Started good but eventually, it turns out that this book was not for me
If I didn't have to read and review this book, I honestly wouldn't have finished it. Needless to say, "Wilder Girls" started out interesting. I thought I was going to like it especially when I liked the relationships between certain characters (more than the characters themselves). Unfortunately, "Wilder Girls" just wasn't a book for me.
I think "Wilder Girls" would've been a book I might have enjoyed if we were still in the "Maze Runner" era or the era where dystopia YA was still pretty popular. Right now, I am just not feeling it. I didn't feel like I enjoyed reading this book despite the author's beautiful writing. Now, don't get me wrong, this book was pretty awesome for a debut YA novel. However, I'd say the writing "saved" this book but the story did not.
Now that I'm a bit older, I'm more conscious about the books I'm reading. I like to think about the "where," "why," and the "how's" of what I'm reading. I like to think deep or beyond what was being portrayed/showed in the story. In "Wilder Girls," the reader does not get all the answers, or the answers were wrapped up in a convoluted way. In fact, it was pretty messy to the point that I'm actually doubting these characters or whether they know or understand what was going on.
There had also been a point where some characters knew what was happening but it just made ZERO sense to me on how they arrived to that conclusion. It just didn't make sense how they would understand the science behind the Tox just by looking at diagrams and scientific information. I can't even recall a time the girls in the boarding school were actually studying. They were just hunting, trying to survive, etc. There really wasn't enough backstory or substantial backstory for me to even understand what was happening.
At the same time, I don't know what the meaning is behind this story. This book seemed to be purely plot based just to show a horror and queer story. I couldn't find anything substantial in the book besides the relationships. All I'm saying is that while I'm reading this book, I can't help but think: "what's the point?"
All in all, this was a slow and less cohesive story with a pretty cover but ultimately it just wasn't for me.
I think "Wilder Girls" would've been a book I might have enjoyed if we were still in the "Maze Runner" era or the era where dystopia YA was still pretty popular. Right now, I am just not feeling it. I didn't feel like I enjoyed reading this book despite the author's beautiful writing. Now, don't get me wrong, this book was pretty awesome for a debut YA novel. However, I'd say the writing "saved" this book but the story did not.
Now that I'm a bit older, I'm more conscious about the books I'm reading. I like to think about the "where," "why," and the "how's" of what I'm reading. I like to think deep or beyond what was being portrayed/showed in the story. In "Wilder Girls," the reader does not get all the answers, or the answers were wrapped up in a convoluted way. In fact, it was pretty messy to the point that I'm actually doubting these characters or whether they know or understand what was going on.
There had also been a point where some characters knew what was happening but it just made ZERO sense to me on how they arrived to that conclusion. It just didn't make sense how they would understand the science behind the Tox just by looking at diagrams and scientific information. I can't even recall a time the girls in the boarding school were actually studying. They were just hunting, trying to survive, etc. There really wasn't enough backstory or substantial backstory for me to even understand what was happening.
At the same time, I don't know what the meaning is behind this story. This book seemed to be purely plot based just to show a horror and queer story. I couldn't find anything substantial in the book besides the relationships. All I'm saying is that while I'm reading this book, I can't help but think: "what's the point?"
All in all, this was a slow and less cohesive story with a pretty cover but ultimately it just wasn't for me.