The Wildest Teenagers in Literature

by Emily Temple. Posted on Flavorpill - Tuesday Oct 16, 2012

In Wild Girls, Mary Stewart Atwell’s new debut novel, the young ladies of Swan River are changing. The “wild girls,” teenagers suddenly imbued with supernatural powers that give them both the ability and the will to murder, menace the town while Kate Riordan tries to hang on to both her life and her sanity. Inspired by this impressive debut, we’ve put together a list of what we consider to be some of the wildest teenagers in literature — from gang members to errant soldiers to kids making the best of a bad situation by going feral. See our choices after the jump, and if we missed your favorite literary teen on a rampage, be sure to add to our list in the comments.

Alex and his droogs, A Clockwork Orange
Well, obviously. In fact, Alex and his gang are clearly a few clicks past your average “wild,” what with their nightly campaigns of ultra-violence and taste for random, mean-spirited mayhem. They steal, they brutalize, they rape everyone they can get their hands on. And then there’s that highly deviant obsession Alex has with Beethoven’s Ninth.
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