Seven Novels That Explore the Lives of Wayward Youth

The “Wayward Girl” in fiction, and unfortunately, in reality, is defined less by her own actions and more by a society determined to “correct” her. The “waywardness” is usually a symptom of being too poor, too outspoken, or simply being in the way of someone else’s reputation.

The Magdalene Laundries of Ireland are just one example. I was shocked to learn of their existence not just in Ireland, but throughout the world, deep into the 20th century. One of the worst was in Buffalo, New York, not far from the small town in Western New York where I was born.

As writers, we try to make sense of the incomprehensible. Our stories often center on the chilling reality of state and religious interference in the lives of the vulnerable. The “Baby Scoop Era” in mid-century America gave rise to institutions meant to hide away those who didn’t fit the mold of the “good” girl, while furnishing childless couples with the babies they yearn for. Set in reform schools, psychiatric wards, or overcrowded orphanages, the narratives explore the systemic erasure of identity.

What makes this genre so resonant today is that it’s an underdog story. Readers love seeing a character reclaiming her agency, finding justice, closure, or peace through her struggles. In these novels, the “lost” girls and boys find kinship in the shadows of cold dormitories and strength in the secrets they keep for one another. By giving voice to girls who were meant to be forgotten, these stories reveal the truth about the systems that sought to break them.

Here are some books that offer a haunting, unsparing look at hidden histories and the enduring spirit of those who survived.

While writing Wayward Girls, I was inspired every day by the survivors of the Good Shepherd in Buffalo and other reform schools who generously shared their stories. I could wish the situation in my novel was a one-off, but alas, it’s a story that has played out in many ways and many places.

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Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Based on the real-life scandal of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, this massive bestseller follows a family of children who are kidnapped from their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat in 1939. Taken to an orphanage run by the notorious Georgia Tann, the siblings are separated for adoption, for profit, into wealthy families. Wingate weaves this historical horror with a modern-day mystery, illustrating the lasting trauma of children stolen for profit and the unbreakable bond of blood.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Set in the 1970s, this thriller takes place at the infamous Willowbrook State School, a real-life institution on Staten Island. When Sage Winters discovers her “dead” twin sister is actually a patient at the school and has gone missing, she goes to find her, only to be mistaken for her sister and forcibly committed. It’s a visceral look at the dehumanization of the mentally ill and the terrifying ease with which a girl could be “erased” by the state or preyed upon by a killer.

The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church

Set during the 1960s “Baby Scoop Era,” this novel follows an archetypal “good girl” whose life implodes when she becomes pregnant. To protect the family’s social standing, she is sent to a home for unwed mothers. Church captures the stifling atmosphere of a society that demanded perfection and punished “waywardness” with forced adoptions and lifelong shame, highlighting the silent sacrifices of a generation of young women.

Dust Child by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Moving between the Vietnam War and the present day, this novel explores the lives of Amerasians, the “children of the dust” born to Vietnamese mothers and American soldiers. These children and their mothers were caught between two worlds. Through the stories of sisters forced to work in “tea houses” to support their families and a veteran returning to find his lost child, the book examines the collateral damage of war on the most vulnerable.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead

The Library Journal review of Wayward Girls compared it to this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which caused me to swell up like a tick with pride! This one is about boys, not girls. Based on the history of the Dozier School for Boys in Florida, we follow Elwood Curtis, a young Black man of the Jim Crow era. Elwood tries to maintain his integrity through the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr., while his friend Turner is cynical about the school’s systemic violence. The wrenching novel is a devastating take-down of “reform” schools that were actually centers of torture and racial oppression.

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

Set during the Great Depression, this epic follows four orphans who escape the Lincoln School, a punitive boarding school for Native American children. As they canoe down the Mississippi River, the “wayward” group seeks a place to call home. The wild, addictively entertaining adventure is grounded in the grim reality of cultural genocide practiced at residential schools and the search for spiritual belonging.

A Council of Dolls by Mona Susan Power

Spanning three generations of Dakhóta women and filled with the imagery of dolls, this is another profound story of the Indian residential school system. From the 19th century to the present, Power explores how the state sought to “kill the Indian, save the man” by stripping children of their culture and family ties. The sense of intergenerational trauma is palpable, as is the power of storytelling to shine a light on the human spirit.

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Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs is available in paperback from William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.