I loved The Last Wolf by Maria Vale. As I read it (in one day), I kept thinking of Anne Bishop’s The Others series–like Bishop’s books, this is a story with characters who are not and have never been human, and Vale does an excellent job of showing that essential inhumanity through her narrator, Silver, even as Silver comes to recognize and value of the parts of herself that are somewhat similar to humans.

I saw online that some other reviewers disliked the novel because it felt “flat”–although I understand why they might feel that way, I think that kind of review is a misreading of the character. She’s not flat–she’s simply not human. That difference leads to some fabulously funny moments in the novel, too; I laughed out loud when Silver congratulated a woman in a grocery store for surviving so many “live births.”

The use of Old English as the traditional language of the wolves was a nice touch, too, hinting at the similarities between the historical Anglo Saxon world and the wolves’ culture in the book.

Maria Vale is now officially my favorite new author of the year. I’m sharing her book everywhere and she’s moved to the top of my auto-buy list.

Seriously, y’all. GET THIS BOOK.