Book Review: Wild Girl by Jehane Spicer

Reviewed by Victoria Lilly

A visceral historical fantasy that interrogates the violence and wonder of coming into womanhood

Helaine de Berzé, the only daughter of a 15th-century widower lord, is a prized possession in need of careful surveillance and protection. Disgruntled with her sheltered life, dreading her upcoming arranged marriage, teenage Helaine aches for the tiniest morsel of freedom she can get. When her closest friend Marie begins to talk her into slipping out of the castle to pick flowers for Valentine’s Day, it doesn’t take long to convince Helaine.

Immediately, the girl’s life is turned upside down as she is first assaulted by brigands, then saved by a miraculous intervention of a wildling and a unicorn. The faithful meeting kindles a fiery passion for freedom, and desire for the mythical creatures’ company in Helaine.

However, as the troubles and schemes of the mortal world and her own life collide with the miraculous beings of the wilderness, Helaine’s loyalties are increasingly divided. With internal and external conflicts simmering and blending together, she has to confront her traumas, her desires and duties, or lose both her faith and her heart.

Wild Girl bears the trappings of historical fiction and fairy tales, but it is a thoroughly modern story at heart. Examining issues of women’s autonomy, sexual maturing, religious faith, and intimate violence, it packs quite a lot into its modest page-count. It is difficult to discuss the many thematic threads woven into the story without going into spoilers, but suffice to say, the novel, despite featuring fairy tale creatures, is not escapist at heart. It’s real. It confronts the reader to deal not only with some age-old issues regarding women’s place in the world, but also the ways in which we imagine escape from such issues. In its final act, it confronts the lasting mark violence and betrayal of trust leave on girls and women. Even if escape is possible, one cannot accomplish it unchanged.

The story is jam-packed with plot, worldbuilding, and thought-provoking themes, and for the most part, it does its job flawlessly on these fronts. However, this leaves less room for character development beyond the protagonist. I wanted more of Helaine’s relationship with Marie, her only true friend, as the relationship’s contradictions and emotional tension are among the most impactful elements of the novel. Every scene with the two is charged with tenderness, resentfulness, grief, and loneliness, yet feels too short given how emotionally dense they are. Helaine’s cousin Lady Agnes is another compelling secondary character that I wanted more of.

Thematic issues explored in the novel are treated with varying degrees of subtlety throughout the book, which might not be to every reader’s taste. While some issues are weaved organically and neatly into the story, occasionally the narration stops to explicitly state a thesis or offer an opinion.

Overall though, the story explores heavy subjects with a level of nuance and ambivalence not often found in mainstream fantasy. Whatever answers the heroine finds by the end of the story are neither definitive nor simple, and that is a welcome breath of fresh air.

Wild Girl is an honest, moving work about the traumas and tragedies of coming into womanhood, but it’s also about the beauty of it. A passionate, wild, sometimes chaotic story, it bears the same spirit of maturing of its main character. Like a young girl’s dreams meeting the reality of adulthood, there is much promise in it. I will be keeping an eye on the author’s future works in the series and recommend you do the same.

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