By Meghan Mazzaferro
Content warnings: sexual violence, misogyny, rape, sexual assault, suicide, child abuse, child trafficking, toxic relationships, death of a parent
The Wild Ones is a lyrical story following a group of girls who call themselves the Wild Ones. Many years ago, Paheli, the first Wild One, was betrayed by her mother. After escaping the man she was sold to, she met a boy with stars in his eyes who tossed her a box of stars and disappeared. The stars give Paheli access to the Between and unlock a hidden world of magic layered over her own. Paheli uses the stars to help other girls like her, and together they use the Between to travel the world and work through their traumas. When the boy with stars in his eyes reappears, the Wild Ones will need to fight to protect his freedom and their own.
This book is beautifully written, with a lyrical voice and several different points of view. The majority of the chapters are told from the collective perspective of the Wild Ones. By using we instead of I or they, this book invites the reader to become one of the Wild Ones and speaks directly to the reader about the universal dangers girls and women face. There are also chapters from Paheli’s point of view that give us insight into the mind of the first Wild One, a girl who has tasked herself with protecting as many people as she can while struggling to let any of them close, as well as pages with poetry that capture the experiences of each of the Wild Ones.
The book deals with heavy subject matter and has a plot steeped with overcoming abuse and reclaiming your body and sense of self, as well as exploring class differences and the pressures from different cultures on girls.
It is also full of magic, beautiful descriptions of different cities around the world, and a sisterhood of girls who protect and provide for each other. The story moves slowly, but the lyrical and unique writing style is really beautiful and helped keep me engaged. I did find the magic system a bit confusing, and this was not a book I could read super quickly, but every time I picked it up, I connected with the story again and was very emotionally invested in the characters and their journey.
The relationship between Paheli and Taraana, the boy with stars in his eyes, is particularly compelling and complex. I also loved the relationships between the Wild Ones, the ways they support each other, and the ways they connect with Taraana. The book doesn’t shy away from the traumas each of these girls has experienced, but it also puts power back in their hands and shows them embracing safety, comfort, and community as they walk together through cities they know and love, eat and laugh together, and keep each other safe when threats emerge.
The plot of the book is interesting but definitely takes a backseat to the atmosphere and character work that happens in this story. I did enjoy the plot, but the main reason I picked the book up every day was because of the characters and the writing style, which I found to be impactful.
If you’re a fan of lyrical and uniquely written, character-driven, feminist stories that examine trauma and are full of girls who embrace their wildness and are willing to fight for their freedom, I would suggest checking this one out. It’s slow, but very impactful and vastly different from anything else I’ve ever read.
Thank you, Simon and Schuster Canada, for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.