Phenomenal book - haunting characterisation, beautiful illustrations, emotionally intelligent and apposite. Really adored reading this - I looked forward to each evening having the time to savour the beautifully concise yet well-chosen language, and the story was compelling.

Atmospheric and unusual tale of the relationship between a father and son. Got a clear sense of the narrator. Illustrations add to strong sense of atmosphere.

A poignant and well written story, thought provoking and interesting.
The characters are well developed and I liked how the author dealt with themes like PTSD.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

We Were Wolves by Jason Cockcroft is a very thought provoking and gripping read. The characters are likeable and you can connect well with them.

John has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from serving in Iraq. Finding civilian life with a family difficult he retreats to live off grid in a local wood in northern England. Bullied at school, his son joins him as he seems more able to help John with his night terrors than his mam. Named as The Boy, he has made only 2 friends; a stray dog called Mol and a fellow teen camper on holiday called Sophie. Sophie suspects that he and John are in some kind of trouble. Little does she know that John is already in prison and is planning another job on his release. As The Boy refers to John in the past tense, we are left imagining how and when the tragedy will occur.
John has studied philosophy and mythology at some point, there are several references to spiritualism in nature and negative references to society that influence The Boy and how he sees the differences in living with John and his mam. He feels more at home in the woods, away from bullies and expectations, despite his fears of animals in the wood at night. John's acquaintances cause him some concern; Derby who allows them to live in his wood, Alan the lawyer and Toomey, who he is told to stay away from. They contribute to The Boy's sense of unease as he reveals the story to it’s inevitable conclusion.
I liked the building sense of unease and danger in this story, it was unnerving not know The Boy’s name, so much so that I named him Billy. I thought that the PTSD that John suffered from was dealt with sensitively, just enough detail to hint at John's state of mind but not so much that it took over the story. I found the link between veterans and prison to be realistic and that The Boy would feel a sense of obligation to his dad in his ability to help calm him. I’m not sure that the local authorities would have been that happy about his bunking off school though and have the feeling that they would have traced his whereabouts via his mam. The story is incredibly moving and tragic, with beautiful illustrations that reflect the isolation and unease of the narrator.

This is a book which needs reading more than once to gain the full impact. We read about a boy living with his Father in a caravan in the woods. It takes a while to discover quite why, and the relationship is complicated with the boy's Mother. The boy obviously loves her, and both parents say they love one another, but she has not succeeded in keeping her husband on track, although their son thinks he can.
The boy is in his mid teens, yet he sometimes appears younger than that, although he is trying not to admit the truth to himself.
John, the Father has suffered and continues to suffer, but whilst this remains untreated, he cannot see sense. One young boy can't help with this. But their relationship is strong and the love is there.
The boy also loves a stray dog who adopts him, and it's his love for Mol the dog which hinders - or clears?- his thinking towards the end.
Jason Cockcroft is an illustrator, and although I missed out on seeing the full glory of the illustrations because of the e-book format, the tasters look amazing. But determined not to allow the writing to let him down, Cockcroft has gone to town on the imagery and metaphors of bad omens and shadows. There is a lot to unpick and no winners in the end.

Gripping story, with endearing characters and a mature theme, this really pulled at my heart-strings as I read. Un-named boy carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, along with that of his Dad, as he gets caught up in the shady gangs of crime. The narrative and content was heavy going at times, with a steady stream of consciousness, but this allows us to truly empathise with boy, his struggle between independence and the family his craves and the guilt he feels.

I thought it was a very thought provoking book and the writing style of the author was really interesting. I also loved all of the characters because I felt really connected with all of them, especially Mol 🥺. Despite feeling slightly confused at the beginning of the book, I really really enjoyed it. I did feel was a slow start but the plot quickly fell into place. I would recommend this book for someone who is looking for an easier read as it isn’t as thorough in detail as say fantasy or Sci-Fi books, which can be a bit difficult to read sometimes. TW : war ptsd + guns.