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Hear Her Howl
A 2026 A Feminist Book Project List selection
As fiercely feminist as it is hopeful, this speculative, sapphic YA romance from the author of For Girls Who Walk through Fire is simultaneously a modern-day war cry and a PSA that there is a wolf who slumbers inside us all—we only have to wake her.
Rue’s life is over. After she’s caught kissing a girl behind the Sunday School classrooms, she gets exiled to Sacred Heart so she can be transformed into her mother’s idea of a respectable lady. The irony of being sent to—of all places—an all-girls Catholic boarding school is not lost on Rue, especially when she falls irreversibly under the spell of its ethereal, ferocious outcast, Charlotte Savage.
But there’s more to Charlotte than her sharp gaze and even sharper Charlotte Savage is, against all logic, a werewolf. And Rue can become one, too—any woman can, if she’s brave enough to heed the wild that howls inside of her.
She and Charlotte aren’t alone in answering the call, and upon forming a wolf pack of fearless girls who refuse to remain docile, Rue realizes she couldn’t have been more wrong. Her life isn’t over. It’s just beginning.
This world is not kind to women, much less wild women . . . but God help the man who tries to cage the girls of Sacred Heart.
As fiercely feminist as it is hopeful, this speculative, sapphic YA romance from the author of For Girls Who Walk through Fire is simultaneously a modern-day war cry and a PSA that there is a wolf who slumbers inside us all—we only have to wake her.
Rue’s life is over. After she’s caught kissing a girl behind the Sunday School classrooms, she gets exiled to Sacred Heart so she can be transformed into her mother’s idea of a respectable lady. The irony of being sent to—of all places—an all-girls Catholic boarding school is not lost on Rue, especially when she falls irreversibly under the spell of its ethereal, ferocious outcast, Charlotte Savage.
But there’s more to Charlotte than her sharp gaze and even sharper Charlotte Savage is, against all logic, a werewolf. And Rue can become one, too—any woman can, if she’s brave enough to heed the wild that howls inside of her.
She and Charlotte aren’t alone in answering the call, and upon forming a wolf pack of fearless girls who refuse to remain docile, Rue realizes she couldn’t have been more wrong. Her life isn’t over. It’s just beginning.
This world is not kind to women, much less wild women . . . but God help the man who tries to cage the girls of Sacred Heart.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 4, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
November 21, 2025
🐺 Sign me up for all the books about wild girls who refuse to remain docile. 🔥🙌
It was their own form of communion, Rue had decided, their own form of worship. The stars that sparkled overhead were more gorgeous than any stained-glass window; the cold wind that rattled the trees and cooled their hot fur was more soul-soothing than any hymn. The wild was their religion, the forest their cathedral.
September 17, 2025
Absolutely loved every word of this! I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager.
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August 21, 2025Not sure how I feel about this one! I liked the ending (or at least I think I did?) but struggled with the pacing throughout the book, especially with the primary antagonist being introduced quite late in the book. I felt like I still had a lot of unanswered questions and there were parts of the story that I wish had delved a bit deeper.
November 17, 2025
Some books feel like they were written for the younger version of you who needed them most, and Hear Her Howl absolutely sits in that space. It’s a younger YA blend of fairytale vibes, werewolf mythology, and unapologetic girlhood; a story about being “too much” in a world that keeps insisting girls quiet themselves. The setup is simple enough: exile to a strict girls’ school after kissing another girl, a magnetic outcast, and what happens when a girl finally decides she’s done being obedient. But the heart of the book is in that transformation as the girls at Sacred Heart decide they’re tired of being caged.
The friendship dynamic is the strongest part of the novel: found family that feels supportive, messy, and absolutely necessary. It’s cathartic in that inner-child-healing way, the kind of book younger me would’ve clung to fiercely. The sapphic romance adds a sweet thread of yearning and connection. The social commentary around expectations, girlhood, and reclaiming your own wildness lands with a real emotional punch. I also loved the fresh spin on the werewolf myth; less monster, more liberation.
Where it stumbled for me was in the areas where it leaned very young. That’s not inherently a flaw, but it did mean I didn’t connect as deeply as I wanted to. This was less healing an inner child and more wishing that this existed when I was a child. Some of the antagonists felt over-the-top in a way that flattened the tension instead of heightening it, and a few emotional beats didn’t quite hit the depth they were reaching for. Still, for its intended audience, I think this story shines.
Overall, this is a vibrant, heartfelt fairytale remix with a sapphic core, a fierce sense of sisterhood, and the reminder that sometimes saving yourself means choosing the people who let you be loud, wild, and wholly yourself. A wonderful pick for younger YA readers or anyone looking to reconnect with the version of themselves who needed permission to howl.
Thanks so much to Storygram and the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
The friendship dynamic is the strongest part of the novel: found family that feels supportive, messy, and absolutely necessary. It’s cathartic in that inner-child-healing way, the kind of book younger me would’ve clung to fiercely. The sapphic romance adds a sweet thread of yearning and connection. The social commentary around expectations, girlhood, and reclaiming your own wildness lands with a real emotional punch. I also loved the fresh spin on the werewolf myth; less monster, more liberation.
Where it stumbled for me was in the areas where it leaned very young. That’s not inherently a flaw, but it did mean I didn’t connect as deeply as I wanted to. This was less healing an inner child and more wishing that this existed when I was a child. Some of the antagonists felt over-the-top in a way that flattened the tension instead of heightening it, and a few emotional beats didn’t quite hit the depth they were reaching for. Still, for its intended audience, I think this story shines.
Overall, this is a vibrant, heartfelt fairytale remix with a sapphic core, a fierce sense of sisterhood, and the reminder that sometimes saving yourself means choosing the people who let you be loud, wild, and wholly yourself. A wonderful pick for younger YA readers or anyone looking to reconnect with the version of themselves who needed permission to howl.
Thanks so much to Storygram and the author for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.
January 14, 2026
3.4
This book was good and I really liked the story elements but it was a little cringe. Every time they talked about “releasing their wild” it reminded me of when people refer to somebody’s dick and their “member”. This author did a great job of making me fucking hate the villain at the end of the story, however.
This book was good and I really liked the story elements but it was a little cringe. Every time they talked about “releasing their wild” it reminded me of when people refer to somebody’s dick and their “member”. This author did a great job of making me fucking hate the villain at the end of the story, however.
January 8, 2026
this was actually really good. great feminist leads, character development and representation. I also thought the fantasy element was done well to help illustrate a point.
February 14, 2026
3.5 ⭐️s rounded up.
It's rare in my reading experience to have female characters become wolves. I liked the story and didnt see the ending coming.
It's rare in my reading experience to have female characters become wolves. I liked the story and didnt see the ending coming.
February 1, 2026
I never thought I'd read a YA book again after several DNFs, but thankfully this book came along with two things I love most in books: wolves and lesbians.
This book is a literary straitjacket. And there were so many times I wanted to throw the damn thing against the wall, not because it was bad, but because what was happening was so infuriating.
Rue and Charlotte were great together. I loved the updated wolf/wild mythos. And hats off to Mother Superior. Damn. I called it, but it was still really cool to see.
Murphy was a strange villain. I think he kept the book from being a perfect five stars. His final monologue was a little much, and he was introduced pretty late in the story. But overall, he was a serviceable enough villain.
Ugh, and the cover art. How can I not make a note about that? It's so fucking pretty.
This book is a literary straitjacket. And there were so many times I wanted to throw the damn thing against the wall, not because it was bad, but because what was happening was so infuriating.
Rue and Charlotte were great together. I loved the updated wolf/wild mythos. And hats off to Mother Superior. Damn. I called it, but it was still really cool to see.
Murphy was a strange villain. I think he kept the book from being a perfect five stars. His final monologue was a little much, and he was introduced pretty late in the story. But overall, he was a serviceable enough villain.
Ugh, and the cover art. How can I not make a note about that? It's so fucking pretty.
March 18, 2026
I enjoyed this book in that overall I was glad to read a werewolf book with a queer couple that had a decent Found Family plot.
I rate based on how I feel at the end of the book despite my notes I took along the way. So, 3.8 stars but I'm still gonna list my Pros, Cons, and Nitpicking opinions.
**ALL SPOILERS AHEAD**
**Like will ruin the experience of reading the book spoilers**
Pros:
*Good message. Decent plot.
*An actual Found Family book, not just people having regular friendship.
*The stuff with Rue's mom was genuinely upsetting & I'm actually glad it didn't fully resolve at the end of the book b/c that felt more realistic.
*I liked the interactions between Rue, Charlotte, Angelica, Morgan, and Sister Agatha.
*I liked the conflict between Rue and Helen. Helen was annoying as hell but that was clearly the point. Though Rue being like "is it wrong that I don't want to be her friend" after the hell house thing was kinda stupid.
*I really liked actually getting to see them as wolves playing and becoming a pack.
*Good incorporation of silver.
*The ending. Mother Superior. I saw it coming but still loved it.
Cons:
*I understand WHY but the transformations being like magically instant with no pain was personally disappointing. (I didn't doc stars for this b/c its purely personal preference.)
*Certain things came up that the author just doesn't follow through on enough, making it feel like the book was trying to cover too many issues and didn't have time to flesh them out.
For instance, the Hell House (seriously, everyone just acted like that shit didn't happen); Morgan explaining racial differences to Rue about how Rue can be all angry and disobedient but Morgan doesn't have that luxury as a Black girl; Senator Savage's grossly young fiance; and the biggest one - no one was really shocked enough that women can turn into wolves.
I get the author was trying to play it off like "they knew deep down they had the wild inside them too" but I'm sorry that's not a good enough reason for NO ONE to be like "WTF IS HAPPENING" aside from Helen who was more fixated on the wolves being the devil for some inexplicable reason. I struggled to suspend my disbelief with this.
Especially Rue immediately being like "it's me, I must be the monster" was a little boring.
*And another kinda major con was Murphy. Just. Why was he dressed like a cowboy? Why was no one confused about why he was dressed as a cowboy? Why can he run at the speed of a werewolf if he's fully human? That just seems biologically impossible.
Nitpicking:
I got so sick of all the references to books/movies/shows/songs. The sheer amount kept taking me out of the book and almost all of them felt either entirely unnecessary, or like a cop out to avoid describing how things looked or felt.
Examples:
"Kind of like Mary Lennox's "before life" in The Secret Garden."
"Reminding Rue of that Michael Jackson video..."
Comparing Morgan to Dionne from Clueless was the worst reference.
Repeating that she had Lydia Deetz inspired hair made me want to shave her head.
"It was a real Vicki from The Patent Trap situation."
"It was clear that Rue was the Angela to Charlotte's Rayanne from My So-Called Life."
"One of the kids started eating off his plate like the little brother in A Christmas Story."
"... with the glee of Charlie Bucket opening a Wonka bar."
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."
I rate based on how I feel at the end of the book despite my notes I took along the way. So, 3.8 stars but I'm still gonna list my Pros, Cons, and Nitpicking opinions.
**ALL SPOILERS AHEAD**
**Like will ruin the experience of reading the book spoilers**
Pros:
*Good message. Decent plot.
*An actual Found Family book, not just people having regular friendship.
*The stuff with Rue's mom was genuinely upsetting & I'm actually glad it didn't fully resolve at the end of the book b/c that felt more realistic.
*I liked the interactions between Rue, Charlotte, Angelica, Morgan, and Sister Agatha.
*I liked the conflict between Rue and Helen. Helen was annoying as hell but that was clearly the point. Though Rue being like "is it wrong that I don't want to be her friend" after the hell house thing was kinda stupid.
*I really liked actually getting to see them as wolves playing and becoming a pack.
*Good incorporation of silver.
*The ending. Mother Superior. I saw it coming but still loved it.
Cons:
*I understand WHY but the transformations being like magically instant with no pain was personally disappointing. (I didn't doc stars for this b/c its purely personal preference.)
*Certain things came up that the author just doesn't follow through on enough, making it feel like the book was trying to cover too many issues and didn't have time to flesh them out.
For instance, the Hell House (seriously, everyone just acted like that shit didn't happen); Morgan explaining racial differences to Rue about how Rue can be all angry and disobedient but Morgan doesn't have that luxury as a Black girl; Senator Savage's grossly young fiance; and the biggest one - no one was really shocked enough that women can turn into wolves.
I get the author was trying to play it off like "they knew deep down they had the wild inside them too" but I'm sorry that's not a good enough reason for NO ONE to be like "WTF IS HAPPENING" aside from Helen who was more fixated on the wolves being the devil for some inexplicable reason. I struggled to suspend my disbelief with this.
Especially Rue immediately being like "it's me, I must be the monster" was a little boring.
*And another kinda major con was Murphy. Just. Why was he dressed like a cowboy? Why was no one confused about why he was dressed as a cowboy? Why can he run at the speed of a werewolf if he's fully human? That just seems biologically impossible.
Nitpicking:
I got so sick of all the references to books/movies/shows/songs. The sheer amount kept taking me out of the book and almost all of them felt either entirely unnecessary, or like a cop out to avoid describing how things looked or felt.
Examples:
"Kind of like Mary Lennox's "before life" in The Secret Garden."
"Reminding Rue of that Michael Jackson video..."
Comparing Morgan to Dionne from Clueless was the worst reference.
Repeating that she had Lydia Deetz inspired hair made me want to shave her head.
"It was a real Vicki from The Patent Trap situation."
"It was clear that Rue was the Angela to Charlotte's Rayanne from My So-Called Life."
"One of the kids started eating off his plate like the little brother in A Christmas Story."
"... with the glee of Charlie Bucket opening a Wonka bar."
"National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation."
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 11, 2025
Characters: 3⭐️
Setting: 3⭐️
Plot: 3⭐️
Themes: 4.5⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Overall rating: 3.5/5⭐️
🏳️🌈Sapphic
✝️Catholic School
🐺Werewolves
🏡Found family
💙Young Adult
Rue kissed a girl so naturally her mother sends her to an all girl Catholic school. But instead of conforming she finds her true self and lets it howl.
This was a fast paced new twist with a feminist take on werewolves. The repression on teenage girls. The deep dive into religion and sexuality as a young girl. Learning how to be accepted and finding female friendship. And most importantly how to embrace your femininity and wild nature.
The overall themes and messages of this book I think are very important for young women to read. But I did feel the story fell flat in some aspects. For a young adult novel it was ok.
Thank you to Storygram Tours & Kim DeRose for this completed physical copy.
Setting: 3⭐️
Plot: 3⭐️
Themes: 4.5⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Overall rating: 3.5/5⭐️
🏳️🌈Sapphic
✝️Catholic School
🐺Werewolves
🏡Found family
💙Young Adult
Rue kissed a girl so naturally her mother sends her to an all girl Catholic school. But instead of conforming she finds her true self and lets it howl.
This was a fast paced new twist with a feminist take on werewolves. The repression on teenage girls. The deep dive into religion and sexuality as a young girl. Learning how to be accepted and finding female friendship. And most importantly how to embrace your femininity and wild nature.
The overall themes and messages of this book I think are very important for young women to read. But I did feel the story fell flat in some aspects. For a young adult novel it was ok.
Thank you to Storygram Tours & Kim DeRose for this completed physical copy.
March 20, 2026
I've always felt that wolves represented freedom and self-love and this book only furthered my belief in that. This was a fantasic story above self-love, freedom, and found family with the wolves being a reference to those themes. The power to change your own fate and defy the beliefs of those around you, you weren't born to fit into their box...you were born to run wild on your own terms. Some people won't want to hear your howl, some people will try and quiet you. But fuck them and howl even louder.
“But she also knew that while their teeth were sharp, their resolve was sharper. That they would not back down or apologize, that they would not return to the cages in which they were raised. They were not just girls, they were wolves. And the world would hear them howl.”
“We are not here to be tame. And we are not here to remain silent and small. We are here to be wild. All of us. And we will not afraid. We were born to do this.”
“But she also knew that while their teeth were sharp, their resolve was sharper. That they would not back down or apologize, that they would not return to the cages in which they were raised. They were not just girls, they were wolves. And the world would hear them howl.”
“We are not here to be tame. And we are not here to remain silent and small. We are here to be wild. All of us. And we will not afraid. We were born to do this.”
December 31, 2025
3.75 stars rounded up
I really, really liked this book!!
Which may seem weird because I’m rating it on the lower end, but that’s the writing’s fault, not the story. The story and the characters were really, really good!
I loved the worldbuilding and the messages through the book. The characters were sweet and easy to root for.
The writing was just pretty juvenile, which isn’t a horrible thing, but it was hard to read at some points because it didn’t felt like things were being taken seriously.
I also felt that the pacing was really off. The story was extremely fast paced and it felt like we rushed through a lot of things.
I did like it though! I just wish the writing was better. I recommend it, though, if you want a fun urban werewolf fantasy.
I really, really liked this book!!
Which may seem weird because I’m rating it on the lower end, but that’s the writing’s fault, not the story. The story and the characters were really, really good!
I loved the worldbuilding and the messages through the book. The characters were sweet and easy to root for.
The writing was just pretty juvenile, which isn’t a horrible thing, but it was hard to read at some points because it didn’t felt like things were being taken seriously.
I also felt that the pacing was really off. The story was extremely fast paced and it felt like we rushed through a lot of things.
I did like it though! I just wish the writing was better. I recommend it, though, if you want a fun urban werewolf fantasy.
February 12, 2026
Admittedly, I picked this book up excited that it was about werewolves but concerned that it might be cringy.
(sort-of spoiler) I was pleasantly surprised to find that metaphorically speaking, the werewolf form is self-acceptance, and the journey was a relatable one where teen girls are being trained to be religiously and domestically submissive which is not true to themselves.
It is a story about freedom and self-acceptance wrapped in a fast-paced self-discovery/love story. I appreciated the tasteful way that the werewolves were written into a story with a lot of value for YA readers, and anyone that likes a fast-paced read.
(sort-of spoiler) I was pleasantly surprised to find that metaphorically speaking, the werewolf form is self-acceptance, and the journey was a relatable one where teen girls are being trained to be religiously and domestically submissive which is not true to themselves.
It is a story about freedom and self-acceptance wrapped in a fast-paced self-discovery/love story. I appreciated the tasteful way that the werewolves were written into a story with a lot of value for YA readers, and anyone that likes a fast-paced read.
June 23, 2026
This was an awesome read! The juxtaposition of Catholic school and a budding sapphic connection with a werewolf was so strong. Unfortunately this dichotomy is so, so real for so many LGBTQIA+ individuals, except maybe for the werewolf part! Rue was a perfect POV character with a beautiful arc, and Charlotte was an amazingly fierce love interest. I loved the idea that any girl that wanted to could change. The ending was heart-pounding and had me rooting for the last character I ever thought I would!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 9, 2026
-> This book is actually feminist hallelujah
-> I'd rec to anyone on their deconstruction journey
-> Why do religious schools have constant assemblies lolol this gave me flashbacks
-> **Sapphic / platonic all girls wolf pack**. I have wanted a book exactly like this so bad and want MORE. I would love to see them into adulthood!
-> The messaging is *not* subtle haha but I preferred it
-> I am mourning I didn't have this book as a teen
-> I'm going to split my feedback with 100% mark in PB forum actually to be more direct haha anyways I LOVED THIS BOOK it gave me chilllsssss
-> I'd rec to anyone on their deconstruction journey
-> Why do religious schools have constant assemblies lolol this gave me flashbacks
-> **Sapphic / platonic all girls wolf pack**. I have wanted a book exactly like this so bad and want MORE. I would love to see them into adulthood!
-> The messaging is *not* subtle haha but I preferred it
-> I am mourning I didn't have this book as a teen
-> I'm going to split my feedback with 100% mark in PB forum actually to be more direct haha anyways I LOVED THIS BOOK it gave me chilllsssss
May 27, 2026
Love the premise (surprisingly H2O coded), but the execution lacks some subtlety. The plot pauses every so often to give these bite-size monologues with the characters’ beliefs. They’re not wrong, but it comes off pretty cheesy!
Honestly was planning on rating this lower, but the last quarter of the book gets really good! The stakes get higher, there’s way more tension, and I finally felt invested in the characters beyond a surface level concern.
Honestly was planning on rating this lower, but the last quarter of the book gets really good! The stakes get higher, there’s way more tension, and I finally felt invested in the characters beyond a surface level concern.
June 25, 2026
The grammar was weird at times and the writing was unpolished, but I can tell this author has heart. Pretty rad queer YA. I especially liked it when a man in the last quarter of the novel identified himself as a "sigma male" only to get . Happy pride
April 9, 2026
This was a great hyper feminism and female empowerment story. I loved the way certain characters were done as if you fully understood and could connect with the way they feel. I loved the wolf symbolism but it was a little on the nose at certain points.
August 4, 2025
fifth wave feminism tik tok crash course + werewolf
November 9, 2025
loved it. especially the message of the book, learning to accept ourselves and others, as we truly are, and not who people want us to be.
November 19, 2025
Newest book out from my favorite author and I couldn't put it down! Sisterhood and wolves, yes. More, please!
January 2, 2026
love this! I find it hard to find a simple queer fantasy so this was great! cute romance and what it means to be authentically you!
February 26, 2026
My teenage self would have ate this book up. Queer love story? Check. Werewolves? Check. Catholic guilt? Check.
March 10, 2026
An empowering and enjoyable story, but the writing felt a little thin for me personally.
November 14, 2025
sapphic romance about girls unleashing their inner wolves? YES YES YEEEEEEES! 💜
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews