Wilder Girls by Rory Power

My rating: four stars

Genre: YA, Dystopian Thriller

Edition: Hardcover

Goodreads Summary: It’s been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty’s life out from under her.

It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don’t dare wander outside the school’s fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.

But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there’s more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.

Can we please talk about this cover?? Even if Wilder Girls wasn’t the August pick for the Barnes and Nobles YA book club, I think I would have still bought and read this book because of the cover. The art style, the different textures, and the colors are just so beautiful; this has to be one of my favorite covers of the year. I also enjoy dystopian novels so I am glad that it was the August pick! 

Likes: The whole mystery of the story was intriguing. There were so many questions that I had, but it wasn’t too frustrating not knowing the answers at the beginning because I loved coming up with theories. How did the Tox start? Why does it change their bodies in drastic ways? Why are the woods so dangerous and life-like? I had so many questions at the beginning of the story but I wasn’t annoyed like I usually would be because she slowly explains some of it or she explains the girl’s opinions and theories which was interesting. She kept the story moving when it could have easily become slow or boring – I mean it takes place on an island, how much could happen? (apparently a lot!)

Dislikes: Honestly, the ending was the whole reason that I only gave it four stars. I am not going to give spoilers, but let’s just say it was a little unbelievable. There was a part where I just didn’t understand how everyone didn’t have a different, better solution to what was going on. It didn’t ruin the book, but it definitely made me question things. 

Overall, I gave Wilder Girls four out of five stars. It was an imaginative story that I loved falling into. The writing style was beautiful to me, and yet was really easy to read. A part before the end was honestly what caused me to deduct a star.