the book's narrator, is trying to find out what has happened to her friend Byatt, taken away after being hit by a bad 'flare' of the Tox. As she begins to dig, she finds that there is something even more sinister than she had imagined going on.

It might be an unusual move to combine a coming-of-age/sexual awakening story with mutating limbs and conspiracy theories, but I can dig it. It ends quite abruptly, leaving me wondering if there'd be more to the story, but it's well imagined and creatively portrayed.

Hetty and her friends struggle to survive the mysterious illness plaguing their isolated school.

Eighteen months. That's how long it's been since the Tox first attacked the pupils at the Raxter school, isolated on their own island. The girls have spent the time since waiting for the cure they were promised, hiding behind the school fence as the Tox mutates the animal and plant life. Only two of their teachers are left. The others have died or lost themselves to the forest.

There's more going on in this book, but to be honest it's taken me two hours to write that much. This novel has gotten a lot of praise, but I didn't enjoy it. I forced myself back to it, over and over, sure that I had to be missing something. So many people raved about it! I must be just missing the point, right?

This novel doesn't have a point, that I could find. It's a bunch of extremely poetic descriptions interrupted occasionally for some gore. It's unremittingly dark. Byatt seems to have deliberately spread the infection to the only person who was genuinely nice to her. Headmistress's big shocking revelation is completely obvious. The book doesn't end so much as stop dead.

But damn if it isn't an absolutely amazing cover.

Wilder Girls is one of those books that reminds you just why YA dystopian fiction can be so great. It centres on the power of friendships in the worst possible circumstances, as well as providing some hope for the future. It is, in short, pretty fucking great.

The story is set in an island school, following the outbreak of a disease called the Tox, a disease which alternately drives its victims mad or causes strange things to burst out of their bodies. The school is under quarantine, and no one is allowed outside of the quarantine zone except those lucky few who go to collect the supplies the Navy sends.

I don’t think it would be that amiss to say not a whole lot happens in this book. It’s definitely more of your character-driven sort of science fiction/horror novel. And that’s great here, because the characters Rory Power creates are amazing and what drives the book for me is their relationships, particularly the one between Hetty, Byatt and Reese. It was definitely the relationship between the three of them that kept me reading the book (I mean, not that I was ever in danger of stopping).

And then there’s the writing. It’s one of those great styles that’s easy and quick to read, while also being very evocative and tense where needed. And there are definitely moments of tension (and sadness, like, the whole of Byatt’s arc). There were parts where my heart was distinctly beating faster because of the tension.

I will say though, at the end, I sort of could guess where the plot was going. Actually, I could guess from the moment Byatt was first given a POV. It’s not really hard to see it, but it’s also not a book where that matters because it’s about the characters rather than the plot, really. It’s also not quite as gory as I was expecting, given the reviews, though that might say less about the book and more about the fact I was reading a history book on the Plantagenets beforehand. Puts everything into perspective.

So yeah. In case, for whatever reason, you hadn’t read the book (though why you wouldn’t have when I’m obviously the one lightyears behind on it), I’m telling you now to read it.

Interesting read, with different twists and turns in some young school boarder's lives... It made me think about biodiversity and genetic engineering, and how disturbing errors in these fields could be.. An unexpected ending

4.5/5

I thought this was a fantastic read, I don't know that I would say it was another version of Lord of the Flies, but I would say that it had elements of it but this has thriller in its blood. It's amazingly chilling to read and holy cow that ending!! Power's writing style is unique and may not be for everybody but I truly enjoyed the creepy 'Tox' and the mysteries of Raxter. There is what you might call a lack of humanity in this story, it's not about that, though there are glimpses of it, it's about the wildness that is slipping through the girls and the island they're on.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this in exchange for my honest review.

4 stars

So horror books aren't my usual reads but I won't lie - the cover alone pulled me in with this one.

I was pleasently surprised to find myself enjoying this book. It wasn't my favourite but it was definitely a refreshing and different take on a survivalist/dystopianish story. It explored so many aspects of girlhood - resilience, friendship, romance, identity, loyalty and trust being just a few. I would say I struggled to connect with the characters at points which is why I didn't give the book a full 5 stars but honestly was a great read and worth picking up!

I was kindly provided a free ebook from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Very unique prose & a spine-chilling setting made this a gripping read. I admit, the cover was what first drew me to this book, but the premise & writing really delivered!

Wilder Girls is a strange and atmospheric book that features a group of girls living on a remote island in their former school while undergoing changes from the mysterious ‘Tox’, which alters their body in weird and wonderful ways.

Unfortunately I really didn’t get on with this. Told in two perspectives, Hetty and Byatt, I just couldn’t connect with either of them. The writing seems to skim any kind of depth in character development, preferring to focus on confusing the reader with increasingly bizarre horror oddities. As a result, I just didn’t care about what happened to the girls, and I found Byatt in particular severely lacking in personality and used only as a plot device.

The plot also feels incohesive and unstructured, jumping from one idea to another without pausing to really examine anything to depth. This meant for the majority of the story I was left confused at the lack of direction, with a large information dump near the end that I didn’t find in the least bit satisfying. And that ending. I’m all for open endings, but this just felt unfinished - as though the author just ran out of steam with what to do with her characters.

I will say that I found the writing style easy enough to get through, and this was a quick read that managed to create a well described atmosphere brimming with danger and wilderness. It’s just a shame the characters and plot couldn’t match this setting. Not for me.

I recently received an arc copy of this book for my independent honest review. Thank you.
May I start by pointing out I am Not from the target audience and therefore will have different views as an adult reading YA. In my opinion this does not translate well for an older audience and somewhat over Gory for the younger YA age group.
I was hearing so much about this book that I was excited to get it. The premise of a girl's school on an island under quarantine, an inside look at their behaviour as they struggle to survive wow, gave me Lord of the Flies vibes.!
However did I feel this debut horror thriller gave me that? Sadly no.
The school is infected with something that causes the girls bodies to mutate with horrific changes taking place. Very zombie esq.
Whilst I feel this author can write well and has some brilliant plot ideas, sadly I felt it lacked overall editorial advice to someone with a debut book. I couldn't emotionally relate to the three main protagonists either. Sorry guys.
The plot felt disjointed at times and in my opinion would have benefited from the old adage 'less is more' there were so many great tropes however did they really all need to be packed into one book.
There is certainly more to come from this author and I expect great things in the future.
Sorry this wasn't for me and parents please read for yourselves and judge whether you feel it suitable for your young teen.

This was kind of underwhelming given how many positive things i'd heard about this book. I thought it would have been more of a true horror but this felt like a mystery from start to finish. I did like the characters of Hetty and Byatt but felt some of the other girls were just under developed and could have been fleshed out more. This did have some good moments but it seemed to have a bit too much going on in it for it to be a successful novel for me.

This was a good read, and I definitely didn't feel unsatisfied by it. However, it just wasn't memorable and I'm pretty sure in a months time I will remember very little of this book. Ultimately, it was a unique book but just didn't make me feel much.
This book follows our main character, Hetty, who is in quarantine in her all girls school on a remote island. The Tox has mutated all of their bodies for a year and a half, and no cure seems to be on its way. As the numbers dwindle and someone close to Hetty disappears, she has to make more and more dangerous decisions to try and save herself and those around her. Because everything is not as it seems.
What I Liked:
-The plot was really exciting. The worst thing for me to feel in books is bored, and I didn't feel that at all reading Wilder Girls. The plot was well paced, and discoveries scattered at the perfect intervals. There were twists I didn't guess which is always a nice surprise, because I'm usually pretty accurate at guessing the majority of the "twists". It was just a really well crafted plot, in my opinion, especially for a debut author.
-The girls. I really liked the environment these girls were in. There are around 60 girls left, all fighting for food and supplies, just trying to keep themselves alive. Then there is a juxtaposition by the love some of these girls have for each other, and the lengths Hetty was willing to go to for 'her girls' was beautiful. I just loved how we could go from a scene where girls are tackling each other for a box of crackers, to putting their lives on the line to get one another to safety.
What I Didn't Like:
-My main problem was the style of writing. I'm not someone who enjoys descriptive, flowery language but this book was just the complete, polar opposite. It felt too dry, too detached, and too abrupt. I think some of that was choice, but I don't think all of it was, and it just really kept me from connecting to the characters. There just wasn't much feeling in the writing, and it kind of took me out of the story at points.
-I didn't connect with Hetty, the main character, because a lot of the time it didn't even feel like we were seeing the story through a characters eyes, it felt like we were just viewing it from a camera or something. None of her personality bled through and I struggled to care about what was going to happen to her. I cared more about the main side characters because at least they were given some personality and life.
Overall, this was a thrilling and exciting read that satisfied me plot wise, but wasn't satisfactory in the writing or character department. If the plot sounds interesting to you, I think it's definitely worth the read, but it just won't be something that sticks in my brain for long.

This was a really interesting and compelling exploration of humanity, friendship and our relationship to the land...with random extra spines and other delightful body horror elements. It tells the story of the Raxter School girls, kept in quarantine for 18 months following the tox - an unknown disease causing mutation and wildness in those infected.

The Positives: I thought that the relationship between our three protagonists, Hetty, Byatt and Reese, was really well done and felt authentic. Each girl is given depth and nuance, but Rory Power's real skill lies in ambiguity and diffusion, so we are left with more questions than answers about the connections between the girls, which I really enjoyed. The horror aspects of the novel are very much based in body horror, which readers should be aware of going in. For me, I loved the depictions of the ways in which the tox had changed the girls, but it is not for the squeamish. I also thought that Power's prose was exquisite at times and that her dream-like sentences worked really well for the overall atmosphere.

The Negatives: I could have done with some more concrete explanation around the tox and where it had come from. The ending is very open and, although I think it works well, I do think that there are those who will probably be frustrated by how little we actually know, by the end.

Overall I thought this was a really enjoyable and deliciously unpleasant book that will appeal to those who appreciate ambiguity in their stories and don't always need things neatly tied up.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'd been looking forwards to this book for ages and it didn't disappoint. I read this in one fast sitting: a whip-quick horror that was even more body horror than I'd expected, and it was great. A boarding school story where the rot has set in, with angry queer girls at its heart. While some things weren't explained as fully as I'd like, that's a personal preference and not a flaw (and I had no problem with the ending, like I've heard other people have. It was a great horror ending!). I love these angry girls.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

This novel is no doubt one of a new type of dystopic novel set in the environment of the climate change emergency, like Margaret Atwood's Maddam trilogy. Hetty and her friends are forced to survive in their abandoned school after everyone on Raxter Island succumbs to a mystery illness called the Tox. The book tells the story of their struggles to live in this world and still live their lives.

I thought the characters of Hetty and Reese were particularly well drawn, though I could have done with some more characterisation of Byatt. I'm not sure if this is the start of a series as the conclusion was left quite openended, but I would be intrigued to see where the story went next.

I saw this book a lot when it first came out and was very much on the fence on whether this book would be for me or not.

I am so glad that I decided to take the plunge and request this book when it came up on NetGalley.

These characters are unapologetically human with their own complex emotions but throughout it all there is a strong sense of friendship and comradery between all the girls who are trapped on this island. These girls have had to adapt to their situation and learn how to defend themselves. I love a good survival book and this one hit the nail on the head.

Rory Power has an amazing talent of creating this unique atmosphere with extremely graphic horror scenes that I was not expecting but loved nonetheless. I found Power’s writing style captivating and I really struggled to put this book down!

The reason this book didn’t get 5 stars is because I really didn’t like the way it ended. I felt like it left a lot of unanswered questions and was a little bit slow at the start. I would have liked to have more of an introduction to the tox and how it they all dealt with the first symptoms.

Overall, this was an enjoyable, gritty read which I recommend to those who enjoy survival stories with friendship at its forefront. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Rory Power writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very well-rendered novel. The characters were engaging from the beginning, the story keeps you on the edge constantly. The writing is beautiful and the descriptions help bring the world to life. Definitely worth the hype.