Red is going back to high school six months after the death of her best friend Wolf. Their friendship began on the first day of Prep, when they were cast as Little Red and Wolf in the school play; ever after their lives were entwined as two halves of the same story. Red is defined by Wolf in life and in death.
As Red tries to move on with her life, she is forever pulled back by memories of Wolf and her guilt about not knowing Wolf planned to die. Red becomes increasingly self-destructive and questions: can you ever recast who you are in a story?
Review
Set in an ambiguous time period before the millennium, The Belly of a Wolf follows teenager Red as she copes with the suicide of her best friend, Wolf. The book opens with Red carrying a grief that may feel less raw than it did a few months ago, but is still extremely painful.
Because the novel is written in verse, the story unfolds through short scenes and fragments of thought, jumping back and forth through time. This style that suits the story well, giving a window into Red’s tumultuous thoughts and emotions, and unveiling the bond between Wolf and Red from their earliest years.
Red’s response to Wolf’s death is messy, complicated, and often painful to read. Could she have done something differently? Were there warning signs? How can life ever return to normal, without her best friend? The book also captures some of the ways grief can affect behaviour. Red pushes people away, gravitates toward unhealthy relationships, and struggles to form new friendships – or believe she is worthy of platonic love.
Through this messiness, Red feels believable. Her imperfections make for a convincing portrayal of a teenager navigating grief, and allows for moments of hope without veering into toxic positivity.
Readers may not know that I work as a youth suicide prevention researcher, so stories that deal with this topic often land close to home for me. Because of that, I tend to be attentive to how suicide (and its impact on communities) are represented in fiction. I thought this novel handled the subject thoughtfully and with care.
Overall, The Belly of a Wolf is a poetic and emotionally grounded portrayal of grief during adolescence, suitable for a teenage audience; adult readers might also leave with some insights and food for thought.
Thank you to UWA Publishing for the ARC.
Review by Elise
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