The synopsis begun with "The Breakfast Club meets Grimm's Fairy Tales in the lair of an adolescent psych ward", and I needed to know nothing more to be intrigued!

This was a superbly clever novel that used recognisable fairy tale imagery to depict the harsh reality of mental illness. Protagonist, Milly, is both heroine and sufferer. She guides the reader through her world of fear and mistrust and, through her eyes, we begin to see and to feel that whilst all that haunts her might be in her head it is no less real and harmful because of that fact.

The grace and sensitivity mental illness is treated with made this a poignant and heartfelt read. The characters also added a degree of hilarity and authenticity to this piece in the way they reacted to the suffering of both those around them and themselves (political correctness is clearly not a concern!). It was actually refreshing to see how mental illness can be confronted with brutal honesty and an often off-humour colour and yet not become debilitating because of this. This was an inclusive and authentic portrayal that used fantastical elements to draw out the truth of a very-real illness. If only more books could confront an issue in such a complexly clever and effortlessly illuminating way!

A received a copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this was an unexpected gem of a book! High stakes, fast paced and great writing! LOVED IT! The story pulls you in and doesn't let go until the last page.

I can't wait to see what this author does next.

Hey Everyone!

Now this was different to what I normally read. Normally its all fantasy or a little bit, or urban fantasy… or even some romance. This was none of them.

So just to confirm that this was a NetGalley read. I got a digital copy of the book for an honest review and that is what I will give you.

Here is the synopsis: The Breakfast Club meets Grimm’s Fairy Tales in the lair of an adolescent psych ward.

Milly’s evil stepmother commits her to a pediatric psych ward. That’s just what the wolf wants. With bunk mates like Red, who’s spiraling out of control; Pig, a fire-bug who claims Milly as her own—but just wants extra dessert—Vanet, a manic teen masquerading as a fairy godmother with wish-granting powers as likely to kill as to help; and the mysterious Wolfgang, rumored to roam for blood at night; it doesn’t take long for Milly to realize that only her dead mother’s book of tales can save her.

But Milly’s spells of protection weaken as her wolf stalks the hospital corridors. The ward’s a Dark Wood, and she’s not alone. As her power crumbles, she must let go of her magic and discover new weapons if she is to transform from hunted to hunter.

Now just from that, I see magic. It may just be me but that is a little bit of what confused me. Don’t get me wrong, the controlling of OCD is magic of its own sort but when you add Grimm’s tales to it, you expect a little extra spark.

I liked it. I liked the fact that it explained how controlling OCD is and how it doesn’t just take over one person, but everyone that this person is involved with. The Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in this story is extreme and there are greater cases than our main characters. But this shows, very well, how a small scenario can grow into something catastrophic.

I do feel that the Synopsis may have been a little misleading. The book that it mentions, does nothing for saving her but cause her more harm than good. The mention of magic and spells, though this is how Milly sees it, makes the reader think that its fantasy. This is not.

The genres for this are, Young Adult, Fairy Tales, Contemporary, Mental Illness, Retellings and Fantasy. I am not sure how the latter two apply as this is neither a retelling or a fantasy.

However, moving to areas that I did enjoy, such as how intense this book is to start. It definitely makes you feel as if you are going a little bit loopy when your imagining Milly counting to 100 to complete or start an action. By the end of the book you are struggling to remember how to not count before her speech parts.

The author, Michael F. Stewart, has done a very good job convincing you that this is something that is normal and, for our character, is easy to manage.

There was a twist at the end however I feel that I had already realised what this was and who the main cause of the OCD was and why. But all in all, this was a rather enjoyable story.

I give this: 4 stars.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this!

a powerful read about... well basically life since it is a lot about friendship, family, love, lost, moving on and trying to figure everything out.
And even though it sounds as if that is a lot to put into one book and do it well on top of that this book did manage it for the most parts. There were a handful of moments that to me personally could have been done either differently or slightly better than they were written in the book but overall this book as such a surprise in the best way!

I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to hop on the bandwagon like a lot of other readers and say that this wasn't what I was expecting but it was good nonetheless. I would actually give this a 3.5 star rating but I rounded up i this case. I think Stewart achieved what he set out to in representing mental illness, in this case OCD, in a relate-able and interesting way.
The book stays with you and I think that's why I read it so quickly. I was eager to find out what was going on with Milly and if she manages to overcome her extreme OCD. This isn't a psychological thriller, a ghost story, or a book about fairytales (though there are some interesting renditions in here that I enjoyed). It is first and foremost, a novel about mental illness and the effects it has on the person it affects directly, their family, and their friends. It also offers hope in the form of help, and an appreciation of similarities and differences. The cast of characters was great and highly entertaining in a quirky way.
I think it was well done and I would recommend it for any teen or any family with a teen struggling with mental illness.

I found this book initially intriguing, but I had a hard time staying captivated. Thank you for the opportunity though!

This was not what I expected but I really enjoyed it once I got into it. Milly has OCD and has been brought up by her mother to believe in fairy tales and the reality of the wolf starting her. Her counting is her way of keeping everyone safe. Her mother dies - she feels to blame and her OCD tendencies escalate to the point that her step mother takes her to hospital for treatment. We meet the other occupants of the ward - each with their own demons. Milly is forced to face her fears and come to terms with reality - to understand who actually loves her and wants the best for her.

A fascinating read and a book I will be stocking in the school library.

There once was a girl who was the wolf’s coveted meal.


In Counting Wolves the reader follows Milly as she battles the wolf, keen on ripping her to shreds. The only way to protect herself is to cast a spell, like her mother taught her, by counting to 100 before she speaks, before she walks through doors, before she eats and to chew. She's been handling this all pretty well. Yeah she's lost some friends but she's managed to keep up a relationship with her boyfriend Bill and she'd rather be safe than sorry and she always has her mother's fairy tales to turn to in distress.
However, when Milly's evil stepmother checks her into the psych ward at the hospital after passing out in Gym Milly's world is turned upside down. She meets an array of new people who are all in the ward for their own reasons. Vanet is has manic periods, Pig likes to set shit on fire, Beauty never wakes, Peter just wants to be a fairy, Red keeps reliving an accident and Wolfgang may be less wolf and more like Milly than she could have ever guessed.
While in the enclosed space of the ward, Milly must come face to face with herself and her wolf.

In the land of the crazies, we are all the same. Vanet wrote that last bit. It goes without saying that the inverse is true.
Stewart handled mental illness in this story incredibly well. I identified with every single character we were introduced to, I felt for each of them. Though Milly may have her perception of who are the good and bad characters in her life, one of Stewart's strongest messages is that good and bad are all a matter of perception and honestly that's one of my favourite narratives to play around with. I've been finding it a lot in books this year and I am here for it.

Following her is Peter, who flaps his arms like wings and drags his broken leg behind him across the floor.
Pig points at him. "He’s here because he’s suicidal. Believes he can fly like a fairy, so he jumped from a third-floor balcony."
…"He’s not suicidal then, he doesn’t want to die, he wants to fly,"
Counting Wolves has such a great array of characters! I loved how accepting Milly was of Peter who is seen as even too crazy for the rest of the teens in the ward. Situations like Peter's make me think about why society feels the need to 'fix' everyone who has mental illnesses or disabilities. I'm not sure which category Peter falls in, but I think sometimes, as long as the person in question is happy then maybe it's okay to leave them be and just look out for them. Let them believe whatever they believe because maybe their world is just as real as ours, besides the world could use a little more magic.

Pig doesn’t want to leave. She’s safe here. So what does she need to do to stay? Light fires. Bring the police. Bring the fire department. Bring the full force of the law down upon herself.
Counting Wolves also touched on the fact that people who find themselves in psych wards or prisons sometimes choose to be there because that's the best option available to them.
Pig develops pyromania purely as a means to an end. She knows that the only way to protect herself from the world is to land herself in a cage, no matter what form it takes. It's a heartbreaking peek into a world that is too often forgotten by society. We as human beings are failing those who need help the most. It is impossible to live a good life, hell to so much as survive, if you aren't born into a financially stable environment.
When people turn to being criminals to survive, it is not them who are failing us. We're failing them.

“Amazing what we can convince ourselves of.”
Counting Wolves was yet another great novel about mental illness. Stewart takes a magnifying glass and trains it on how our society deals with things we prefer to forget and hide and I think he did a brilliant job of it.

That day, the girl sharpened a hunting knife; she shouldered a quiver of arrows and strung a bow of yew. That day, the girl gave up her magic and hunted the hunter. Into the Dark Wood, she slunk and laid claim to it for her own.

Depressing but thought provoking, Counting Wolves keeps the reader unsure of reality as the main character struggles to hold back the evil realm of the Dark Wood that wants to destroy everything. Now locked up in the mental ward, the evil Wolf increases its stalking and gets closer then ever to destroying Milly. With her in the ward are many other fairytale themed psychos: Tink, Red, Pig, Wolf and Vanet. As the struggle continues, Milly struggles to figure out what is real, and what is all in her head.
An interesting study of the psychology of anxiety, Counting wolves was not what I had been expecting. I came in thinking it would be a novel about magic and fairytales, mixed with an aspect of psychological thriller to it where the world is calling the main characters crazy. I was very wrong. It is actually an in depth look at what it can feel like to suffer from anxiety and other mental illnesses and it was just given a fairytale themed twist. Even though it was not what I thought it was, I actually ended up enjoying and appreciating it. It kept me guessing along with the main character, what was real and what wasn't, as well as gave good analogies to the dread and fear that comes with extreme OCD and anxiety. It gave me perspective. That aside, it was incredibly depressing to read and took me a while to get through for that very reason. Overall, it was not what I expected, but I was not bad. I give it the honest star rating of FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

The Breakfast Club meets Grimm's Fairy Tales in the lair of an adolescent psych ward. What a great and apt way to describe this book.

This book grabbed my attention from the first page. It feels so real and true. The characters are so vivid, that you picture each and every one in your minds eye and you are making the journey with them.

Some of the antics that they get up to are quite funny, and I loved that Vanet, who always seemed a bit of an arrogant jerk, was the one that showed Milly she could spread her wings and fly.

Highly recommended for everyone, but especially YA readers. You will not be dissapointed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to Michael F. Stewart and NetGalley for the ARC for my honest review.

I picked up this book as it reminded me of a book I read when I was younger, Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer. It was a book that opened my mind to OCD and mental disorders, anxiety, and also fueled my interest in Ellen Hopkin's wonderful works as well. Stewart's novel reminded me of all these novels I devoured but was so well written that it felt like a fairytale itself.

This story did not disappoint. It was filled with the disillusion of fairytales the hyperawareness of anxiety and the struggle that people face when diagnosed. I loved the idea Stewart created with the wolves and constant counting as a magical spell. It was beautifully written and something I will highly recommend to any all readers out there.

I am so glad I purchased this book for my library. It is so different from any other teen book dealing with mental illness, that I have ever read. It's heartbreaking, clever, and funny all at the same time. There are times when you will think that maybe you shouldn't be laughing, but you won't be able to help yourself. I love how the author intertwines fairy tales with the main character's mental illness and ties it all together. The main character feels so real that I felt like I was going through everything with her! So many feels!!! All of the other characters in the book will win your heart too! In the end, this is an important book for teens and adults to read. I look forward to purchasing more books by this author in the future!

In Counting Wolves the main character is dealing with OCD and paranoia coupled with her love of fairy tales. The bulk of the book takes place in a psychiatric ward of juveniles.

A great book if you are looking at teaching a certain disorder or tolerance. The plot was a bit thin as the character's relationships were a bit transparent and not fully fleshed out. Also, written for the YA audience there are several instances of explicit sexual content as well as other undesirable language and behavior.

As someone who's known someone with OCD it didn't give me a huge insight into WHY they do things but did show how with counseling and medication, these challenges can be overcome.

As a novel on its face, it doesn't really stand alone as a book you'd recommend without knowing that someone needs to deal with or benefit from this type of insight into the mental disorder.

This book was so hard to put down! I read it in two sittings only because I HAD to sleep. This story is so magical and so is this author's writing style. The story just flows so beautifully. Yes, fairy tales are a huge part of Molly's story and so is her mental illness. I don't want to spoil anything for you in this book but it is intriguing, eye opening and life changing. It will stick with you. I highly recommend this novel, you won't be disappointed! I absolutely loved this book!

Copy given by publisher and NetGalley for a fair & honest review.

3.75 stars. I was intrigued by the description of this story. Easy, well paced read. The story was well written overall but I felt the ending was kind of rushed. I was also a little disappointed in how the concept of the wolf played out.

I was disappointed. I'd read so many great reviews and it just didn't come together the same way for me.

I LOVED the concept. I liked Milly, Vanet was interesting but I felt like he could have been developed more. I love the twist at the end but there was a lot of foreshadowing that dulled the impact of the final reveal. I also think Milly came around to self-realization far to quickly. Especially in highly stressed and violent situations, it didn't seem plausible to someone who hopped through doorways for 3 years to be that level-headed and aware in just a few days time.

I think the author played it safe in a few parts. I mean, you have this psychiatric hospital as a perfect setting for some real hallucinations/delusions, and it was all just kind of... meh. I guess it was more of a book about coping with anxiety than the bat-shit-crazy I was hoping for.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100.
The title, COUNTING WOLVES, is perfect for this book. I really can’t explain more without a spoiler, and I won’t do that. I do think you will agree with me after you have finished the book.

The characters have to be my favorite aspect of this book. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 in writing Milly, Stewart helps the reader feel her frustration by having the numbers 1-100 that she must count before each activity in the book. As the reader, you are ready to move on, but you must wait until she reaches 100. Your frustration rises as the counting continues again, again, again, and again. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 Each character is written in such detail, and they are so realistic. Yes, there is some adult topics and language but how can you realistically address life without the dialogue and actions being believable? Not very many authors can pull off having so many mentally ill characters. They each have issues they need to overcome. I love how each character is a perfect stand-alone but works so much better in unison with one or more of the other characters. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 Each character contributes so much to the book. I found myself going through such a vast range of emotions. I believe I hit them all: pity, rage, sadness, joy, hatred, understanding, frustration… The character will find a special place in your heart-some at the bottom others right smack in the middle.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 COUNTING WOLVES is another book that address mental health issues in young adults. There are so many issues addressed but each is handled with sensitivity and respect. I like how Stewart doesn’t just touch and go with some of the illnesses. He dives right in and exposes them for what they really are. I believe it will open some eyes as to what some young adults face. I think exposing young adults to situations like the ones covered in the book will help them understand mental illness and the people that suffer from them. It is time we stop sweeping mental illness under the rug!!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16…...59, 60, 61, 62, 63...95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100 I believe that after you read COUNTING WOLVES you will be a changed person. I know I was! This book is now on my top books I have read list.

Boldly tackling issues of mental health, Michael F. Stewart tells the story in an honest and realistic way with hints of classic fairy tales like Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, etc., almost like a fairy tale retelling but with mental health issues.

A unique way of describing Anxiety and OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Counting Wolves made me look at a different side to OCD. I've seen people suffering from OCD in real life but I think what I've seen are the stereotypical side to OCD where one is obsessed with cleanliness and get paranoid when one sees disorganized things and dirty stuff. But with this book, I learned how different people suffer from OCD in different ways.

In this book for instance, our main character is obsessed with counting 1 to 100 before opening a door, before taking another bite of her food, before talking and before doing other things. If she doesn't do this, she feels that the wolf will catch her and that something bad might happen not to herself but to someone else. This was her way of protecting those who she cares about.

As a reader, I know it's all just in her head and our main character, Milly, knows this as well. That it's all just in her head but with OCD and anxiety, she can't help herself from obsessing and being anxious. It feels so real to her, that she can almost touch the wolf.

At first, I was annoyed by the counting and it made me impatient. I can imagine how the people around Milly felt when she had to count to a hundred before responding but as the story progressed, I slowly understood her and came to enjoy every bit of the book. You can see the growth of the main character as well as the supporting characters and not only them, but as the reader, you grow along with them too.

I like how the counselors handled them and the techniques used and how trained they are. I'm happy for Milly that she was brought to the care of professionals who really know what they're doing and who are dedicated to doing their jobs because it is not always 100% guaranteed that when you go to a professional to seek for help with regards to your mental disorder, they will be able to help you. Countless lives were taken by suicide because not even therapy have helped them and a lot of sufferers have given up. It's a sad fact but true nonetheless. But this book makes us realize that as long as there's life, there is hope.

The synopsis begun with "The Breakfast Club meets Grimm's Fairy Tales in the lair of an adolescent psych ward", and I needed to know nothing more to be intrigued!

This was a superbly clever novel that used recognisable fairy tale imagery to depict the harsh reality of mental illness. Protagonist, Milly, is both heroine and sufferer. She guides the reader through her world of fear and mistrust and, through her eyes, we begin to see and to feel that whilst all that haunts her might be in her head it is no less real and harmful because of that fact.

The grace and sensitivity mental illness is treated with made this a poignant and heartfelt read. The characters also added a degree of hilarity and authenticity to this piece in the way they reacted to the suffering of both those around them and themselves (political correctness is clearly not a concern!). It was actually refreshing to see how mental illness can be confronted with brutal honesty and an often off-humour colour and yet not become debilitating because of this. This was an inclusive and authentic portrayal that used fantastical elements to draw out the truth of a very-real illness. If only more books could confront an issue in such a complexly clever and effortlessly illuminating way!