It seemed like a good idea when Hetty decided to attend Raxter School for Girls. It meant getting out of Boston and not having to deal with her Navy father's constant deployments. The school was on a secluded island off the East coast with the promise of adventures in the woods and the chance to make new friends.
It turned out that a girl named Byatt and another named Reese were the only girls Hetty was able to connect with as friends. Reese's father was the handyman who fixed things around the school, and Reese was the only girl who actually lived on the island.
About eighteen months ago strange things began to happen. An illness labeled the Tox gradually took over the school. Some girls overcome by the Tox died while others were left with deformities, an extra spine, gills in addition to lungs, and appendages covered with scales. Hetty was left blinded in one eye.
The headmistress and remaining teacher attempted to hold things together. The Navy sent supplies, but they were never enough. The CDC had set up facilities on the mainland where tests were conducted to determine a cure. In the meantime the island was quarantined and eventually the girls were cut off from communication entirely.
When Hetty's friend Byatt disappears, she and Reese make a plan to break through the fence to rescue the sick girl. It soon becomes clear that more is going on than the girls have been told. The rescue mission quickly becomes a survival situation. Can Hetty and Reese escape? If they are successful, will the Tox end their lives anyway?
WILDER GIRLS by Rory Power is described as a feminine version of Lord of the Flies. Intense suspense, brutal images, and non-stop action will make this a popular read for young adults and adult readers as well.
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