Winter of the Wolf is a beautifully written story exploring deep themes such as the loss of family, grief and suicide, all of which are handled with care and compassion. There were many things I enjoyed about this book, despite the tough subject matter. I adored Handler's writing, the way that grief and suicide were explored through Bean's eyes without ever feeling like romanticised, and I became interested in the weaving of Inuit culture into the story, as I have not seen that in a story before. I admit, without doing more research, I cannot say for certain how well the aspects of Inuit culture were expressed within the story, but it felt like the matter was approached with respect and care. The characters were well developed, Bean and Sam especially, and though it had the air of sadness as Bean was grieving for her brother, the novel felt very entwined with the emotions of our main character, and left me intrigued to continue reading. Ultimately, this is a story of healing, of sifting through the complicated feelings one can have after losing someone you love, especially after an apparent suicide, and coming to an understanding of your emotions through Bean's unravelling of the truth behind her brother's death. Also, unrelated to the story, but the cover for this book is absolutely gorgeous.

Winter of the Wolf was a great book to read. I enjoyed it.
It's about a girl named Bean and her family who are close. One day something happens, and one of her brothers gets in serious trouble after doing his sister a favor. He gets grounded. He is very angry and he does something after his friend tells him about it and gives him the item to do it.
His parents soon find him and are devastated, and so are the other brothers and Bean.
She soon decides to find out, with the help of her friend, who or what happened to her brother. What she finds out is shocking, to say the least.
A very good book.
4 stars.

Winter of the Wolf is the story of a girl dealing with grief and how she begins to overcome it. It deals a lot with Inuit culture and spirituality. It is a wonderful story with strong characters, a great Northern Minnesota setting and a bit of a mystery at the center of it all. I really loved everything about this book and the cover is perfect. I can’t recommend it enough. Perfect for all readers, but especially those who enjoy nature, spirituality, and YA books. This is definitely one worth picking up.

Winter of the Wolf is listed as a Young Adult/Children’s mystery - this book is SO much more than that if one can even list it as a mystery. At its core, Martha Hunt Handler has crafted a book about a young girl’s spiritual journey after the death of her brother.

The answer as to why people die is never easy and sometimes we never know why - hence the mystery. Handler takes us on Bean’s journey as she asks why her brother died. The answers are not easy and some questions are never answered. Yet on this journey questions she never asked are answered. Handler gives us a glimpse into the Inuit culture and how she utilizes Sam to influence the people in his life.

Handler also shows us how death impacts an entire family whose belief systems are different. How every member of a family has a different relationship with the one who has died. Everyone grieves and moves forward differently.

Winter is also about friendship. Bean did everything she could to push everyone away. Julie gave her space, but in the end she said: enough. She pushed her way back into Bean’s life and would not let her be alone. Girl code. I love Handler’s depiction of Julie and Bean.

When you see the word mystery by Winter of the Wolf know that you are getting so much more. You will be walking away with the knowledge of another culture and Bean’s journey of awareness to life.

I received an ARC of this book and I am writing a review without prejudice and voluntarily.

Recommended: sure
For a look at spiritual beliefs and the way a life looks lived by them, a story of grief and how a family works through it, a light mystery thrown in

Thoughts:
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed the spiritual aspects of this book, like the many discussions of beliefs and life after death. I'm not particularly spiritual myself, but this was an accessible and interesting look into Inuit beliefs. Bean seems a bit wise beyond her years, but she does struggle. She feels lost too and is just doing her best.

The mystery aspect of the story was fairly light and mostly accessed in Bean's efforts to understand and overcome her grief at her brother's death. As she tries, she develops stronger relationships with her best friend as well as her family. Each person in the family had a moment to show more about who they are and how they were affected by Sam's death. They in turn work to enhance Bean's character and understanding. As an overall look at how grief affects people differently, this was very compassionately handled.

I certainly did not expect the resolution of the story, but it felt so simple has to be quite believable. And, as her authors note mentions, is believable because it does in fact happen -- far more frequently than might be expected.

This book is more of a investigation into the self and a discussion of beliefs than it is a mystery or detective novel. The mystery is there as flavor and as a guide for Bean to learn more about herself and the world. Altogether this was a surprisingly optimistic and uplifting read for its basis of the aftermath of a possible suicide.

Thanks to Goodreads & Greenleaf Book Group for a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was fairly short and a really easy ready. I started and finished over the weekend. The book has different elements, like grief, spirituality, and mystery. While the mystery around Sam's death keeps you wanting to know what happens, and the twist at the end was unexpected, I think it's primarily a book about dealing with loss. I loved reading about not just how Bean was dealing with it, but how each member of the family was dealing with their grief and seeing a family that was falling apart start to find their way back to each other. The reference to Inuit beliefs are frequent throughout the book but this isn't because any of the characters are Inuit, but because Bean's brother Sam has been obsessed with Inuit culture since he was a little kid, it drives a lot of his environmentally conscious choices, and it's something Bean keeps going back to, to try and understand Sam's death.

In this book, a selfish, unlikeable, psychic girl in love with her brother--who was so fascinated by Inuit culture that he appropriated significant aspects of it--tries to prove that he didn't deliberately hang himself. She appropriates an Inuit ritual herself to contact his spirit, but decides only that he is at peace. At the very end of the book, his best friend tells her that he gave her brother information on autoerotic asphyxiation, and that's how her brother died.

This is a good example of why we need sensitivity readers for books. While the author sites a few books on the Inuit in a note at the end of the book, the appropriation is very problematic and potentially very offensive. And while the author was inspired to write this after her friend's son died of auto asphyxiation, this element enters into the narrative so late that it's an afterthought. The friend tells the dead boy's family about it, they thank him for the information, and go on with the rest of their day. The final issue with this novel is the narrator. She complains that her grieving mother doesn't cook for her or do her laundry. She's deliberately not close with her other brothers, because fo her the only one that mattered was the one who died. She's jealous and possessive. She takes without giving and without thanks. I can't recommend this mess to anyone, and if the publishers didn't consult with Inuit readers prior to going to press, they need to do so now.

What a wonderful story! Heart-wrenching, captivating and unique, At times, it was hard for me to believe this is a piece of fiction. Winter of the Wolf is a masterpiece that would change the way you see and believe things. Ms Handler has beautifully amalgamated elements of mystery, suspense, emotions and life in this story. A must-read book for readers of all ages. Highly recommended.

Winter of the Wolf was a super intense story from beginning to end. This book just pulls at your heartstrings, it's very deep and depressing (not meant as an insult) due to the nature of the events that transpire.
I was sucked right into the book and finally stopped for the night at about 2 or 3 in the morning because it is just that well done. You can feel the heartache, the anger and confusion, all the feelings in this book that are laid out there, you feel them.

I think that most people who have lost a loved one, no matter the connection (familial or not) would feel for this family and connect with at least one if not a few of the characters. You never know what life will throw at you or when, nobody is ever prepared for the death of a loved one. It is a very gut-wrenching and painful experience to have to go through.


******subject warnings: suicide, loss of a child/family member, Autoerotic Asphyxiation, bullying (lightly glazed over), mental health, death, grieving, moving forward after such a catastrophic event in life and forgiveness.

I would recommend this for most ages, sadly because of how things are in our world and societies.

Less serious matter, the cover is absolutely gorgeous! I love wolves, I have always felt connected to them. Wolves are a very misjudged animal.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC of Winter of the Wolf.
All opinions are my own.

Sometimes the end is only the beginning........

Martha Hunt Handler presents a storyline that will give you pause. Perhaps you have been touched profoundly by the passing of someone whose death leaves more questions than answers.

Handler introduces us to the Hanes family living in northern Minnesota. Frigid is on the weather meter most of the year. We come to know Bean, a fifteen year old, surrounded by three brothers of differing ages and personalities. But her favorite is her kindred spirit, Sam. She and Sam almost finish each other's sentences and are pretty much on the same wave length. No sibling rivalry here in the least.

But it is the character of Sam who will set the course for this story. Handler will bring us through a day's worth of events that will eventually lead us to Sam's ultimate death. If you have ever experienced the loss of someone through suicide or even were touched on the outskirts of its aftermath, then you will feel this one deeply. Handler extends the reality of such an act and doesn't turn away from it.

Winter of the Wolf actually is a journey into the arms of healing and hope. Handler gifts Bean with open and honest dialogue as she tries to sort out her feelings with her best friend, Julie. There is nothing abbreviated with these two. They speak to a truth that is cleansing and uplifting while adults "deal" in their isolation and in their confinement. "If he took his life, then I never really knew him." But what they truly knew about Sam is his completeness in what will bring them to a far higher level of understanding.

Please note that this is not a maudlin novel because the initial subject matter is heavily set before us. In fact, the honesty is what propels us throughout. Handler weaves Sam's deep respect for the Inuit people in his daily lifestyle and his lifelong honoring of all things in Nature. Savor the beauty of that book cover. It is through Bean that we come to appreciate her newly found focus on the expanse of Sam's life in its entirety rather than solely focusing on the tragic moment of that day. Perhaps it is a life lesson for us all. We are far more than any single, standalone moment of our lives. Chosen or not. Bravo, Martha Hunt Handler.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Greenleaf Book Group Press and to Martha Hunt Handler for the opportunity.

this book, attempted not too sucessfully to deal with the death of her brother and how it affected her family. It was unclear what it was trying to be, resolution of grief, resolution of a mystery or spiritual teaching. It was just ok for me, the resolution fell flat and while i get it was trying to be a warning, it didn't make sense given what we knew of sam that he would do this

This book surprised me in a number of ways - for some reason, I expected it to fall more into the realms of fantasy, where Bean discovers that her brother has somehow been reincarnated into a wolf, but discovered that it was a very realistic, moving journey through loss, grief, and recovery. I don’t know what the author has experienced in life, but I expect that she has gone through the loss of someone very dear to her in order to write about this family so realistically.

I liked that the book dealt with Sam’s apparent suicide in a manner that a real family would and didn’t shy away from some of the darker aspects of it, like feeling so full of despair that you can’t function, as we see when Bean’s mother hides in the dark and ceases to do anything. Bean’s grief manifests in her abandoning her best friend and the anger she feels toward her family when she feels that they are not behaving in the way she thinks they ought. The author normalizes these feelings and validates them. She also does an excellent job of showing the healing process which is painful and not a steady line upward back to normalcy, but one that dips and rises again and again as the family slowly comes back together, confronts the painful memories, and is eventually able to begin to remember Sam with happiness rather than grief.

The ending did feel very abrupt, though the more I thought about it, the more true to life it felt. Sometimes we are presented with a mystery, and though Bean is determined to prove that Sam did not commit suicide, her efforts do not lead to a neat, satisfactory answer. Her search for answers is not fruitless, however, and gives her a path toward healing. Ultimately, time provides the answer, dropping it into her lap, and isn’t that just how life is sometimes? We can search and search, but in reality, we aren’t detectives, and we don’t get our answers in the way we expect because our life isn’t a novel, neatly packaged.

I do have some criticism about the inclusion of Inuit culture in this book. Admittedly, I don’t really know much about their lifestyle, but I felt that it was rather romanticized (possibly based on the docudrama “Nanook of the North,” which is not a true documentary, but was mentioned as the source of Sam’s interest) and portrayed Inuit more as who they were (or how westerners saw them 150 years ago), rather than who they are today. Were their traditional burial practices a part of becoming a part of nature, or simply a product of being unable to bury people in permafrost?

At one point, Bean says that she doesn’t know much about them, not sharing her brother’s interest, but she also states that she thinks they would never even commit suicide. This could be a valid thought, coming from her point of view, though I think it's a bit tricky making these assertions when the general public doesn't know otherwise. Though the book amends this to a small degree later (though I don’t know the degree of truth in those statements), Inuit people today are facing a number of different challenges today compared to what they have dealt with in the past, one of which is a mental health crisis leading to some of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Anyway, it just reminded me to some degree of how Native Americans were portrayed in children’s books that I read in the 80s. Even if an author of that era intended only the best, it wasn’t accurate and treated them as people of days gone by, rather than a living culture that has modernized with the rest of the world.

I think that Sam’s spirituality and deep connection with nature could have been easily expressed without referencing other cultures. I, too, feel that burial is a total waste of money and resources, and is harmful to the environment, but that stems from reading Stiff by Mary Roach (a great book if you get the chance to read it). I did like Sam’s connection to nature, especially animals - he was a kid I would have really connected with at that age, and I loved him for it.

At any rate, I think this book was beautifully written and could possibly be helpful to someone outside of a family dealing with a difficult loss, to better understand what they’re experiencing and how friends can support them. The characters were rich and well developed, and surprisingly, Sam was too even though his death occurs at the start of the book. He is present beyond death, just as anyone's loved one lives on in their heart and mind.

This genre may not appeal to the general YA crowd or anyone looking for escapist reading, but there's something beautiful in it that is worth experiencing.

I love every mystery and thriller, but this combination of mystery and some thriller elements combined with teens or YA literature has totally made me melt!

I really enjoyed this book. Right from the beginning I was hooked. We follow Bean who has gone through a tragedy. This was a really heart breaking read following Bean and her family as they are dealing with a death and the grief that they are going through . Bean beliefs that Sam's death was not suicide and believes that something strange happened to her brother because he would never commit suicide. She decides along with her best friend that she is going to figure out what really happened to her brother. I really loved the relationship that was shown between Bean and her brother Sam. They truly had an amazing relationship and believed that they were sibling soul mates

Bean is such a strong main character and very mature for her age due to all of her brothers teachings. Even through her deep depression she manages a whole household at the age of 15 which is really admirable because her father and mother seemed to check out after Sam's death.

I really enjoyed how supportive this family was and how they believed that everyone should go through a journey and figure out what they believe or not believe when it comes to religion. This whole family has many beliefs, Bean's dad is an atheist, Sam had Inuit beliefs and Bean and her mum were exploring many different avenues.

This was such an impactful and eye opening read to many different themes such as grief and religion. I really recommend this book for everyone.

Omg I truly lived this book. The way grieve was portraid in so many eays in this book was amazing. It was a beautiful read that gripped me.

Thank you so much to net galley for sending me a copy of this book: I thought I was really going to like it but I didn’t connect with it. I think if this is something you are interested in I would recommend it

This book had me hooked in every way possible. The cover had me hooked. That's the sole reason I requested it. The description comes later, gimme the BEAUTIFUL COVERS FIRST!!
The book, inspired from a true incident faced by the author, had an interesting, beautifully written and yet heart-breaking, inconsolable plot about the demise of the MC Bean's brother, Sam. Thanks to the Lilliputian size of their town, the word about Sam's passing away spreads faster than Usain Bolt's sprint. People not excluding his family, believed that he took his life wantonly. Except for his sister, Bean. She—after subjugating her trauma and setting her sights on uncloaking the truth about her brother's death—asks her best friend to help her in the process. The true reason really forces the reader to ponder over it.
The expression of all the negative feelings like that of grief, anger and sadness, is gracefully and stunningly done. The development of the characters is successfully pulled off. This book is really a genre-busting one.

Overall, this was a story that covered friendship and family, emotion, spirituality, and grief. It was written and edited well, and I highly recommend it!


I would recommend Winter of the Wolf for readers of all ages that enjoy an emotional story with a mystery to it!

I was provided an advanced reader's copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

Phew that was a lot to take in. While this is a good book, I do not think the age level that I deal with in school is appropriate. It dialog was great and there wasn't anything too horrific but the bases of the story will get them asking questions that I dont think they need to be worrying about in elementary school.

Full review on my blog monday 6-1-2020

Spoilers ahead!!
Some notes:
- Get sucked into the mystery right from the get go. Takes a few chapters to hear the story of what happens “that night.”
- Feels like there are some extraneous story lines that don’t need to be there. Like the late detail about Julie wanting to talk to Bean about something important the night of the accident and it turns out it’s just a guy that night have a crush on her.
- “That Inuit stuff” felt a bit misconveyed. Trying to lend awareness but doesn’t feel like it paid the appropriate respects
- Ending was very out of the blue. Nothing throughout the book related to the outcome. Appreciate sentiment of bringing awareness to the issue but the topic wasn’t brought up throughout the book at all