She Named Me Wolf is about a boy with a ghost best friend. He has a wild imagination and meets friends in all the animals he meets. Stuck in an abusive home, it’s no wonder Wolf has such a vivid imagination. It makes for some fun adventures sometimes.
While the writing is simplistic and starts as an easy read, there were a few things that really stuck out to me in reading this, which is why I’m giving it 3 stars. First, is that Wolf’s age isn’t consistent, he will be 8 in one chapter, 10 in the next, and then back to 8, and that’s an easy enough fix, so not that big of an issue.
I don’t like the ableism with Wolf’s brother, treating him like he’s stupid because he stutters. I get his mother is an abused wife, but that shouldn’t prohibit her from cutting off that kind of behavior in its tracks. Wolf’s mother gaslight’s him with the abuse from his father. She downplays the severity, and she even contributes to escalating it. Her ridiculous rule of young boys shouldn’t climb trees is not only irrational, but it gets him into more trouble with his father. His Sensei knows what’s going on in the home and does nothing about it. Even the elderly neighbors know something is going on, and they don’t speak up.
Everyone knows Wolf is being abused, and poor Wolf has not one person in his life truly in his corner. It’s just utterly depressing, which brings me to my last point. This book falls under the YA/Coming of Age category on Amazon. For the majority of the book, Wolf is merely a child, and the amount and frequency of the abuse are severe enough that I just can’t picture this book being for that audience. This book wasn’t the right fit for me, but it might be for others.
She Named Me Wolf is available on Amazon for $2.99, it’s enrolled in KU.
Rae's Reading Lounge 