"Wilder Girls" Book Review by Nathan Burns
*Spoiler warning*
*warnings for discussion of murder of disabled people, non-consensual medical procedures*
*warnings for discussion of murder of disabled people, non-consensual medical procedures*
Despite being an (now ex) Creative Writing major, I don’t actually read very much. But a few months ago I finally caved and got myself a virtual library card for my local library. I have a long backlog of physical books I wanted to read, but in perusing my library’s collection, I found out they had audiobooks, and couldn’t help myself. I tend to prefer audiobooks for accessibility reasons, and so I was excited there was a large selection (that’s not the point of this review, though).
In going through my library’s collection, I came across the audiobook for Wilder Girls by Rory Power. My first thought upon seeing the cover was “Oh, pretty!” and then after I read the blurb, I was immediately sold and checked it out.
Wilder Girls is a YA sci-fi/horror/thriller about an all-girls boarding school off the coast of Maine that has been infected by a mysterious pathogen (the Tox) that infects and mutates the bodies of all it touches. The school (and island it’s located on) has been in quarantine from the outside world for over a year. This plot is very topical right now, so I was a little concerned, but gave it a shot and I am so glad I did.
Full of feminist themes, queer characters, badass teenage girls, and a bit of sci-fi/horror, this novel ticked a lot of boxes in terms of what I like. The body horror was a bit more prominent than I expected, but it fits into the novel’s themes seamlessly; I found myself not as bothered by it as I typically am, given that I am a pretty squeamish person.
One of the things I really didn’t expect, and the reason I’m writing this review for our newsletter, is the amount of disability themes present in the novel. I don’t know if this was Power’s intention. I don’t think it was, but the themes come across anyway, and I loved it.
The Tox affects each of the girls in a different way. It affects their vision, limbs, skin, skeletal structure, etc. They have “flare ups” where their version of the Tox gets suddenly worse. The girls have each other’s back through all this, and accommodate each other’s accessibility needs without any thought. Being isolated from the outside world for so long, they have all turned to each other for comfort and have become a family.
Again, while this isn’t necessarily about disability, it’s impossible to disconnect what happens in the novel from how disabled people live their day to day lives. The community aspect is incredibly reminiscent of how the disability community functions. We have seen this even more prominently in recent times as mutual aid efforts have exponentially expanded as our community works to support each other through this pandemic. Seeing these themes even somewhat represented in this novel made me feel so seen. I loved it.
A bit more spoilery, but Wilder Girls also tackles themes of non-consensual medical procedures and the murder of disabled people (i.e. the girls with the Tox). I won’t go into detail about these topics, but we disabled people know the role of such things in our lives. They are ever present and sickening. Reading these parts of this novel was really hard for me due to how real it is. I didn’t like it, but I liked how much I didn’t like it.
Overall, I loved this book. As a queer disabled feminist, so many aspects hit close to home and I found myself unable to stop listening. I finished the book in two sittings. I’d definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves those sorts of themes as well, and even if you don’t, it’s always fun to branch out of your comfort zone a bit.
You can find out more info about Wilder Girls on Rory Power’s website.
In going through my library’s collection, I came across the audiobook for Wilder Girls by Rory Power. My first thought upon seeing the cover was “Oh, pretty!” and then after I read the blurb, I was immediately sold and checked it out.
Wilder Girls is a YA sci-fi/horror/thriller about an all-girls boarding school off the coast of Maine that has been infected by a mysterious pathogen (the Tox) that infects and mutates the bodies of all it touches. The school (and island it’s located on) has been in quarantine from the outside world for over a year. This plot is very topical right now, so I was a little concerned, but gave it a shot and I am so glad I did.
Full of feminist themes, queer characters, badass teenage girls, and a bit of sci-fi/horror, this novel ticked a lot of boxes in terms of what I like. The body horror was a bit more prominent than I expected, but it fits into the novel’s themes seamlessly; I found myself not as bothered by it as I typically am, given that I am a pretty squeamish person.
One of the things I really didn’t expect, and the reason I’m writing this review for our newsletter, is the amount of disability themes present in the novel. I don’t know if this was Power’s intention. I don’t think it was, but the themes come across anyway, and I loved it.
The Tox affects each of the girls in a different way. It affects their vision, limbs, skin, skeletal structure, etc. They have “flare ups” where their version of the Tox gets suddenly worse. The girls have each other’s back through all this, and accommodate each other’s accessibility needs without any thought. Being isolated from the outside world for so long, they have all turned to each other for comfort and have become a family.
Again, while this isn’t necessarily about disability, it’s impossible to disconnect what happens in the novel from how disabled people live their day to day lives. The community aspect is incredibly reminiscent of how the disability community functions. We have seen this even more prominently in recent times as mutual aid efforts have exponentially expanded as our community works to support each other through this pandemic. Seeing these themes even somewhat represented in this novel made me feel so seen. I loved it.
A bit more spoilery, but Wilder Girls also tackles themes of non-consensual medical procedures and the murder of disabled people (i.e. the girls with the Tox). I won’t go into detail about these topics, but we disabled people know the role of such things in our lives. They are ever present and sickening. Reading these parts of this novel was really hard for me due to how real it is. I didn’t like it, but I liked how much I didn’t like it.
Overall, I loved this book. As a queer disabled feminist, so many aspects hit close to home and I found myself unable to stop listening. I finished the book in two sittings. I’d definitely recommend this novel to anyone who loves those sorts of themes as well, and even if you don’t, it’s always fun to branch out of your comfort zone a bit.
You can find out more info about Wilder Girls on Rory Power’s website.