Wilder Girls
by Rory Power
This review was submitted by Olivia Bonner, a fifth grader from Florida.
It’s been 18 months since the Raxter School for Girls has been quarantined. 18 months for the Tox to seep in, turning the girls’ bodies strange and foreign. 18 months to survive.
The Raxter School for Girls has been contaminated by a deadly killer, called the Tox. It started slow, seeping through each and everyone one of the girls, but taking the ones it was fond of. Then, it was all at once, ebbing and flowing through one girl. Then another. Then, another. It was like the way you fall asleep.
Slowly, then all at once. Soon, there are two teachers and few girls, and they all learn to follow this rule: Wait, and stay alive.
The girls have learned to fend for themselves. Fighting over food, picking who they can trust, and where the Tox is now. Well, no one knows the Tox. After all, no one knows—not even you—what crawls up their fingertips. No one knows who the flowers turn black. No one knows what turned the woods wild. No one knows what turned the girls wild.
Byatt goes missing. All now that Hetty has left is her name and her friend, Reese. Hetty now has to discover the wild island, find her best friend, unravel the secrets of the Tox, and truly discover what it means to be a wilder girl.
Pitch-perfect, quick paced, and leaving you on the very edge of your seat, this delightful debut will have you saying, “ WHAT?! THIS IS OVER?” again and again. In every aspect of this novel, it is perfect. In this brilliant and thought-provoking novel, you will find the complex and brutal lives of the girls, betrayals from people that you’d never expect, tricks and dangerous things, and the struggle for survival. I think other girls will like it because of these following reasons:
- It’s relatable. Life can often feel like fighting for your life.
- It’s very mysterious and eerie. The creepiness of what lies beyond the fence and what it’s inside it floats through every single page. The mysteries of this book will have you nearly ripping the page (True story—I actually almost ripped the page because I flipped the page WAY too fast.) for the next clue.
- It has adventure. Nothing ever happens if you just stand and wait. You’ll find yourself in their stories, their lives.
- It has all the feels. This book feels like having your friend at your side. Someone to talk to. There’s highs, and lows, but you’ll get there.In this bona fide, irreverent, raw, and insightful story, you’ll truly discover what it means to be a wilder girl.