I guess I thought this book was more a fantasy type of book but it is not. It kept my interest and the narrator was good but it got a little weird. I guess the whole idea is to bring awareness to people. I get it. I just wasn't expecting that. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my audiobook copy. I also received the e-book from a Goodreads Giveaway.

I couldn't get into this one. I truly feel that it has nothing to do with the book itself. I think it was the audio that made it hard for me to stay connected with the book.
I did not like that narrator of this book. She was too flat for me. There was no feeling in her voice. I think I will try and read the actual book when this one come out, cause the topic really did interest me.

Bean is closest to her brother Sam. When Sam is found dead by apparent hanging her world is turned upside down. She has to deal with her own grief but also the overwhelming grief of her mother who has given up. Bean does not believe that Sam would kill himself and is determined to find out what really happened. She and her best friend talk to everyone that had contact with Sam on his last day and explore mystical paths to explain his death and to find comfort.

This was a sobering story of loss and grief from a young person's point of view. It had me gripped through the first part of the book, then it veered down a path that explores different mystical religions and beliefs that were a little too distracting from the storyline. Overall I liked this book. It shared some good lessons and showed the power of family.

The book was pretty good! I felt like it had a lot of different things going on and I think I just lost interest towards the end. It seemed like more of a contemporary ya book than a mystery. It was also very sad. Overall though, the writing was good and and the narrator (Kelly Pruner) was great!

This was such a sad, difficult, and heartbreaking story. I loved the narrator. The end was a little confusing but overall I really enjoyed this book. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to this beautiful audio.

I need to start by saying I am not in the age rage of the target audience, but have read and enjoyed a few other YA books. I was drawn to this firstly by the cover then the description.
A lovely comforting story that follows a girl and her family struggling through the grief process with the loss of her soul mate older brother by suicide. It handles all the emotions of grief realistically, and with real feeling.
I engaged with Bean as she tries to help the family while dealing with her own grief. Also her best friend Julie, as She tries to help and support Bean.
I liked the way they explore spirituality for coming to terms with their loss, despite not being a spiritual person myself. The description of Inuit beliefs was very dry. The shaman ceremony and the totem pole with the animals having meanings was very Sam and moving.
It sensitively reveals and deals with a subject that still isn’t widely talked about.
The narrator is good adding emotion to story. I felt quite emotional at the end.
It leaves an educational message behind which I hope will help others.

This audio book has a narrator who's voice is quite warm and crisp yet intriguing. The novel itself is indeed fascinating. The story is relatable and easy to connect with. I personally have lost my brother , most of the family are turning towards suicide however I knew him intimately so I know for sure that this was not a suicide that it was murder. Certain things that happened around the time and the people who were furious with him for exposing their fraud to the customers... needless to say I know the truth. So when I read this book I could quite easily relate and for this reason I really connected to the novel itself.
The author has done a wonderful job with this Novel and i hope it prospers beautifully. I am also a spiritual person and open minded to the supernatural. It ticks al the boxes for me.

Kelly Pruner did a great job narrating the audiobook Winter of the Wolf. Most of her voices were distinct which made for easy listening. I believe that high school students will like the book, however, I will forewarn them that I’ll want their opinions about the Inuit connections. Do they feel that the culture was appropriated or respected?

Overall, I was completely engaged in the tale and could envision a grief stricken sister working to prove her beloved brother’s death was not a suicide. The steps Bean (sister) took to try to figure out what really happened were believable as a 15 year old. The family’s grief was believable. I deeply appreciated the strong ties to nature and preserving the environment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Did her teenage older brother really commit suicide? Everyone else seems to think so, but 15-year-old Bean believes otherwise. Yet proving this requires research on Inuit beliefs, questioning neighbors and her BFF. The crisp details and dialog drew me in - from the description of the car crash to the mourning by her parents and brothers. I hoped for Bean as she coped with her own depression, love interests, and her expanding perspective. If you question life and relationships, this could be the book for you. Contains contemporary language, including profanity, and wonderings about death. Note: Cover illustration and title are somewhat misleading, although reflective of Sam’s reverence and beliefs about nature.

I have quite mixed feelings about this audio/book. While I really enjoyed the story and the general vibe of Inuit folklore, much of it was also quite fragmented and confusing.

Let me start by explaining that overall, I think this was a gripping YA mystery. For a young reader or listener, this novel is certainly a relatable and compelling story in which Bean, a fifteen-year-old girl trying to understand her brother Sam's death: was it a suicide or an even more tragic event? This mystery is well written and highly emotional, and it is incredibly important that there are such YA books dealing with grief, loos of a sibling and suicide.

In addition, I think that amidst the modern, increasingly atheist and globalized culture, it is wonderful to read about Sam's spirituality and Inuit beliefs. However, it could have been done better. For one, the descriptions of these beliefs are very fragmented and therefore confusing, taking away much of the educational factor of this novel. In addition, to avoid spoilers, some of Sam's actions just didn't add up, considering his strong belief system. Not to mention that the mystery itself wasn't very good.

But then again, I felt so inspired after listening to this book, and immediately went on to learn more about the Inuits.... That I just don't know how to process my feelings about this book. It's great, but it could have been better.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I had to stop listening with an hour 45 minutes left. When two white teen girls made an alter and thought they could be shamans of the Inuit tradition, I had to stop. The whole book had steadily upped the cringe factor and that hit my personal limit.

While the beginning started off well portraying the intricacies of a family's grief, the book quickly went down hill with its wannabe spiritualism and poor mystery.

When I say wannabe spiritualism, the main character sounds exactly like an idiot teenager when she talks about spiritualism and its elements. It's like you could dress in a dark cloak, meet her at midnight, and sell her a bottle of vinegar that she thinks is magic juice. Spiritualism is an interesting subject when handled right. Even skeptics like me can read with interest when the topic isn't approached like a teen in Earthbound.

The mystery the book claims to have is understandably intriguing to the main character, but the book fails to bring in any sense of tension or suspense when she begins solving the mystery.

As far as the audiobook narration, I think the publisher would do well to recast, or at least have the narrator do some vocal training. The main character's voice was alright, but it's not a great voice for audiobooks. It came off a little flat and whiny. The voice the narrator takes on for the friend Julia is atrocious. It's like valley girl with a cold.

The publisher should also have a sensitivity reader cover the book to make sure the Inuit stereotypes portrayed aren't too generalizing or offensive, and that the claiming of Inuit traditions by these characters isn't straight up appropriation.

Overall, the book should have focused on what it did well- portraying a teen's grief and how that affected her relationships with the rest of her family.