I think the best I can say about Wilder Girls is that it is...fine? It wasn't badly written, and the plot was pretty compelling, it was just lacking something I can't quite put my finger on.
I think the big issue for me was that I just couldn't connect with any of the characters. The narrative sort of puts you in the middle of this story, with no world-building, context, or even a wind-down. It just sort of started, touched on some interesting concepts, and then ended before ever exploring them.
I wanted more. I wanted to know the characters, feel for them, and hurt with them. But instead, there was just a whole bunch of body horror, some vague hints at something sinister, and then a pretty lacklustre resolution. I was gripped when I thought it was going somewhere interesting, and then as I reached the 3/4 mark and realised it probably wasn't, I ended up just wanting it to be over.
Wilder Girls seems to be quite polarising. I'd say it's probably a 2.75 rounded up to me, but I'm giving it three stars just on the brilliance of the cover art alone. The art commissioner and cover illustrators (Regina Flath and Aykut Aydogdu) saved this novel from mediocrity and deserve a round of applause
Reviewed by pamela on
Reading updates
- 16 April, 2022: Started reading
- 16 April, 2022: on page 0 out of 368
- 18 April, 2022: Finished reading
- 19 April, 2022: Reviewed