Wayward Girls

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption. Set in the turbulent Vietnam era in the All-American city of Buffalo, New York, six girls are condemned to forced labor in the laundry of a Catholic reform school.

In 1968 we meet six teens confined at the Good Shepherd—a dark and secretive institution controlled by Sisters of Charity nuns — locked away merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.

Mairin — free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants, committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.

Angela — denounced for her attraction to girls, sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator.

Helen — the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, she saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years.

Odessa — caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, she found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.

Denise — sentenced for brawling in a foster home, she dared to dream of a better life.

Janice — deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay — except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.

Sister Bernadette — rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.

Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption...and justice.