The Wild Ones: A Broken Anthem for a Girl Nation

The Wild Ones are self-described damaged girls. Paheli was the first Wild One. After escaping from the man her mother sold her to, she encounters a boy who is also fleeing. He flings a box of stars at her and disappears. When Paheli affixes one of the stars to her hand, it gives her the ability to enter the Between, a magical space between the human world and the world of the middle worlders, non-human people who rely on the Between as a source of magic. For hundreds of years, Paheli uses the powers given her by the star to rescue other girls who have experienced abuse and betrayal. The stars take the Wild Ones out of their lives and out of the human world. They stop ageing and can only use the Between to travel between cities. The stars also give them powers to protect themselves. Despite their tragic origins, the girls of the Wild Ones enjoy their lives of freedom, travelling between cities using the Between and experiencing all the food and culture those cities have to offer.

One day, this life of freedom is threatened when they learn that there is a threat to the Between. A powerful middle worlder has been chasing the boy who gave Paheli the stars. This boy, named Taraana, has the potential to be a powerful force of moderation and regulation on magic and the Between. However, he is hunted and exploited for his magic and prevented from reaching his full potential. Paheli and the Wild Ones must put aside their fears and help Taraana evade his pursuers long enough to discover how he can unlock his full powers so he can prevent disaster for the Between and the free-living life the Wild Ones cherish.

The Wild Ones is written in a poetic, conversational style full of lush descriptions of cities and mouth-watering foods. Nafiza Azad is skilled at using description to make the world of the novel real and to draw the reader in. The conversational style of the writing and the occasional first-person narration make readers feel they are being invited to share the secrets and private lives of the characters. Nothing about The Wild Ones feels derivative. The world's structure and the magic are fascinating, and it feels like the novel barely scratches the surface of the stories that are possible in this world. The Wild Ones openly discuss their trepidation at embarking on a dangerous mission with an unknown outcome, and members who are too afraid to continue are not ostracized or cajoled.

The Wild Ones is a fun read about a troop of empowered girls setting out, somewhat reluctantly, to save the world, and, while it has a wry humour, the novel also deals with some very dark topics that will not be for every reader. The Wild Ones have all experienced physical and sexual abuse, and they have all been betrayed by those they trusted. The novel also addresses suicide, child trafficking, and female genital mutilation. The novel is explicitly feminist; it does not shy away from the challenges and threats that girls and women face worldwide. The Wild Ones is a compelling and well-told story of magic and female empowerment.