Publishers Weekly
04/22/2024
In Franklin’s contemporary fairy tale, a group of teen girls struggle to acclimate to society following years living in the wild. After a period of familial trauma and parental neglect, 16-year-old Eden moves in with her kind uncle and reinvents herself as Rhi. While working at a wildlife preserve, Rhi comes across a quartet of teen girls exhibiting wolf-like behavior, the smallest of whom is caught in a bear trap. During the transpiring media spiral, the world eagerly waits to learn the girls’ mysterious identities. As Rhi earns the teens’ trust, she learns that they were raised by a man they call Mother, who believed they were the long-lost princesses of a mythical land called Leutheria, and that they must return there to save their home. The group also believes that Rhi is their prophesied fifth sister, prompting her to wonder whether the girls are victims of a kidnapper’s lifelong deceit, or if they speak the truth—and Leutheria is where she belongs. Shallow character development and caricature-like villains hamper deeper examinations of themes surrounding identity, sexual violence, truth, and trauma, which are explored via multiple alternating POVs in this jam-packed debut. Characters are racially diverse. Ages 14–up. Agent: Danielle Burby, Mad Woman Literary. (June)
From the Publisher
Tender and raw, this debut isn’t afraid to dig into the agonizing interior lives of teen girls, the ways our world tries to break them, and the bonds they create to survive it.” —Booklist
“The novel’s storylines paint a compelling portrait of the power of teenage girls despite constant mistreatment. . . . A compelling, thoughtful, and original debut.” —Kirkus
“Eerie and engrossing. . . . Magic, folklore, and contemporary society collide in The Wilderness of Girls as it sensitively explores the pain of trauma, the beauty of found family, and the possibility that ‘There is room for so much more than any of us had ever dared to imagine.’” —BookPage
“A searing fairy tale that blooms with ferocious magic and mystery. To all readers like me who revel in the wondrous, ominous, and strange: you have just found your next great literary obsession.” —Nova Ren Suma, New York Times bestselling author
"Franklin’s debut is a haunting tale where reality and fantasy intertwine in a way that will have readers questioning reality.... The overarching themes are of friendship, feminism, and the inner strength that these women share when they are together. The unforgettable characters and unique plot of this novel lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned." —School Library Journal
“This book pulses with untamed lupine energy and intelligence, filled with lyrical sentences honed sharp as canines and fiercely alive characters. A beguiling, vital debut from a manifest talent.” —Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of The Serpent King
“Expertly threads fantasy with heartbreaking reality, weaving a story of loss, anger, sisterhood, and the wildness we long for. I loved this book, from its sharp teeth to its fierce and tender heart." —Rebecca Mahoney, author of The Valley and the Flood and The Memory Eater
“The Wilderness of Girls is a captivating, jarring and beautifully written story about wildness and womanhood, and the world that is often unwelcome to both. This book is a gut punch of reality but also an invitation to let us remember who we were before the world told us to be something tame. After reading, you’ll want to sharpen your teeth and howl. Welcome to the pack.” —Rocky Callen, author of A Breath Too Late
“Like a news story woven from the threads of a fairytale, The Wilderness of Girls is beautiful, complex, and sure to leave you thinking long after you close its covers.” —Ann Dávila Cardinal, author of Breakup From Hell
“An absolute battle cry of a book by a major new talent. You will swallow it whole, howling all the way." —Martha Brockenbrough, author of Into the Bloodred Woods
"A stunning work of luminous ferocity that lingers long after the last line." —Lenore Appelhans, author of The Manic Pixie Dream Boy Improvement Project
“Tiptoeing along the hazy border of fantasy and reality, The Wilderness of Girls asks that haunting question: How do we live in a world that threatens to strip away the magic of being alive? Lucky, then, that Madeline Claire Franklin is here to return that magic to us. With a cast of unforgettable young women, sumptuous writing that puts the forest floor under your feet, and a central mystery that will have you ripping through the pages for answers, The Wilderness of Girls is a dark enchantment you'll hope never ends.” —Riley Redgate, author of Seven Ways We Lie and Look No Further
“This book is a feral howl at the moon, a dazzling love letter and a heart-rending journey into the deepest, most lyrical fantasy. It walked the line between fairytale and reality in the most perfect way. I felt like it was written just for me, deeply intimate and resonant. Phenomenal!“ —Dawn Kutagich, author of And the Trees Crept In
"I read this entire book with my heart in my throat. The feeling of unease [is] a constant hum in the background. Franklin keeps you guessing at every turn. The Wilderness of Girls is odd and unsettling but I couldn't for the life of me put it down. The tenacity and strength of these wild broken girls is mind boggling. And even though I am still doubting fact from fiction, I would recommend this book one hundred times over." —Katie Garaby, Parnassus Books
“A fierce, gut-wrenching, and empowering debut that explores the complexities of navigating girlhood, grief, belonging, and healing, wrapped in an enthralling blend of mystery and fantasy. For fans of Courtney Summers, Melissa Albert, and Rory Power.” —Alyssa Raymond, Copper Dog Books
"Full of magic and heartache, The Wilderness of Girls takes you to another plane. The one constant is the love of family, whether it's the one you are born into or one of your own choosing." —Melissa Fitzgerald, Watermark Books & Cafe
School Library Journal
07/01/2024
Gr 9 Up—Franklin's debut is a haunting tale where reality and fantasy intertwine in a way that will have readers questioning reality. Following the upheaval of her life due to her father's arrest, 17-year-old Rhi finds herself living in Happy Valley, NY, under the care of an unfamiliar uncle. The story may feel a touch slow initially, but it quickly takes a fantastical turn when she encounters wolves guarding four feral girls deep within the forest. Rhi is instantly drawn to them and is determined to unravel the mystery of the girls' origins. As the narrative unfolds, the girls, who claim to be princesses from another realm, become increasingly more desperate to sort truth from lies. Against the backdrop of mass media attention, Rhi and the girls travel a path to self-discovery, with poignant moments of introspection and raw revelations. This novel does not shy away from difficult topics. Mental health, sexual assault, and suicide are present with an emphasis on healing and empowerment. The overarching themes are of friendship, feminism, and the inner strength that these women share when they are together. The unforgettable characters and unique plot of this novel lingers in the mind long after the final page is turned. There is some limited diversity among the characters. VERDICT A good purchase for libraries where Rory Power or Nina LaCour are popular.—Claire Covington
Kirkus Reviews
2024-03-23
A teenager must discover her role in the lives of four wild girls.
When 16-year-old Rhi moves to Happy Valley in upstate New York to live with her uncle, she’s still raw from the neglect and abuse of her childhood and is hiding from a secret she can’t face. Eager for a distraction, she starts working with her uncle at the local nature preserve, where she stumbles across a shocking sight: a group of four seemingly feral girls who are protected by wolves. Once rescued, they reveal that they believe they’re princesses from a kingdom called Leutheria and were raised in the wilderness by a mysterious man named Mother (“our prophet, our protector, our teacher”). The girls believe that Rhi is the fifth sister, and she, feeling a connection to them, takes an interest in their well-being and is determined to help them. Together, the girls begin to question Mother’s identity and the truth of his stories, while Rhi feels a tug toward the possibilities of their magical origins. Told through varying formats and from different perspectives, the novel’s storylines paint a compelling portrait of the power of teenage girls despite constant mistreatment. The Wild Girls’ integration into society may require some suspension of disbelief, but overall, the story is satisfyingly executed. Rhi has some Jewish ancestry and reads white, like most of the Wild Girls; one of the girls is Black.
A compelling, thoughtful, and original debut. (Fiction. 14-18)
