Madeline Claire Franklin – författare

An Indie Next Pick and B&N Best Book of 2024An unflinching YA debut about a troubled teen who discovers a pack of feral girls in the woods and is swept up in the ensuing mystery: Are the Wild Girls of Happy Valley lost princesses from a faraway land, as they believe, or are they brainwashed victims of a deranged kidnapper?In her ambitious debut perfect for fans of Sadie and The Hazel Wood, Madeline Claire Franklin crafts a gripping exploration of how the world teaches young girls to cage their wildness—and what happens when they claw themselves free.After being placed in foster care, Rhi is hungry for a fresh start and begins working at the Happy Valley Wildlife Preserve. While in the woods, she stumbles upon a surreal sight: a pack of wolves guarding four feral and majestic girls. After Rhi gains their trust, they reveal that they’re princesses from another land, raised by a magical prophet they call Mother—and they're convinced Rhi is their lost fifth sister.Unsure what to believe, Rhi ushers the girls to civilization, where they’re met with societal uproar and scrutiny, dubbed by the ravenous media and true crime junkies as “The Wild Girls of Happy Valley.” Desperate to return to their kingdom, the girls look to Rhi for help. Rhi knows the girls are deluded, but at the same time she’s drawn in by their boldness and authenticity—traits she is afraid she has lost within herself. And when Rhi witnesses strange phenomena she can’t quite explain, the line between fantasy and reality grows blurry.As the hunt for answers intensifies, Rhi must make a decision that will change the course of her lives and the lives of her Wild Girls forever.

A Barnes & Noble Best Book of 2024. While hiking, Rhi discovers four young women living wild and guardedby wolves. The girls tell her that they are lost princessesraised by a man called Mother.Shocked, Rhi takes them to hospital, all the while haunted bymemories of her family trauma. Surely, the girls have been abducted,misled or abused? Yet she can see a bond between them that blursfantasy and reality.As media hysteria surrounding the young women grows, Rhi comesto a decision that will change all of their lives forever.  An unflinching and ambitious novel by debut author MadelineClaire Franklin, an outstanding new talent.Perfect for fans of The Hazel Wood.A gripping exploration of trauma and the pressures placedon young women in a modern society.  PRAISE FOR THE WILDERNESS OF GIRLS:‘A compelling, thoughtful, and original debut.’ KIRKUS‘Tender and raw, this debut isn’t afraid to dig intothe agonizing interior lives of teen girls, the ways our worldtries to break them, and the bonds they create to survive it.’BOOKLIST

Einst waren wir die Wildnis, doch dann versuchten sie, uns zu zähmenAls Rhi im Morgengrauen durch die Wälder im Happy Vally streift, öffnet sich auf der anderen Seite der Lichtung das Unterholz. Heraus treten vier offenbar »wilde« Mädchen, bewacht von zwei ausgewachsenen Wölfen. Eines der Mädchen ist schwer verletzt und braucht dringend medizinische Hilfe. Rhi tut, was jede und jeder von uns tun würde: Sie bringt die Mädchen ins Krankenhaus, wo sie sofort für Aufsehen und landesweites mediales Interesse sorgen. So beginnt die »Zähmung« der Wolfsmädchen, und Rhi ist bald nicht mehr sicher, ob sie das Richtige getan hat.In ihrem atemberaubenden Debüt zeigt Madeline Claire Franklin, wie unsere Gesellschaft jungen Mädchen beibringt, ihre eigene Wildheit zu zähmen - und was passiert, wenn sie sich selbst befreien.