A review by charlottesometimes
Wilder Girls by Rory Power

slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25


  • High-concept premise (see back of book)
  • Three main characters - all special and different and more interesting than everybody else. Linked by a variety of interpersonal bonds, all of which are a version of the soul sisters trope. Each of their love/friendship bonds is stronger and deeper and greater than any other love/friendship has ever been. This is pre-established, and the reader is told (repeatedly), not shown.
  • Main special characters have a variety of special better-than-everyone-else qualities, the most annoying of which is magical, glowing hair 🙄
  • Set-up goes on for a while. I begin to wonder if the author is just doing the graphic novel Black Hole, but in a girls school and without the sexual aspect or social commentary?
  • A variety of dramatic/action scenes occur. They would work well in a movie/TV adaptation, but are not in any way organically woven into the plot.
  • A variety of dramatic dialogue is spoken. It would work well as soundbites from a movie/TV adaptation of the book. Or some other book, since it’s pretty generic.
  • Just enough mention of a lesbian attraction is made for the book to qualify as having LGBTQ+ content. Which means it falls into an extra marketing/awards bracket.
  • The supposed romantic relationship is formed only a few pages after one of the participants tried to strangle the other, and then went off in a sulk instead of apologising. Is that not a touch problematic? It’s not even just that incident, although it would be enough; the two girls seem to actively and viscerally dislike each other to an uncomfortable degree.
  • Quite a bit of gun action/conversation - 1 point deducted. Maybe even 2 points, as I am even more intolerant of guns in any supernatural/horror story, and this falls vaguely within that category. But nobody’s firing a shotgun at a vampire or mummy, so it could be worse I suppose.
  • Several characters make phenomenally stupid decisions for no reason other than things need to happen.
  • Bunch of twists/reveals, to provide good acting opportunities for the cast of the adaptation. They don’t particularly make sense or fit with events, but they would end an episode of a TV show nicely.
  • The further the story progresses, the less sense anyone’s actions make. 
  • Finally the book reaches some sort of half-arsed conclusion which feels like it’s leaving things open for a potential sequel / second series.

I feel like I’m reading a lot of books lately, particularly within the YA genre, that are essentially just overly long, fleshed out pitches for a movie series, TV show or franchise property of some sort. This was over 300 pages, but I didn’t get anything from it that I hadn’t already got from the publisher’s blurb. I wish people would stop writing books if they don’t actually like writing. Or books.

Also, one last bullet point
  • One of the three girls was called (pause while I look it up, as I have a mental block which prevents me remembering it no matter how many times I read it) … Byatt? Not her surname, her first name. Byatt Winsor, which just seems like a bunch of random sounds to me. Hetty and Reece were bad enough (Hetty is trying too hard if you’re not Victorian, although it would probably fine in better company. Reece seems to be so obviously a boy’s name, and I am concerned it was selected as such in some misguided attempt at portraying lesbians as fundamentally not feminine ). But Byatt Winsor? Come on. No one is called that. And it isn’t even commented on. Maybe that’s not a big deal, but if I am confused and taken aback every single time a character is mentioned for 350 pages  it does affect my enjoyment of a text.

I don’t even necessarily mind if a book is bad. But I mind very much if it’s boring.