Wildthorn by Jane Eagland

Wildthorn had been on my tbr list since it came out. But April's review pushed it to the top my list. While I'm glad I read Wildthorn, it wasn't as amazing as I hoped.

Louisa doesn't fit her mother or societies view of a young lady. Louisa has little interest in finding a husband. She rather spend her time reading or conducting experiments. Louisa's father indulges her interests while Louisa's mom wishes her daughter would behave as she's expected. Wildthorn starts out with Louisa on her way to the home of a family friend, a place where she'll be expected to be a companion to a girl around her age. But instead, Louisa is taken to Wildthorn, an insane asylum, where everyone keeps calling her Lucy.

Wildthorn is told in alternating chapters. One chapter is present time and one chapter is the past. It's a mystery to the reader why Louisa is in Wildthorn. Has she made up everything she's telling us? Has one of her experiments gone awry? Slowly, the reader and Louisa understand why she was brought to Wildthorn. Wildthorn reminded me a lot of Girl, Interrupted. Young women locked up in mental institutions because they didn't fit societies view of young ladies. I appreciated the detail that Eagland provided. I could feel the horrible surroundings Louisa found herself in.

Overall, I enjoyed Wildthorn but I did get bored in sections. It felt like things moved slowly especially in the beginning and middle. It did pick up toward the end and I enjoyed the end. I was able to finish it in about 5 hours. Others who shared their thoughts on Wildthorn: Once Upon A Bookcase, Good Books & Good Wine, Escape In A Book, and Paranormal Indulgence.
This is my twelfth read for the Historical Reading Challenge.