3.5 stars

The main character is rude and annoying—obviously she went through something traumatic but she’s really mean to the people who are just trying to help.. It's a bad day when you realize your hero father isn’t who you think he is; I actually liked that Adam and Norah didn’t end up together. It could have been really easy to have fallen into that plot device.

This is 💯 an easy read about a hard topic! It kept me engaged, loving & hating characters, & wanting to reach into the book & give Nora a big hug! As a mother of teen girls in this age range, it is my worst nightmare that something like this could happen. If you are OK with reading hard topics like this, pick this one up.

Powerful read, Friend does a great job. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an e-arc.

15-year-old Nora Melchionda is a "good girl"- she doesn't drink or go to parties and prefers the small group of her two best friends, Camille and Adam, despite living in a college town full of athletic frat boys like her dad, Rhett, once was. Her artist older brother, Asher, isn't close with their dad at all, so Nora is considered Rhett's favorite, coming with him to college games since her early childhood and idolizing him for her whole life.
But when someone drugs Nora's soda at the town fair and leaves her passed out on a golf course after an attempted sexual assault, everything she's ever known about her town and her dad come into question. At first, she wants to move on and pretend it never happened, but convincing from Cam and Adam leads her to discover the "game" the frat guys made her a victim of, and its shocking origins she wishes she never learned.

An amazingly underrated book dealing with campus sexual assault and toxic masculinity. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a well-written and interesting look at rape culture and sexual assault and was a story that was heartbreakingly possible in today's society. The characters were interesting and engaging, though sometimes I felt as if the best friend, Cam, pushed the main character, Nora, a bit too hard to talk about her assault while she was still processing it, though she set a good example as to what someone should do in a situation such as when she found out. Otherwise, the story was intriguing and kept me interested throughout using well-done plot twists. This book did a good job tackling dark subjects, and I think that it's a must-read for young adult fans, and I hope that it starts a much-needed conversation about these subjects. 4.5/5 stars from me.

DNF - Did not finish. I did not connect with the writing style or plot and will not be finishing this title. Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher for the early copy!

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. The Wolves are Waiting is a look at rape culture and sexual assault that could have been taken from the headlines today. When Natalie is found on the golf course with no memory of what happened to her at the frat party, and it comes out that her father's precious hockey players are involved in her assault, it is discovered that there is a culture of abuse and cover-up at the college that her father is the coach for. While this is a fiction book, it seems more factually based.

{tw: sexual assault}

♤ rating: 3.5/5
♤ review: this one was a whirlwind of emotions, and no i ain't kidding. The plot kept taking turns, and honestly i felt for Nora. As a girl, it scared me that sexual assaults can happen to anyone. Her best friend, Cam, though having good intentions but went a lil over board. But it didn't make me despise her, her character was still cool.

The different perspectives of the story really help you get everything. I absolutely loved how the novel started, that is jumping right into the actions. Adam's romance with Nora was rather precious but it didn't grab ne enough for me to mind it.

I was rather more invested in the revelations ~ it broke my heart yet also mended it. I loved how everything turned out, and I'm pretty sure you would too!

♡ thanks to @tbrbeyondtours for the copy!

I felt like it addressed a timely subject but I was puzzled by all of the Harry Potter content. What was the point? Not only did it seem dated but JK Rowling isn’t someone to be admired. It was distracting for a book that was about a serious subject (sexual assault) and not fandom.

The characters are complex & flawed, but that just adds to the reality of humans & the struggles we go through in our lives. The relatability of the plotline is what makes this book & keeps the reader interested. This book talks about the importance of consent & assault while also throwing in tidbits of family relationships, honesty/secrets, and what it means to be loyal.

While not perfect, this book is a must-read for not just young adults, but all adults. This is an important issue to read/talk about and the author does a good job of opening up the door for an major, necessary discussion. We all need to be more aware of the language used around us, the attitudes we have with each other, and just listen when someone needs an ear.

After waking up on a golf course, panties off and zero memories, high school student Nora navigates her life after a night of sexual misconduct. Supporting characters are two friends, her siblings and parents. Natasha Friend has written a beautiful, honest and moving story about the different reactions, perceptions and attitudes toward sexual assault and misconduct and how that can infect the lives of an entire town.
Friend writes about the complexity of these issues with a strong commentary on choosing silence and being silenced. The supporting characters in her novel show diverse reactions and behaviours but show a realistic portrayal of post traumatic experiences from those affected first hand as well as the collective trauma that ensues within family, friends and others being affected by these crimes. This book is incredibly impactful and I would recommend it to all ages. I connected with each and every character in many ways through a variety of emotions and a lot of tears. You will skate on the side of caution, feel confused, hurt, angry, but also inspired and empowered as you follow Nora’s story, who although is fictional, represents one account of too many.

The Wolves Are Waiting touches on a subject that may be a trigger for some readers but it is also a powerful story & the fact that it is a YA book is absolutely fantastic. We need more light shined on some areas. The story is told from different points of views which I know some try to stay away from, but with this book it helps to create a complete picture & more of an understanding. I enjoyed seeing Nora's character change & grow! The family & support system that Nora had was also wonderful! Overall the writing is great & I really enjoyed this book.

Well what can I say when I saw the email for the tour for The Wolves are waiting I was very intrigued and had a feeling that this young adult contemporary was going to have a kick in it and oh boy I was not wrong.

The Wolves are waiting has four POVs throughout the book Nora, Cam Nora's Best Friend, Adam Xu and Asher Nora's Brother.

At the start of the story we see Nora who is 15 has her life changed by one single night and Adam Xu was just there and contacted Cam. This event which Cam and Adam start to investigate find out that this has been ongoing throughout the years in the college town of Faber and now they want action at any cost and boy what a cost. When I saw the twist it did make cry for Nora and for every girl who had gone through it. Natasha treated this subject with such care and you could tell that she had done her research. She also showed the dark side of social media.

I have not gone fully into this as I believe this book needs to be read and discussed by both sexes would get an understanding of each other. For all these reasons The Wolves Are Waiting is getting 5 stars

The Wolves Are Waiting’ by Natasha Friend is a well-written, deep and important book tackling issues of sexual assault, victim-blaming, and institutionalized sexism. For me, the best part of a good book is always the characters. So was in this one.

I personally love the character of Nora. I think she is realistic in the portrayal of sexual assault victims processing their trauma- going from denying the experience completely to opening up about it and being willing to get help and heal- it’s a beautiful and powerful arc. I also adore her complexities and her relationship dynamics with her family and friends.

I like Cam too but I admit I hated how wrong Cam was towards Nora a lot of times in the book regarding the assault. It’s annoying to see her “fighting for justice” for Nora while also constantly pushing her “to do something about it” while she’s still processing the trauma. She constantly makes Nora visibly uncomfortable in a lot of situations. I think the book could have shown how wrong Cam’s behavior can be.

Other than that, I really liked the book and Natasha Friend is one good writer. ‘The Wolves Are Waiting’ is not in any way a light read, but it’s definitely worth it the way it is.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

This was a really well-written book! I thought that Nora was a very realistic main character, and the characters were all very individual and interesting. Each had their own issues to work through, in addition to the main plot. The plot moved very quickly; it’s a fairly quick read. “The Wolves Are Waiting” tackled some pretty heavy themes (rape culture, sexual assault), and Natasha Friend did a good job of addressing them. Over all, I thought that this was a good book, and dealt well with the issues presented in it.

I have read all of Friend's other books and loved them.

This one left me, honestly, bored. I kept looking to see how many pages I had left to read and that is never a good sign.

Managed to barely finish it. Not sure if it was the writing or the plot, but this one was plain boring.

This one stuck the landing for me. Throughout most of the book, I was getting so frustrated that Nora didn't want to say anything about what happened to her, but I kept reminding myself - "That's the point. Everyone processes trauma differently." I know that there are so many girls out there like Nora and I think she was written realistically.

The best part about this book was the theme of learned or passed down behavior. Sure, frats have been around for centuries. And yet, we all know stories about frats and hazing and sexual assault. Where did that behavior come from and why is it still so rampant? Why do we just accept that "boys will be boys" and chalk it up to being a wild youth? I really liked how this book took that theme and turned it on its head - as if to say you reap what you sow (at the expense of Nora's body).

Although I really did end up liking this one, there were some faults. I have no idea why we needed two characters named Adam and I don't even see the point of Adam C's character. I think I got it a little bit towards the end with the mention of Trey & 18 Holes, but it just seemed unnecessary for the actual story. It seemed like that with a few characters... Mrs. Sauce, Britt, the two friends whose names I already don't remember... It's like they *almost* had a point in being there, but not quite. So they ended up just taking space in a story that could have been tightened up.

Overall though, I enjoyed my time and I liked the message.

I’m going to start by saying that I loved that this type of story was YA. I’m not really sure what’s out there, but I think this sexual assault story was a great addition. It’s a deep conversation that needs to be discussed more and more. Nora is only 15 years old in the book which is scary, but it makes you realize SA really can happen to anyone. I think Nora’s character was great and I loved the multiple POVs. But the side characters drove me INSANE. Her best friend Cam, while I get her intentions, but she was a lot. She was very pushy towards Nora to come forward and I just wanted to yell at her the whole time. AND Nora’s Dad??? C’mon. I never wanted to hit someone harder. So, besides the aggravating side characters I really enjoyed this story. It was deep and i was satisfied with the ending.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After going to the Frat Fair, 15-year-old Nora wakes up on a golf course. She has no idea how she got there or what happened the night before. But she doesn’t want to think about it. She knows nothing happened, and she knows her parents would freak out if they found out. Her father is the local college’s athletic director and a beloved figure in their town– if people found out that Nora ended up in such a compromising position, it could hurt his reputation. But Nora can’t help but think about what could have happened that night.

Cam just wants to be there to support Nora. She and Nora had an argument, so Cam didn’t go to the Frat Fair with her. Instead, she went to another party…and ended up kissing Nora’s brother. Now, she’s trying to be there for Nora, while also keeping her budding relationship a secret.

Adam is working on his baseball skills on the golf course when he comes across a group of guys and an unconscious girl. After running the guys off, he realizes it’s Nora, who he’s had a crush on for years. He doesn’t know Nora well, but he would do anything to protect her.

While Nora tries to come to terms with what happened to her, Cam and Adam decide to team up to investigate, in hopes of finding who is responsible. What they don’t expect is to uncover a history of secrets that will cause a rift through their entire town.

This is a powerful book about friendship, family, and growing up as a girl in society. It also creates a frighteningly realistic small town, where “boys will be boys” is the common attitude. It’s a timely topic and I think it’s handled really well in this book.

I really appreciated how it explored the inner struggles of each of the three characters. While Nora knows that it wasn’t her fault, she can’t help but wonder “what if”? What if she hadn’t gone to the party? What if she hadn’t dressed the way she had? Blame is placed on women all the time, while men get a free pass. Cam just wants to help Nora, even if Nora doesn’t want help. She wants to get justice for her friend, but is it her place to go after it? Adam has had a huge crush on Nora for years, so of course he’s willing to help her. But what are his motives? And he knows that this isn’t the right time to pursue Nora.

Overall, This was just a really good book. It’s timely, realistic, and explores the situation from a variety of perspectives, which we don’t always see.

This was such a powerful story, I am still processing my feelings. It was definitely emotional, and a little difficult at times—in a very good way.

The characters are so well developed, so well written. I got frustrated with them at the beginning, especially the main character, which I think was the point. It showed that a person who is the victim of sexual assault won’t necessarily react rationally in its aftermath, and they will handle the situation in their own way regardless of what those around them tell them to do. Their emotions were so real, so raw, you could feel their pain, their heartbreak, their desperation through the pages and you really connected with them. I almost forgot for a moment that I was reading a book and not listening to a friend tell me her story.

I think the book also touches on the difficulty of having conflicting feelings for someone, especially family, and it was so well done. It's a complicated situation to be in, one that many of us have probably had to deal with in varying circumstances, so I think everyone can relate in some way to the story and especially to the MC.

I loved all the characters: they each had their own personalities, their own way of dealing with the incident, their own way of helping others or reacting to the same situation. Overall, this is an amazing novel that sheds light on a difficult, but necessary topic. I strongly recommend it, although I would consider checking trigger warnings beforehand.

Source: NetGalley