I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my fave but I did like it while I was reading. To me I had higher expectations because I heard good things from some friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

This was such a cool concept! The cult scenario has always been a very interesting fiction book topic to me and I think the execution was done very well!

This one had a great premise but the execution just really lacked for me and I had a hard time caring for any of the characters! I think a lot of people will enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me.

Wolfpack is the story of nine girls who live in Havenwood. One disappears and the others attempt to figure out if she left on her own or if sinister motives are involved.

I was instantly drawn to this story. I did not expect it to be based on a religious cult, but it added a different layer of drama. I liked the alternating perspectives and the twists and turns throughout the story.

Thus book was much darker than I anticipated l, but I think that's part of why I really liked it.

I love books that are written in free verse, but I found Wolfpack by Amelia Brunskill very hard to get into. The writing is lovely and words flow wonderfully together, but it was the characters that I had a difficult time keeping track of who is who and getting attached to them. A group of tight knit girls living inside of a cult, I was hoping to read as if I were part of that group and learn about the culture (ha). However, nothing much really happened and I got bored...

“For we’ve learned something about ourselves, something we should have realized long ago: that while we are girls we are also wolves.”

A propulsive novel written in verse focusing on nine teen girls who live in an isolated, restrictive community in the woods. One of the nine goes missing. What I loved most about this story is how it leans into many conventional tropes: girls trapped in a cult with a messianic leader, a leader prone to violence and a secretive, forbidden romance that may or may not have been consensual. It leans into those tropes and then like a grenade with the pin pulled sends all the pieces into unexpected places. I will not spoil this for you. You deserve to read it for yourself. If you are a fan of We Were Liars, you’ll find much to like. If you didn’t like We Were Liars, this is the experience those fans wanted for you. If you loved the Grace Year or the Year of the Witching and would be willing to enjoy them without the fantasy, you’ll love this one. If you live for Courtney Summers capacity for writing the complexities of relationships between young women and their communities: especially Sadie, I’m the Girl and the Project this should already be on your tbr. If you are a teen librarian or high school ELA teacher you’ll want multiple copies of this one. (check CW depending on the school climate). The friends in your class who adore realistic young women dealing with complex decisions in complicated situations will absolutely devour this one.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this title.

“ For we’ve learned something about ourselves, something we should have realized long ago: that while we are girls, we are also wolves.”

The first thing that drew me in, was the cover and the way this story was written in free verse. This is a super quick read that takes you on a journey to find these girls missing friend. While overall I really in enjoyed this story I found the ending and the plot twist to be quite lacking.

After finishing Wolfpack, I can't stop thinking about Helen and Poppy and the conversation about the stones.

"I could almost imagine how it would feel to throw one."

Wolfpack was powerful and Brunskill does a masterful job from start to finish.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher, the above is my honest opinions.

A fast paced novel in verse mystery. The story follows a group of girls who are like sisters growing up in a cult. When one goes missing they cover her absence and try to figure out where she went. A pregnancy is uncovered along with other truths about their home and choices must be made to protect their unit and their lifestyle. An interesting look at cult life and what it takes to leave.

oh my GOD... i have been on a novel-in-verse kick lately and this one was so incredible. the vibes of the graphic novel SQUAD with some of the culty surrealism of MIDSOMMAR, all interwoven into a beautiful story that gave off some strong SADIE vibes. i want six more exactly like it and all written by amelia brunskill, please and thank you. the writing itself was gorgeous, but the PLOT? the way everything tied together? if you want to know how to craft a compelling mystery, look no further than WOLFPACK.

after reading this book i was like, man what would some comps for this be. and i IMMEDIATELY thought of WILDER GIRLS by rory powers but like, if that book made a lot more sense. (sorry rory.) also i like the execution in WOLFPACK a lot more. a huge slay, honestly.

thank u netgalley for letting me read an early copy. u are my best friend. also, can we appreciate the cover by naranjalidad??? like holy shit. literally today i also bought a copy of TIGERS, NOT DAUGHTERS, which also has a cover by naranjalidad, and like. wow. their art is so distinctive and lovely and what initially drew me to this book, and it is such a lovely (and true) depiction of what you can find inside it—secrets and lies and a tight web connecting everything and cementing it in place. amelia!! you are truly incredible

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Wolfpack shares the story of a group of girls living in a remote location that they are told is a safe haven from the outside world. Under the leadership of a man named Joseph, these girls live life by his code and readers see a glimpse into their experiences. When one of the girls goes missing and no one seems to notice, the group starts to investigate the cause of her disappearance.

This book is written in verse, and is a very quick read. It is broken up into chapters each focusing on one of the 'wolfpack' girls, but the author does little to really dive in to each specific character. If it wasn't indicated, each chapter could have been the same characters perspective. I wish more time had been spent getting to know the individuals, I think it would have made for a larger impact to the story overall. It is also important to note that if you are looking for a book that dives into the inner workings of cults, that this is not what you're looking for. Although it is clear these girls have grown up in a cult environment and that is key to their story, only surface level information about the cults inner workings are revealed throughout.

Overall it did hold my attention and I was curious to know the outcome of the mystery that is presented as the story unfolds. The inner thoughts of the girls at Havenwood are intriguing and their bond with one another helped to garner emotion. If the characters and the cult life went a little deeper, it definitely would have added greatly to the story.

This novel in verse is about a group of teenage girls who live together at a cult compound in upstate New York. Different paths have led them here; some came as very small children, while others remember more about the outside world. One morning, one of the girls is missing, but no one immediately notices. The girls decide to buy their friend time and come up with a story to cover for her absence. Leaving is forbidden, and they hope their friend Rose will be back. But when she doesn't return, they need to decide who to trust, and who may be a deadly predator.

In lyrical verse, Amelia Brunskill gives readers inside the very tightknit group of nine girls inside Havenwood, a closed off community with strict rules that must be followed or one is cast out or worse. To these girls though, it is home and it is safe.

Then one of their own goes missing and they must untangle secrets to find out where she went and why.

The writing is beautiful and the story is so engaging. There is a mystery that you are trying to solve right along with the girls. While Havenwood could definitely be labeled a cult, it is truly a credit to the author that she was able to make the characters relatable and also make readers understand why the members of the community would stay and find comfort in Havenwood.

I will be talking about and recommending this book to everyone who is about 14 and up. This makes a good recommendation because while sex is mentioned, it does not happen on page and it is more referenced as something that happened.

I literally cannot say enough good things about this book.

Told in verse, this novel tells the story of 9 girls In a commune-type situation when one girl goes missing. None of the characters are fleshed out, so it's hard to keep track of who was talking or really get attached to any of them. And no one really talks about their culture, which is what I was interested in. Nothing much happens, other than the mystery being solved in the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC of this novel, however all thoughts and opinions are my own

I officially love novels in verse and this was no exception. I read the entirety of this in one sitting. To be fair, I wasn’t feeling well, so reading was about the only thing I could do, but normally I still wouldn’t read the entirety of a book in one sitting. I would take breaks and switch to a different one for awhile, but once I started this I just had to see where it was going.

All nine of the girls have flower names, which I love, but also made them difficult to tell apart at times. Even by the end, I would have been hard-pressed to tell you which girl did what job in the community, but it didn’t really bother me while I was reading. I know some readers will lament that each girl didn’t have a more unique voice, but for me the story flowed so well and felt cohesive that it didn’t bother me. The snippets of each girl that we did see, displayed how much they care for one another and their community.

Speaking of their community, it is basically a cult, but the focus isn’t really on the morality of it. It’s not really a focus generally in the story. If you’re looking for a book that is heavy on the cult elements, I don’t think this is really going to be one for you. If it hadn’t been for the references to certain technology, I would have easily read this as a closed off community in the 1800s, and not a cult at all.

While I do read novels in verse, I don’t read a lot of mysteries, cult, or “missing girl” books. It’s hard for me to discuss whether this book did these things particularly well for readers of these genres because of it. However, I can say that I enjoyed the “twists” that were set up at various intervals throughout the book, particularly the one not actually related to the missing girl. But just generally I found this to be an interesting and compelling read.

The is book in verse moves quickly as one girl is missing from the cult-like compound, Havenwood. The story moves through the various perspectives of the girls who are bound together. Brunskill deftly moves from girl to girl, showing their allegiance to the pack first, then the leader. She creates a code between the girls that seemingly supersedes the rest of the compound. Her sparse conversations between the characters allow the reader to question how deeply they are entrenched in this cult. The author also does a great job of limiting the characterization to exhibit the feeling of docile cult members. I would have like to see a bit more development about Joseph to truly understand the hold her had over the community. I did enjoy how the audience learned about Rose and personality slowly through the novel. This would be a great independent selection/choice book when we do a genre study.

Thoughts

It's a quick read, which I think is to its benefit. Short and sweet, this novel-in-verse dives into the murky world of cult logic to good effect. It isn't perfect, but it works well as it is.

Pros
Poetry POV: This book switches point-of-view in each chapter, flipping from girl to girl to girl. And I think that the poetic form here is to its benefit. These girls don't sound particularly distinct, but what they focus on, what they emphasize within their line breaks and stanza cuts make the difference. The verse here adds an ethereal and haunting tone to each individual narrative that enhances it.

False Allure: A cult book needs to feature what makes the cult, you know, so alluring. Why are people drawn to this cult? There are so many stories featuring tragedy, heartbreak, and absolute horror at the hand of cults that also fail to mention why people stayed or why they came in the first place. This book, however, is very good at setting up this oasis, at sounding the siren call to bring others in. It is not, on its surface, a horrible way to live, and that's important for setting the tone, for giving us a reason to dig into the layers of awful this existence is.

Playing Power Structures: All good cults are founded by charismatic men, but all charismatic men have women at their backs, supporting them. And this book plays into that, as well. These girls certainly play with the power structures that they are given, but the ladies higher up do as well. Sure, they can't ever be the prophetic voice of this generation... but they can work with what they've got, to help each other and to mold the world to their will.


Cons
Prose Poetry: Though I did throw a sort of bone to the mode of writing up above, it still deserves to be mentioned down here. Because I'm not ultimately sure that this novel-in-verse needed to be in verse. It's written in free verse, prose poetry which means it ultimately reads like regular prose... with a few random line spacings in it. Maybe I just don't understand free verse and fans of the style will love this one. But it felt more random than purposeful to me.

Messaging?: Thought I also complimented the allure that Amelia Brunskill creates in this cultish form of life, that same allure also left me wondering what, exactly, this cult is all about. They follow Joseph, and his teachings are... pretty unclear. There's something about not being attached to family members. There's something about being disengaged from the outside world. And of course, men have more power than women. But I couldn't tell what exactly was being preached here, and so it was hard to find the allure "false." I had no argument to poke holes in. I had no real argument at all.

Indistinct Girls: I mentioned it briefly above, and it bears mentioning again here. None of these girls have a particularly unique voice. Each of their perspectives blends into the others, perhaps aided by the fact that they have all chosen floral names for themselves. I was only really able to tell them apart because they seemed to have unique hobbies. Their lives, their voices, their personalities otherwise all seemed the same.


Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
8/10

Fans of Amy Christine Parker's Gated will enjoy diving into this new cult lifestyle. Those who enjoyed Courtney Summers's The Project will love getting tangled up in the gray areas of this false preaching.

Not my normal book subject to read. I wanted to try it because I have found a couple others written this way and I liked those. I think the topic of this book was a bit overboard for me. I didn't love it - three stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.