Wayward Girls

by Susan Wiggs

Review

Let me be completely honest—I almost DNF’d this book more than once. For a good chunk of the story, I just wasn’t connecting with what was happening. The pacing felt slow, and I struggled to stay interested in the characters or plot. But the epilogue? That prologue hooked me. It dropped just enough of a mystery, wrapped in eerie ambiguity, that I had to know how it all tied together. It wasn’t clear at all what the connection was, and that uncertainty kept gnawing at me until I had no choice but to keep reading.

And thank goodness I did. Slowly but surely, I found myself pulled into the chilling atmosphere of this Catholic institution, the growing unease that clung to the walls, and the unraveling fates of the girls trapped within. There’s a creeping dread threaded through the story that eventually consumed me in the best way. What started off as a potential DNF turned into a haunting and thought-provoking read that lingered with me after the final page. I’m genuinely glad I stuck with it—because in the end, I truly enjoyed the tale that unfolded.