Counting Wolves tells the story of Milly, who is committed to an adolescent psych ward after she passes out from a panic attack.

The characters were really interesting and touching. The story was captivating, I couldn’t put it down. I really empathized with Millie and she even made me doubt what was real or not.
I’m not sure how accurate the portrayal of OCD was but the anxiety portrayal seemed relevant to me, it really was a great story overall.

A powerful and incredibly moving book about teenage mental health, this book will stay with the reader long after they turn the final page.
When we meet Milly, we learn immediately that there is something unusual about her, she is unable to speak or pass through a doorway without silently counting to a hundred, and this makes her life difficult in every way you could imagine. If she doesn't something very bad will happen, and the wolf that lingers in her shadow will pounce. When an incident at school causes her to black out, her stepmother insists that she needs treatment, and Milly is hospitalised in a paediatric psych ward. While struggling to deal with her own problems, she must live, and get along with a diverse group of similarly troubled teens, including Pig, who has a fascination with fire, Vanet, a cocky young man with manic highs and troubling lows, and the mysterious Wolfgang, who hides away from the world.
As she opens up to her personal problems and starts to interact more with her companions, she makes her way from the Dark Wood that holds her back , and may even defeat the Wolf that keeps her down
An immensely clever book, heartbreaking at times in the honesty of its depiction of the issues faced by many of its characters, this was so well put together that I found myself reluctant to put it down until I knew Milly was safe. The use of fairy tale metaphors was particularly well thought out and executed, and in the context of the story being told, they added a wonderful air of the eerie .
I read an ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Counting Wolves is the story of Milly Malone. A girl who is being stalked by the Wolf. A wolf who will claw at her and drag her to the Dark Wood if she doesn't use her magic to stop it. Milly's evil step mother checks her into a hospitals psych ward, exactly where the Wolf wants her. A ward run by witches and toads, where she meets other teens who are fairytale characters come to life. Will Milly get out of the psych ward before the Wolf gets her? Read Counting Wolves and see.

I really enjoyed this story. It wasn't what I expected from the blurb. It says Breakfast Club meets Grimm's fairytales, and I definitely see that, but I also get a lighter Donnie Darko. Counting Wolves was a unique take on mental illness and a young mind. The perfect mixture of coming of age and illness. Do I think that this story is perfectly accurate, probably not, but it FEELS pretty close. It feels right. The way Stewart has the story written makes you really feel what's going on in Milly's mind. You believe her. You trust her. You're right there with her. Which makes all of the revelations feel that much more rewarding. Each layer that unfolds as you read is exciting and even sometimes upsetting. I laughed as I read. I teared up as I read. I even got a little angry as I read. An emotional read.


This was such a good read. If you like YA that isn't all that it seems then this is the story for you!

An amazing story that keeps you wondering a) is the wolf real?, b) is Milly just suffering from the effects of losing her mom and having to deal with her father's new wife?) or c) does she really have mental problems beyond severe OCD that only the medical community can address? This had me guessing until the very end. The characters are well developed and so believable! I loved how Milly finds her answers, especially who is "good" in her life. I really enjoyed this one!

Milly is hunted by the wolves of her mind and sees no way to keep them at bay other than her counting ritual. This is a fairy tale, with evil stepmothers who are not what they seem, and a girl lost in the deep dark woods. But this is no ordinary fairy tale; when Milly is admitted to a psychiatric unit of a local hospital for her obsessions, will the wolf finally eat her alive, or will she triumph? This is an amazing story about mental illness, triumphs and heartbreaks, and the power of everlasting love.

Because it was described as Breakfast Club meets Grimm’s Fairy Tales I had a certain idea of what I thought it was going to be but when I actually started reading it – WOW, my mental picture was WAY OFF! In some ways though it did have a faint reminiscent retelling of the aspect of Alice in Wonderland’s story when she learns to face her fears and overcome them.

This book will not be what you expect especially after you read the synopsis, just be prepared to be blow away. It’s not very long so I highly recommend tuning out from the world for a bit because it’s so much better if you can just binge your way through it in one sitting. His characters with a fairy tale bent will endear themselves to you and you will find yourself wanting to know how their lives go beyond the pages.

Stewart has created a world that feels so real you will become absorbed in this book and begin to forget the world around you as reality and fantasy begin to melt together just like what his characters are going through. There is a touching balance between humor and heartfelt in a novel that at its heart shows the simplicity in finding normalcy in an out of control world. I did appreciate the compassionate and beautiful way the author dealt with mental health issues.

I actually envy all new readers to this book because you get to experience the magic of this for the first time. Enjoy the feelings of amazement and wonder that will follow you through this fantastical journey of finding friendship in the place you least expect it.

A strongly written YA story about anxiety, fear, mental illness and the thoughts we allow to become our truths. This is an excellent book and would be a great starting point for a discussion or book group. Although an extreme, it focuses also on the types of thoughts that are very common and how they can sometimes take over.

OMG! I loved this book. Milly Malone goes to Hopefully High School, and she has issues. She has to count to 100 before opening doors, eating, or any talking so she can "beat the wolf back to the dark wood".
Evil stepmother decides to send her to a psych ward to get someone else to deal with her. She makes some very quirky friends!
Need I say more.
This book is magical. I will definitely be following this author in future.

Amazing! I got lost in this book! So many wonderful characters and plot twists! Wonderful read!

I have mixed feelings about this book- on one hand I initially found it very gripping, fast-paced and strongly written. My interest waned somewhat toward the middle section. The fairy tale theme was deployed in an interesting, original way but I felt it went too far sometimes and made the plot seem unbelievable. On the whole though a good read that is likely to appeal to a teen/YA audience or to anyone who struggles with the type of issues facing the protagonist.

From the description I was expecting a story about something supernatural but that was not the case. Milly is a smart but confused girl who has to learn to rethink what she knows in order to save herself. She ends up in a hospital where she makes some friends who she helps who in turn help her become braver than she imagined she ever was.

Wow! This book was truly a page-turner! I was sucked into this book from the beginning. I laughed, I rolled my eyes, I found myself rooting on these awesome characters. I really want a friend like Vanet! This is the second book I have read by this author and I'm finding myself wanting to read more.

When all is said and done I feel that this was a really interesting look into mental illness. Although it doesn’t take long to figure out that Milly’s world is perhaps built for her alone, it was so vivid that a part of me was never quite sure what to believe. It’s not a very long book and it covers a short period of time but it’s enough to really establish Milly and set her on the path towards hope.
COUNTING WOLVES was an unexpected journey through the Dark Wood filled with surprising friendships, emotional revelations, and twisting paths.
-pooled ink Reviews

Received from NetGalley

I was kind of sure this will be fairy-tale retelling, I really like those lately. It's not, it more The curious incident of the dog in the night (I really like that book:)) Main character Milly has a lot of psychological issues and is committed to the paediatrics psych ward, be her evil step mother.

She has to count, before stepping through doorway, eating, talking, otherwise the wolf will take her. She meets a lot of kids there, who all have very different issues and are a bit alike with fairy tale characters.

It is really good book to read, because it gives you inside in what it's like to fell that way, how real it fell, how it affect your life.

The whole story is really sad in way, once you find out the reason behind her disease... I cried so much during the last part of the book :).

Soooo.... I thought this book was going to be a really cool, kickass fantasy novel that focused on re-telling popular fairytales in a whole new way, and I was REAAAAALLLLY looking forward to reading it.

I was completely wrong. That was not what this book was at all.

And I absolutely loved it.

This was a beautifully written story of fear, anxiety, false perceptions, friendship, grief, love, and triumph. It was such a good book.

I don't want to go into ANY plot details or mention anything specifically because half the joy of this book comes from not knowing what to expect.

That will, of course, desperately shorten my review, but in this instance, I don't care. It is much better for me to stay silent and let others discover this book with completely open minds.

I will say that it is one of the better books I have read this year, and I highly recommend it to any and all. I am very much looking forward to checking out more books by this author