By Rory Power
Delacorte Press, 2019. 357 pages. Young Adult
No one at the Raxter School for Girls knows exactly what it is, or where it came from, but they call it the Tox. It took the teachers first, then spread to the girls, changing the bodies of those who survive it's excruciating sickness. Quarantined these last 18 months, confined to the school grounds except to pick up supplies dropped off at the island's edge, the remaining students wait for a cure. But the longer they wait, the more the Tox seeps in - into the girls, even into the island and its forests and animals. When Hetty's friend goes missing, she's determined to find her, no matter the danger.
If you like some simmering, eerie, atmospheric horror, look no further. This book has been compared to THE LORD OF THE FLIES, and though I see how some people could see the parallels, I think that comparison is inaccurate and a little unfair. WILDER GIRLS is its own story. Yes, it definitely has that order-into-chaos element as the girls, so cut off from the world and even their own families, and left with minimal adult supervision, redefine the social order. But WILDER GIRLS is a horror story, specifically an epidemic/quarantine survival. For me, a big draw is the tension Power manages to evoke in subtle ways, yet still you feel unnerved and perhaps even a little abandoned like the girls of Raxter School. The pace might not be everyone's cup of tea; but I loved the premise. This is Rory Power's first book, so I'm excited to see what she comes up with next!
MW
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