We Were Wolves

John is strange and violent, makes bad decisions and has nightmares. John is also the father of 'the boy', who remains nameless throughout the book.

While John is in prison, the boy stays in a caravan in the woods, with just his dog Molly and occasional visitor Sophie for company. The woods seem haunted by the ancient, extinct animals with which visionary John is obsessed, but there are also real monsters around, like the deadly gangster Toomey (pun clearly intended), who circles the caravan until the final dramatic showdown.

There are suggestions of post-traumatic stress disorder in this story: lives lived on the margins of society and a strong connection to the primal past. We Were Wolves is very much centred on male psychological drama and its illustrations provide a moody, dark atmosphere, where tiny human figures like the boy are overwhelmed by the powerful forces of nature and masculinity. 

Adults introducing this book to young people should be aware that gun violence is central to the plot.