The Wildelings
A Novel

This is my second encounter with Lisa Harding's work, and after reading "Cloud Girls," I'm convinced she masterfully crafts gut-punching, emotionally raw stories with imperfect yet realistic heroines. "Wildlings" is a powerful exploration of the turbulent friendship between two girls who, shaped by t......more

a dark academia book set in nineties dublin? i'm in, obviously. this was a whirlwind of a book, clustered and dreamlike, with an unreliable narrator. a book about the messiness of female friendship, complex characters and their flaws alike, and jealousy in its core. you find yourself questioning wha......more

Written as a book within a book as the protagonist, Jessica, relates her history to therapist, Dr Collins, The Wildelings follows Jessica and her best friend, Linda, from childhood through to the horrifying conclusion at college. Jessica is the consummate actress, always on stage, always looking to......more

The Wildeling felt like a flashback to high school the emotional chaos, the intense friendships, the feeling that everything is life or death. Jessica isn’t a character you can easily sympathize with, and I think that’s intentional. She’s messy, reactive, and often hard to root for. But I completely......more

I knew to expect a dark, dark tale going into The Wildelings, having read Bright Burning Things, a compelling, twisted tale of addiction and motherhood. The Wildelings has that same wicked, wild quality to it, where anyone could say just about anything at any moment. The Wildelings is set mostly in......more