After discovering "Wilder Girls" at my library a few weeks back, I realized that this book actually had quite a bit of hype surrounding it. Unfortunately, this one was quite a letdown for me. I've heard it compared to books such as "House of Hollow" by Krystal Sutherland (which I love). These novels include many of the same ingredients such as the body horror, the fantastical elements, strong female leads, and the mysterious factor of what the heck is going on to these girls. I think for me, the flaws that were present in "Wilder Girls" just outweighed the positives for me, which made me like it less than I did "House of Hollow."
This book centers around three girls named Hetty, Byatt, and Reese, who were all members of Raxter School for Girls until the island was hit by an infectious disease that instantly killed off many of the teachers and older girls and left the remaining students as twisted versions of themselves. The stories center around the girls struggling to survive as the entire island goes to hell.
In the beginning, I was very intrigued to see what sort of ailment these girls were suffering from, but at a certain point I just stopped caring. The writing didn't feel urgent to me, and in a book that needed to thrill the reader every step of the way to fulfill its purpose, that was a major let down. I also didn't find any of the main three girls likeable, which made me not care about any of them one iota. Every time someone died, I barely reacted. The only time this book truly made me feel anything was when they were describing disgusting things, like girls throwing up hearts and cutting or stabbing themselves.
Overall, "Wilder Girls" still wasn't a horrible read, but by no way did it astonish or astound me, like I initially thought it was going to. I completely understand why some people are enthralled by this book (see reasons listed in paragraph one), but I couldn't bring myself to care enough to actively be involved in the story.
This book centers around three girls named Hetty, Byatt, and Reese, who were all members of Raxter School for Girls until the island was hit by an infectious disease that instantly killed off many of the teachers and older girls and left the remaining students as twisted versions of themselves. The stories center around the girls struggling to survive as the entire island goes to hell.
In the beginning, I was very intrigued to see what sort of ailment these girls were suffering from, but at a certain point I just stopped caring. The writing didn't feel urgent to me, and in a book that needed to thrill the reader every step of the way to fulfill its purpose, that was a major let down. I also didn't find any of the main three girls likeable, which made me not care about any of them one iota. Every time someone died, I barely reacted. The only time this book truly made me feel anything was when they were describing disgusting things, like girls throwing up hearts and cutting or stabbing themselves.
Overall, "Wilder Girls" still wasn't a horrible read, but by no way did it astonish or astound me, like I initially thought it was going to. I completely understand why some people are enthralled by this book (see reasons listed in paragraph one), but I couldn't bring myself to care enough to actively be involved in the story.