Reviewed by Karin Perry for TeensReadToo.com

Lucy is worn down by the physical and emotional abuse from her father. Nothing she ever does is right. Her mother provides zero support by allowing her father to continue the abuse. Lucy feels as though she is totally alone.

Jake has a wonderful life and family. They work together on their Australian farm and enjoy each other's company. A story his father always tells is about when he saw The Wolf. His father was twenty years old when he saw what looked like a wolf while he was fishing. The wolf came to the creek to get a drink of water. They made eye contact and then the wolf ran away. His father never saw the wolf again. People say he never saw one at all. Wolves don't live in Australia, people say.

Recently, howling has been heard every night. Of course, Jake is thinking of the wolf, desperately wanting to see him for himself. He wants to be able to share the experience with his father and prove to everyone who has ever doubted him that his father was right all along.

Living in the same community, Lucy and Jake know each other. They just don't know each other well. One day Jake and Lucy see each other at the creek between their houses. They begin to talk about the wolf and wanting to see it. Lucy sees this as a way to escape from her abusive father and tells Jake she know where it lives. They make plans to leave the next morning to find it. Along the way they experience tragedy and discovery. Lucy realizes the strength she has inside and is able to use it help Jake in more ways than one.

Steven Herrick has written an emotional survival story. The alternating points of view allow the reader insight into each character. THE WOLF is told in verse, which moves the story at a fast pace. If you like stories dealing with family struggles and first love, this would be a good choice for you. ( )

This is a lovely novel in verse about a boy and a girl in rural Australia who take a secret trip to try to find a wolf that the boy's father insists lives nearby. What they find turns out to be much more important than the wolf. The writing is exquisite and speaks to the power of feeling loved. ( )

Ages 12 to 15 (Kirkus) Sixteen-year-old Lucy, living in the shadow of her violent father, experiences a night of tenderness, danger, and revelation as she and Jake, her fifteen-year-old neighbor, search for a legendary wolf in the Australian outback.(CLCD)