October Book Club Book Reviews
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
It's been eighteen months since the Raxter School for Girls was put under quarantine. Since the Tox hit and pulled Hetty's life out from under her.
It started slow. First the teachers died one by one. Then it began to infect the students, turning their bodies strange and foreign. Now, cut off from the rest of the world and left to fend for themselves on their island home, the girls don't dare wander outside the school's fence, where the Tox has made the woods wild and dangerous. They wait for the cure they were promised as the Tox seeps into everything.
But when Byatt goes missing, Hetty will do anything to find her, even if it means breaking quarantine and braving the horrors that lie beyond the fence. And when she does, Hetty learns that there's more to their story, to their life at Raxter, than she could have ever thought true.
What have I gotten myself into? Girls with gills, girls with two spines, and girls with claws. Wilder Girls is one of the darkest, most nerve-wracking, and gruesome books I have ever read, which made it perfect for the spooky season. It's filled to the brim with harsh descriptions and merciless details of girls splitting open and mutating from the inside out.
Rory Power's storytelling abilities are one of my favorite things about the book. The story immediately drew me in, as I have never read anything like it. It was raw, realistic, and harsh but still captured the reader's attention in a way that wouldn't overwhelm them. It was interesting to read about an all-girls boarding school that has been isolated from the rest of the world because of a parasite that mutilates the girls. But despite the girls being separated from the rest of the world, I don't think survival was as big of a theme as it should have been. I wanted to see the characters really struggle, desperate for answers and fighting for hope that they would last long enough to be saved.
The characters were also incredibly diverse. Some were unapologetic, unlikeable, determined, naive, or cruel. Each girl is more complex than the next. However, Wilder Girls was much more character-driven than plot-driven, but I don't feel like I connected on a personal level to any of them. This was unfortunate because the book is multi-pov, so the readers could get into several of the characters' heads, but it didn't do much for me.
Plotwise, the book was very intriguing, with unique plots. Something about a boarding school full of girls with odd mutations drew me in, and I really wanted to know why the Tox turned the girls into what they were. But with the strong plot came a weak ending. While some people might be satisfied with open endings, I was not. I had so many unanswered questions by the end of the book, which left me incredibly frustrated.
Wilder Girls was a fascinating read, but the ending left me feeling disappointed. The book built up so much tension and anticipation, only to deliver a weak conclusion. I found myself wishing for more, feeling that the book could have been longer or had a sequel. Despite this, I still found Wilder Girls to be an enjoyable read overall.
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
1975 is a time of change in America. The Vietnam War is ending. Mohammed Ali is fighting Joe Frazier. And in the small town of Monta Clare, Missouri, girls are disappearing.
When the daughter of a wealthy family is targeted, the most unlikely hero emerges—Patch, a local boy with one eye, who saves the girl, and, in doing so, leaves heartache in his wake.
Patch and those who love him soon discover that the line between triumph and tragedy has never been finer. And that their search for answers will lead them to truths that could mean losing one another.
A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each, Chris Whitaker has written a novel about what lurks in the shadows of obsession, and the blinding light of hope.
All of the Colors of the Dark is a book that treads a thin line between triumph and tragedy. Chris Whitaker crafts a breathtaking story that defies the boundaries of a murder mystery, serial killers, and a tender love story. The story follows Patch Macauley on a journey to test the human spirit’s endurance as he navigates the shadows of obsession and tries desperately to find hope.
The characters are all unique in their own way. They are vividly described and realistic. They each portray different types of emotions and stages of life, from searching for elements of hoe in the fakeness that is both heartbreaking and uplifting. Even when pitted against each other, they are hesitant to break the bonds they forged with each other during childhood. I connected with the characters as I felt attached to them as their tears became mine, and their laughter inspired mine. All the Colors of the Dark is very much a character-driven novel, as it focuses more on the character dynamics and personal growth than the actual plot.
However, as beautifully written as the story was, I was bored. It was way too long. The book didn't need to be 600 pages. The plot was slow, too, and despite it being described as a thriller, there was nothing thrilling about it. Whitaker’s usage of eloquent language and short chapters did not matter to me because I was so annoyed with how slow the plot was moving. Whitaker took the readers on a long journey that walked in circles for several hours, leading them to gain insight into aspects of the plot, but it took forever to reach the finale that the book was leading up to. I don’t typically mind slow plots, but the book could have easily been cut short to get to the point.
All the Colors of the Dark was a great book that was very intriguing, but while I was prepared to read a mystery-thriller, I read slow-paced literary fiction.
Written by Carlie Renee
