I really did love this book. After a while, when Bean & her mother were working through the stages of grieving, I wanted to give up on it. I thought it was never going to get to what I thought was the point of the book. But, I kept going, and I'm more than glad that I did! I love the book. I love how they did work through the stages of grieving. And then finding out the reason at the end was a shocker! I'm so glad it wasn't talked about too early in the book. It definitely needs to be discussed, don't get me wrong, but the surprise of what it was would have killed the book if revealed too soon. Perfect! I have already told others. Thank you Net Galley and Martha Hunt Handler for allowing me to listen.

#Winter of the Wolf #NetGalley

This was a very emotional story of Bean and her family coming to terms with the tragic death of her brother Sam. Even though the police ruled it suicide, something didn't feel quite right about it. As she cannot accept that he intentionally killed himself, Bean begins an investigation. Since Sam was passionate about the Inuit culture, Bean follows a spiritual journey looking for answers. Eventually she finds the truth.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book, even with the dark subject matter. The author wrote his book after the death of her friend's son.
The narrator did a good job and spoke very clearly.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free e-audio ARC for an honest review.

Winter of the Wolf is a tragic mystery narrated by a young girl named Bean whose brother has died, and Bean is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother's death. Though all evidence points to a suice, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam's steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues...and all book sales proceeds received by the author will go to the Wolf Conservation Center! What generosity!

This was my first Audiobook through NetGalley and I enjoyed it so much! I love audiobooks and will definitely be requesting more. Winter of the Wolf was a great listen!

I did not enjoy the narrator of this book and unfortunately this lead me to DNF this book, this review of 2 stars is mostly due to the audiobook narrator and does not reflect the authors writing.

Winter of the Wolf is a story of a girl, Bean, and her family surviving after the loss of her brother, Sam. Everyone believes that Sam's death was a suicide, except for Bean. Bean sets out to find out if it really was a suicide or not. I believe the author portrayed believable gamily dynamics after the loss of a loved one. I loved Julie, Bean's best friend, and her role in the story. The author also included Inuit culture, as was Sam's belief. I found that very interesting. After finding out the reason behind Sam's death, the author provides information about the cause of death at the end of the book. I also like how Bean "grew" over the course of the story and how she realizes that just because she thought things were one way they weren't always that way. You don't know what other people are thinking and feeling, and Bean finally comes to understand that. Overall this is a book of healing and continuing life after the death of a loved one.

I listened to this as an audiobook. I did not care for the narrators voice as Julie and the mothers in the story. When she read as Bean she was fine.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for a free audio book (ARC) in exchange for my honest review.

I listened to this as an audiobook. I loved it! It is a story that has some thought-provoking untraditional concepts for all of us to consider. The main character is a 15-year-old girl who is telling the story of her relationship with her brother.

It is a very good book for young adults as well.

Really felt just like a real life story, As the family is going thru a terrible tragic event. I
wanted to cry for them. Even if only a story it felt really like a nightmare for someone.
It's the kind of story we all think in the back of our minds please don't let it happen to me.
But I enjoyed it and recommend you try it!

🍁This is a honest review. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

🍁All my opinions are my own.

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🍁Synopsis: An exploration in grief, suicide, spiritualism, and Inuit culture, Winter of the Wolf follows Bean, an empathic and spiritually evolved fifteen-year-old, who is determined to unravel the mystery of her brother Sam's death. Though all evidence points to a suicide, her heart and intuition compel her to dig deeper. With help from her friend Julie, they retrace Sam's steps, delve into his Inuit beliefs, and reconnect with their spiritual beliefs to uncover clues beyond material understanding.
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🍁Review: I give this book 4 stars.

🍁We follow Bean who just can’t believe that her favorite brother committed suïcide. And she is determined to find out what really happend that fateful night. I loved the buildup off the story. I really wanted to know what happend and was is really suïcide. Also the problems that are happening in her family are really on point. And is really something that can happen in real life.

The narrator of this audiobook was perfectly sufficient but not especially noteworthy.

I enjoyed the plot, but struggled with the characters. One of the major themes in this story is that we are all the protagonist in our adventures, but we also exist in the world together. This is an incredibly valuable lesson for everyone to learn and relearn. As an educator, I especially value books that reinforce this theme. As a reader, I respect the author's attempts, but cringed at some of the dialogue to this effect. Much of it felt oddly wooden and unnatural. I also cynically question the breakthroughs this family makes independently and together.

Part of me appreciates the author's note at the end, but the rest of me was simply not prepared for it. The ending of this book was a little odd and the author's note hammered it in. Maybe it is because there were so many deep, heavy topics covered that adding another one seemingly out of no where and then ending on it was just difficult for me as a reader/listener.

Overall, this was not a bad book. It has solid, well-developed themes and ideas. The author clearly had strong messages throughout. Unfortunately, these are all marred by awful dialogue and character/relationship development.

I really enjoyed this book, although at times I felt the dialogue between characters was a little far-fetched. I felt like the main character bounced from extreme maturity to somewhat ditzy. Perhaps being a young girl dealing with the death of her brother & soul mate would cause this type of behavior though. I enjoyed the subtle sprinkle of Inuit culture and beliefs spread throughout the book. I would put this book in the YA mystery category. I believe that teens could truly benefit from reading it as there are some deep lessons routed throughout.

A fifteen-year-old girl, Bean, has recently lost her beloved older brother Sam, a teenager who was outdoorsy, sensitive, and felt really connected to the Inuit's philosophy. He apparently committed suicide, but it is hard for her to accept that because he seemed to love life. Also, the idea of not knowing him that well hunts her. According to the summary in Goodreads and NetGalley, this is a "twisting novel" that combines spirituality and mystery since Bean and her best friend Julie try to discover what really happened to Sam. However, I would say this book tells the story of how Bean and her family dealt with Sam's death.

The narration: I did not enjoy the story and the narration was not my favorite either. Actually, the only reason why I finished it was that I listen to audiobooks while I am working on my cross-stitch, and this activity made the experience a little better. I found the narrator's voice annoying (maybe because of the main character, I am not sure) and I hated the robot voice she made every time she said "Julie says" or similar phrases during dialogues. But, the pace, speed, and intonation were good, and the narration was not confusing at all.

What I liked: I think that the strongest element of this book is the way each member of Sam's family dealt with his death and how this horrible loss transformed their family relationships. I liked the characters' development and how grief is explored from different perspectives. If the author had focused more on this part of the story, I believe the book could have been a lot better. Also, I appreciate that the author wrote this book to raise awareness about a certain issue that can be dangerous but is not usually acknowledged.

What I did not like: I found Bean really hard to like, especially for the main character. I get that she was a teenager, but she was entitled, annoying, and selfish. For example, when she called Skip's mom asking for him and this woman explained to her that her son was having a really hard time after his best friend died, Bean literally yelled at her saying "but what about me?". Her inner dialogue was sarcastic even when she was explaining that her brother died the night before, which was disturbing for me. I understand that characters have flaws that make them more human, but the other characters were always praising her about how selfless, spiritual, mature, and special she was, which confused me a lot because apparently, the author intended to create a better character than the one I got as a reader. Also, some parts of the book were very long and slow, like the introduction of the story or that conversation between Bean and Julie in which Bean changed her mind around seven times about whether or not they could be best friends again. However, the biggest disappointment for me as an anthropologist was the superficial way indigenous spirituality was presented, especially because this was a white family that read a couple of books about Inuits and magic and that was it. I mean, everyone can (and should) learn about other cultures' philosophies, but these beliefs could have been treated with more respect by acknowledging their complexities.

(I want to thank NetGalley, Greenleaf Book Group Press, and the author for this ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.)

Winter of The Wolf is aimed at teen readers/listeners, but even as an adult who hasn’t been a teen for decades, I was pulled right into the story. The book kept my interest for most of the way, but as the story got more and more improbable, my interest waned. The main character is a 15-year-old girl, Bean, whose 17-year-old brother Sam has apparently committed suicide. The impact of this event is huge for the family (parents and two additional older brothers), but seems to have particularly affected Bean, as she and Sam were very close. She’s not convinced that Sam committed suicide and part of the book covers her efforts to reconnect with Sam’s spirit and to uncover what really happened.

I appreciate the author trying to illuminate a disturbing and dangerous thing that affects some young people and that affected someone dear to her, but the “solution” to the mystery just came out of nowhere. (No spoilers so I can’t say more.)

I won the ebook via a Goodreads giveaway and then I saw the audiobook was available on NetGalley, so I wound up listening to the audiobook instead. The narrator, Kelly Pruner, did a fine job vocalizing Bean as well as the other people in the story. Thank you to NetGalley, Goodreads and Greenleaf Book Group for the opportunity to read and listen to this story.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The writing was good, and was a quick easy read. But ultimately it was a misleading book. This was ultimately about a white boy who appropriates the Inuit culture. There wasn’t any actual Inuit people in the book. Just white people stealing parts of their culture that interests them. It also comes off as a mystery who done it book, but the ending calls flat. Ultimately the ending left me wanting to throw my book for waisted so much time on an ending that didn’t pay off.

I just could not get past the main character's awful personality and had to quit 35% in. "Bean" used depression as an excuse to be an awful person, but then got mad at her mother for having depression and not being Bean's personal slave. Also the mother said she stopped taking her antidepressants because she "didn't fell like she needed them" and this attitude may change latter on in the book but I'm not here for people not taking literal neuronal death seriously because they don't want the medication to "change them" when that is the point of literally any medication whether it be for the brain, pancreas, heart, everything.
I read some reviews that discussed the ending and I'm not interested in finishing.

I was pleasently surprised at how good this book was!!! So thank you very much to netgalley for supplying us with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This book dealt with grief in the most truest of ways. The story was about a young woman (Bean) who is processing the reported suicide of her brother (Sam). However, she is determined, through grief, to prove that her brother wasn't one to die by suicide and that there had to be more to the story of his death. With the help of her best friend, they uncover the sad truth behind her brother's death.

Things I loved about this book:
1. I loved how the wolf that Bean would see represented the spirit of her brother. It was so beautifully done and I actually learned a lot of the amazing animal that is The Wolf!
2. I also loved how the ending of this book turned out to be one really well done PSA about the dangers of a cause of death that many people SHOULD know about--especially parents with sexually active teens who hear and see things online that they don't understand the dangers of. I don't want to notate here what the cause of death was because that would ruin the book, but just know, it's so honest and real, and the author does such a great job with providing enough information about this cause of death, and still blending it in with making the story effective, but satisfying (in terms of storytelling).
3. As someone who recently lost a sibling, the way Bean experiences grief is legit. I felt like I was able to relate to Bean SO MUCH because of what she was going through, thinking, doing, and even saying. The way her friendship with her best friend was affected was so right on and the fact that the two of them worked it out in order to investigate Sam's death together was so inspirational. Grief is a mental state of mind and it affects not only the person who lost someone, but also everyone around them. Some people don't know how to help their grieving friend and that's okay. It's just so important to KEEP TRYING as much as you can, which is what Bean's best friend did. I loved it!
4. I also really just enjoyed the writing style of this novel and the narrator for the audiobook was PERFECT! Love the narration!

Reasons I didn't give it a complete 5 star--I found the story to take a little longer than I'd like to get to the main point. I felt like there were a lot of repetive moments and thoughts coming from Bean. There was a moment I was like, "okay, Bean, we get it. You don't think Sam killed himself intentionally. Let's figure it out and stop talking about it!"

Overall, I think you NEED to try this book, especially the audiobook. I think you'll be pleasently surprised as well!

Heartbreaking but full of hope. Haunting yet beautiful, this is the story of Bean and her family's journey to heal from the unthinkable.

The narrator does one of the best jobs I have heard in a long while of giving each character their own voice and cadence.

A lovely emotional listen.

This is both a heartbreaking and beautiful book all in one go.

Bean is a 15-year-old bright and intelligent girl whose life is completely turned upside down when her brother Sam suddenly commits suicide.

Her life and that of her family are completely broken apart, but for Bean it’s more than just coping with the loss of her brother, who died too young, too soon and in a way that she cannot comprehend.

She refuses to accept that Sam, who was so in love with life, with nature and such a spiritual teenager, with strong Innuit beliefs, would just suddenly take his own life.

So, she begins a quest for answers.
Because there has to be a justifiable reason for what happened, right? Did he really kill himself? Was someone else responsible?

And being a boy with strong Innuit beliefs, is he now coming back to show signs to Bean through spirit animals, such as a wolf that she keeps seeing in broad daylight? Is he really gone or just re-incarnated in his spirit animal?

Bean needs answers, and she will not rest until she gets them… no matter the cost and no matter how much finding out the truth may hurt.

I won’t go into spoiler details of what actually happened and the path that this search for answers led Bean on, but I will say that this was a sad but also heartwarming story, because it’s also about finding peace with things that we have no control over and learning to move on without ever forgetting those that we lose.


This book became even more heartbreaking due to the fact that this was based on the real story of the author’s best friend losing her son in the exact same way as Sam dies in this book.

It’s not a happy book, but it was beautifully written and I do recommend both young readers and adults read it, and to pay very close attention to the ending and explanation of what happened, because so many more deaths can be prevented if people just pay a little bit more attention to these situations.


I think this book will stay with me for a very long time and I will likely re-read it from time to time, as I do believe you can learn something from it with each re-read and paying attention to certain details you may miss on a first read.

** TRIGGER WARNINGS: Suicide, Grief/Loss of a Loved One


#WinteroftheWolf #NetGalley

Thank you to NetGalley, Greenleaf Audiobooks and, of course, the author Martha Hunt Handler for allowing me to listen to this story and experience.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: suicide, death of a loved one, death of an animal.

One of my goals for 2020 was to make my TBR more diverse. I began to realise how important it is to give the minorities more media representation and to normalise their existence. This book was a great pick, and I will tell you why.

As I wanted to start a new sewing project, I was looking for a short, yet compelling audiobook that can keep my mind occupied while my hands were working. Winter of the Wolf did just that. The audiobook had only six and a half hours, and it made me realise how important it is to try to seek the truth, even if it might seem as if it has to stay buried.

One of the best things about this book was the main character, Bean. Right from the very first page, you meet her, and you connect with her. She is devastated because of her brother's death, and she wants to find the answers that can lead her to the cause of his death. Everybody thinks Sam committed suicide, but Bean is sure he didn't. She knows him too well to believe that he did such a thing. The story is all about her and how she is searching for answers while learning about the Inuit culture.

FULL REVIEW ON MY BLOG: https://dailydooseofbooks.wordpress.com

In a day where people are more wary of the Planet and the danger the Human Race is to it, it’s always interesting to discover new cultures. The mystery is kept really well and the many twists keep you wanting to know what happened to the brother. Sad but realistic, this is a good story where they all find their way back to each other.

Despite swimming in grief, Bean is trying to solve the mystery behind her brother's suicide. It was completely out of character for him, and Bean is convinced he could not have taken his own life because of his Inuit beliefs. She also sees a lone wolf for months. Could this be her beloved brother?