Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs

Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5.0 stars - Definitely one of my favorite books this year. Susan Wiggs is one of my favorite authors, and this book resonated with me in so many ways. The setting was western NY, and the time frame mirrored my own, growing up in the sixties and seventies. The main arc of the story, which centered around abuse in Catholic institutions, babies stolen from teenage mothers, and other atrocities were things I never had experience with (thank God), but totally believe happened. The story told of a group of teenage girls who were sent to a Catholic reform school in Buffalo, NY for various reasons, to keep one safe from a predatory stepfather, another one because her academic parents were being held against their will in China, a third to try to reform her gayness away and a fourth, because she was grabbed during a race riot, who banded together inside for survival, but lost touch for years after escaping. I became invested in the characters, and appreciated both the past and present timelines.
But it was the little things that really sealed the deal for me, the mention of Loblaws giving free tickets to Crystal Beach for good grades, eating beef on weck, and girl who went on to become a librarian from Brockport.
Whether you read it for the main story line, or because you can relate to the local references, it is definitely a book worth reading.

View all my reviews