Wilder Girls by Rory Power
This debut thriller is set on a remote island that has been infected by a virus known only as ‘theTox’. It has been eighteen months since the Raxtor Boarding School for Girls was put under quarantine following the outbreak of the Tox. The girls had phone contact with their families on the mainland for a while, but now they are completely isolated while the authorities work on a cure. The Tox affects everyone differently, but many students have died from infection and it has decimated the adults. Only two teachers are left.
Teenagers Reese, Hetty and Byatt are best friends and a tight group that look after one another under these tough conditions. Due to the effects of the Tox, Hetty has lost her eye, Reese now has a hand with a metallic claw and Byatt has a second spine beneath her clothing. Food is rationed and there are mutated beasts outside the school grounds on the island that the girls must keep guard against. When Hetty is allowed out of the grounds on food runs, she learns that the situation is not quite as she had previously been told. And when Byatt is suddenly dragged away by the teachers, this development sets Hetty and Reese on a determined course of action to discover what has happened to her. This is a smart, well-written, survival thriller that puts female friendship at the centre of the narrative and has the reader terrified as to what will happen next. It is an exciting read for teenagers aged 12+.
