I’d like to thank the author for so generously providing me a copy of the book. All opinions are, of course, my own.
Title
She Named She Named Me Wolf: A story of survival, friendship & the power of imagination. (The Many Lives of Wolf Book 1)
Book Details
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: June 18, 2020
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Mark A. Smart
ISBN: 9780648850519
Book Description
Wolf is growing up in an abusive home, and only a ghost from a past life, his imaginary friends, and his martial arts teacher will help him survive this lifetime.
Wolf lives in constant fear of his unpredictable, alcoholic father. To survive, Wolf relies on his best friend Polly, who happens to be a ghost, as well as the animals in his yard, using his imagination and memories from his past life as a samurai warrior to overcome the odds.
Eventually, Wolf must make a choice to stay in this life or move on, and only Polly can help him make the right decision.
She Named Me Wolf is book one in the series The Many Lives of Wolf and is the first glimpse into one soul’s physical experience as they seek out the light in the darkness.
Author
Tenkara’s first book, She Named Me Wolf, is being described as “magical”, “intriguing”, “…gave me goosebumps,” and, “I loved it!” In her book series The Many Lives of Wolf, Tenkara pulls on her belief that we are all spiritual beings living a physical experience, learning all we can to reach new levels of awareness.
Tenkara Smart graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor in English Literature, minor in Creative Writing, which took her to a role unrelated to writing (as often happens) and into senior leadership for a US based running store. Tenkara later moved with the love-of-her-life Aussie husband to Doha, Qatar, and then on to Melbourne, Australia.
A former surfer in SoCal, Tenkara is now chicken to surf the waters of Australia for fear of being bitten by a shark, stung by a jellyfish, or who knows what else!
You can follow her on Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook.
My Thoughts & Takeaways
She Names Me Wolf by Tenkara Smart is a beautifully written tale of pain and resilience and the first in a series. The harshness of Wold’s real life and the adventurous fantasy were blended perfectly.
Wolf’s reality is one of an abusive home where he lives with his alcoholic and unpredictable father. The only company he has are his imaginary friends, his martial arts teacher, and a ghost from a past life (Polly).
In order to survive, he relies on Polly, the animals in his yard, his memories from his past life as a samurai warrior, and his imagination.
As someone who has lived through abuse stemming from alcoholics (although not by parents), I felt the author’s depiction was well done. I compartmentalize well, but it doesn’t take much for me to feel triggered around alcohol or abuse. But, I also tend to be drawn towards these storylines too.
As a few others have mentioned, the Australian/American spellings occurring interchangeably, but it doesn’t affect my rating for the book.
She Named Me Wolf is a captivating story that, unfortunately, many people can likely relate to. By the end, you’ll have experienced a boy’s journey of physical and emotional abuse and how he overcomes his reality.
