I had such hope for these kids towards the beginning of the book. I wanted to see them thrive. The book got dark and I feel like the narrative took a few wrong turns and became too hard to believe.

When I read the synopsis of Gone to the Wolves, I was hoping this book would do with '80s heavy metal culture what Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow did with the early gaming industry. I'm only tangentially familiar with heavy metal music (thanks to my 15-year-old-son for what little knowledge I do possess), but when I read the synopsis, I was like, okay: John Wray's going for the same coming-of-age dynamic as Tomorrow, maybe this book will teach me and move me like that one did.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

Gone to the Wolves definitely delves into the '80s heavy metal scene -- but Wray writes about it at a remove, almost academically, so the reader is an observer rather than a participant. I never felt the passion and awe and obsession that the best music can inspire, and I think that's because I was seeing it through the eyes of characters who I never connected with, and whose connection to each other I didn't quite buy into. Kip, Leslie, and Kira all felt like stereotypical characters in their own way -- especially Kira, who was some kind of Manic Pixie Death Metal Dream Girl with no backstory or depth whatsoever. When the last third of the book shifts to rescuing her, I just was like...why?

It's very hard to explain, because technically, it's all there. The coming-of-age story, the friendships and music that defined our youth. The freedom and fuck-ups of early adulthood. All set against the backdrop of a historic cultural music movement. The writing is phenomenal. But I didn't feel the emotion behind it all, and I wasn't moved. Honestly, I was mostly bored. I fully acknowledge that this may be due to the fact that I'm not a metalhead, so I think maybe this book just wasn't a good fit for me. 2.5 stars rounded up.

Gone to the Wolves was weird and entertaining and boring and thought-provoking all at once. The characters weren't necessarily likable, but the storyline had promise. There were 2-star chapters and 5-star chapters, which makes it difficult to rate this book. I think overall, the plot itself could have gone somewhere, but about 3/4 of the way through, it lost its momentum. I almost wish that the trip to Berlin wasn't even included in the storyline and that it was wrapped up right before then. Overall, I read it, and I enjoyed some of it. 3/5

This is a truly unique book. I like the characters and loved the world they inhabited. There is so much going on here and I loved it.

really fun adventure involving some of my favorite, entirely original characters that I've read about this year. I knew nothing about metal going into this, and I still don't really know anything, but I had such a fun time pretending.

I have to admit I was confused at times reading this book. I prefer a straight forward plot and got lost, but I did finish it.

I received a copy of this in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

I LOVED the cover, and that's part of why I wanted to read this book.
To be honest, It fell a little .. flat for me.
I enjoyed some of the characters, but some just felt dull.
The world building was... just okay.
The plot felt like it was missing something..

Overall, I wouoldn't read it again

Weird dialogue but rich setting and premise. Liked the three part structure. Overall not my favorite and felt a bit mid tier.

As a teen in the 1980s, I fell in love with metal, mostly thanks to one of my older brothers, and then, thanks to that same brother, before the decade was over, I knew all too well the pervasive anxiety caused by Satanic Panic. It was a dichotomy that was hard to understand, much less resolve, and John Wray has captured those feelings of belonging and alienation, power and helplessness, life and death, and heavy metal's innate appeal to youth looking for something to call their own.

Kip, Leslie Z., and Kira are three teens looking for "something real" in 1980s Florida and find one another through their shared love of metal music. They quickly become inseparable and, as many teens vowed they would do during that era, they make the pilgrimage to Hollywood's Sunset Strip after graduation. However, things aren't as shiny and golden as they believed it to be and soon the trio drift apart. It's only years later when Kip and Leslie Z. reunite to save their troubled friend Kira they discover the "something real" they were searching for in their youth.

Gone to the Wolves pays homage to one of the greatest musical eras with all it's hair-raising, head-banging glory. It's poignant, nostalgic, and humorous while somehow feeling relevant to modern times. At times the writing seems to drag a bit, but it soon picks up again. The characters are engaging with Leslie Z. as a queer person of color into heavy metal being the most intriguing of the three. The ending seemed a little rushed given the build up to Kip and Leslie Z. tracking down Kira in Norway, but overall, Gone with the Wolves is a fun read, especially for anyone who remembers the "good ol' days" of the 1980s.

This might. be a love it or hate is type of novel (although I come down in the middle). Kip, Leslie, and Kira are heavy metal fans who find one another and play together through thick and thin- until they go their separate ways. It moves between Florida, California ,and Norway (the death metal!) but always comes back to these three. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc. It's a coming of age and a reckoning novel both that likely will most appeal to fans of the music genre.

This book didn't work for me. I was so thrilled based on the descriptions of the characters, setting, satanic panic, and music, but the writing didn't click for me at all. It was boring and drug on for me. People who like a meandering, avant garde style would be into this book.

This is a middle-of-the-road kind of book for me. I liked it and found parts of it really, really good, but some parts dragged a bit.

Kip, Kira, and Leslie are a group of misfits in Venice, FL. Leslie and Kira are townies who cling to each other and to their death metal bands. Kip arrives and quickly is enveloped in their group.

After high school, the trio moves to LA, where they encounter the remnants of the hair bands and involve themselves in dangerous parties and bars. Then there is a trip to Norway and something about the devil. I don't honestly even know what happened - not sure if that's because it got a little too confusing or because I had an 'adult' gummy.

The writing, itself, is fantastic, and I felt included in the trio's friendship. However, the first half of the story took up too much space when then last third was the most interesting - at least to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I've never read a love story like this before. This is a love story to heavy metal and the late 80s/nearly 90s.

Kip moves to nowheres, Florida in high school, and feels alienated and alone. Luckily he meets Leslie Z, right before he gets expelled. Leslie is the only gay, only black kid in the local metal scene, which in itself is outsider central. Kip quickly falls in love with metal, and with Kira, one of the sole girls in the scene.

The threesome escape to LA and live it up during the hedonistic heyday of metal. But what's a trio without an love triangle? So yeah, these BFFs struggle through relationships with romantic/sexual partners and with each other.

Just when you think this is a typical book, the group travels to Scandinavia for ur-metal shows. Kira vanishes after being intrigued by the Nameless One.
The guys go after her, culminating in one of the strangest yet perfect endings ever.

Spanning years, continents, and ever-shifting bonds to bands, to friends, to lovers, to life, this book is epic. You're not going to find another one like it.

Great premise but this one just wasn’t for me. The characters seemed a bit flat and the story a bit scattered. Others might really enjoy it, just not my cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Gone to the Wolves was quite a thrill ride: up, down, around—a real rollercoaster of a read. It's a bildungsroman, a mystery, a deep dive into a little-explored subculture, and at times pretty damn funny too. I was sucked in from the get-go and held through to the end. And I found it more accessible than the three other John Wray novels I've read (Lowboy and Godsend, which I also loved, and The Right Hand of Sleep, which I didn't).

So why aren't I giving it five stars? Because much as I relished the book and thought about the characters when I wasn't reading (Leslie is particularly well drawn and engaging), I didn't make the emotional connection that is necessary for me to give a book five stars. That's a definite your-mileage-may-vary criterion, however. Don't let it stop you from experiencing Gone to the Wolves for yourself.

Thank you, NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux, for give me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Gone to the Wolves, it reminded me of Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, for its use of art and reflection on friendships. It was well done and I really cared for the 3 main characters. It was engrossing!

First of thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for letting me read an eARC of Gone to the Wolves. I really enjoyed this book overall.. The book's structure was fun as it tracked the three main characters (Kip, Leslie, and Kira) through three different metal scenes, giving each a distinctive feel. While the author takes his time building up Kip, Leslie, and Kira and the wonderful worlds around them it is ultimately to have immensely satisfying conclusion . Once the three of them are in Europe I could not put the book down and it became a page turner. I highly recommend this novel to not only readers who have an interest in metal but readers who enjoy deeply character-driven works.

Gone to the Wolves is a great story that mixes metal music, friendship and the need to save someone into a fun, quick read that shows John Wray’s biggest strength as an author: character and relationships.

The characters in the book are expertly written and fit into the setting perfectly and feel like they belong there. The relationships also feel realistic and change as the book goes on like relationships in real life.

Overall I enjoyed Gone to the Wolves a lot but I feel that there was room to improve when it comes to story and overall plot

This is nothing yet everything I expected. It was weird and enjoyable at the same time. I started this book and could hardly put it down. I love the cover because it reminds me of the metal concert posters I used to save from concerts. Thank you so much for this ARC. Will deff be on the look out for this book in May.