Wilder Girls Review

MAJOR trigger warnings for self-harm and suicide. I have a strong stomach, but I found this incredibly upsetting.

Wilder Girls has been hyped on Booktube for a while, especially now that it’s autumnal dark academia season. I have seen this being marked as dark academia, but I do not think it is, even though it is set in a school. The school is no longer actually teaching any academic material, mostly because there are only two teachers still alive, but also because the school’s inhabitants are busy trying to find food and securing the perimeter of the grounds against the mutant wildlife roaming the island. Therefore it is no longer an “academic setting,” it is a survivalist story in what used to be a school. It is also compared to The Lord of the Flies, but I would not agree with that either, apart from children abandoned on an island. If you want a female Lord of the Flies retelling, read Beauty Queens.

I was intrigued by the premise and was so excited to see how the characters would develop and to find out what caused the Tox. The Big Reveal™ was disappointing and I did not find the characters’ relationships to be compelling. I’m not sure what my problem with the characters was, but they just did not click for me. In general, I just don’t enjoy post-apocalyptic/survivalist narratives. But my biggest problem with this book was the vagueness/plot holes/lingering questions.

I have some questions about the narrative. For example, if Byatt has grown a second spine from the Tox, why doesn’t she have problems bending to the side? It’s never mentioned, and bending to the side is something that people do often in daily life, especially when you’re a survivalist in a mutant wasteland. The reveal of what the Tox is also seems unrealistic. For a better take on an epidemic/pandemic narrative, I would recommend The Girl with All the Gifts instead. The “science” behind that is well-researched and not full of plot holes (it also features a Bitchy Literary Caroline™– how exciting!).

The mutant crabs living on the island which have developed both gills and lungs come up again and again in the lead up to the reveal of what the Tox is, but then are never mentioned again. They seemed important! What is up with the crabs? To quote from my friend’s review (I trust her opinion — WHY did I decide to still read this book?):

“WHAT ABOUT THE CRABS?”