Not me crying over wolves while my two pampered hounds sleep through my sniffles and tears, completely unbothered.

First Things First: The weakening or complete loss of a twin bond has to be one of the most devastating things you can experience. I still haven’t recovered from the Weasley twins — screw you, JK Rowling, for that and everything that has come out of your mouth since — authors have got to stop doing this to me. 

Brief Thoughts: When the main character is a woman who entrenches herself in the study of wolves with the goal of revitalizing a dying ecosystem, a pack animal with familial structures and dynamics she no longer has thanks to an absent father, a distant mother, and a sister who has clearly experienced something so horrifyingly traumatic that she’s retreated into her mind most days; a woman whose main means of physical comfort is found in the small acts of tenderness she provides her sister, touches that are tactilely mirrored back due to a condition called mirror-touch synesthesia — a poor echo of the relationship they once shared, as comforting as it is soul-rending — you know the book is going to be filled with about as much happiness as there are healthy coping mechanisms.

Favorite Quote: “I wonder if she knows her fury will kill her, if maybe she’s fine with that, maybe she would charge toward oblivion rather than return to whatever she fled.” 

Brief Thoughts (Cont.): Who doesn’t love a woman’s fury? I know I sure do, especially considering the early assumptions easily made as to why Inti is so angry, and why her twin is a hollow shell of her former self. So bring on the rage, the righteous vengeance at a world full of men who have taken so much from it, from her. Let it be glorious as it consumes all that keeps the flame ablaze. Let it be freeing. 

Quick Fourth Wall Break: No, Inti— I mean let it be freeing cathartically. You are not free to abandon your sister to the isolation of your shared home. I get the loneliness in the lack of reciprocity (or even acknowledgment some days) is suffocating, but… she’s your sister. That’s the bond I care about, that I am most invested in. So stop avoiding her to spend so much time with this man, please? Don’t make me sob in front of my apathetic dogs again!

(I realize the pull of this desire is probably also largely about feeling something for herself, the tangibility of and stimuli against her own body, touch meant for her… but the author writes desire in a way that almost feels against the character’s will, somewhat begrudging, in a way that keeps me from supporting any potential romantic relationship. A romantic relationship with a potential killer, might I add. That’s right, surprise murder mystery!)

Tangent on a Tangent: Speaking of the whodunnit: I just need everyone to know that I guessed the big reveal immediately. Which likely means most everyone else did as well… whatever, I’m telling myself I’m a genius anyway.

No Longer Brief Thoughts (Cont. Again): I’ve witnessed enough rage fueled women losing themselves to their fury (The Last of Us Part II, Plague Tale: Requiem, and Caitlyn Kiramman’s 2nd season arc in Arcane have been some of my favorite stories coming out of the last handful of years thanks to these themes) to know that these aren’t controlled burns, not really. It’s self immolation that scatters the parts of you not meant to be lost as ash on the wind, and the grief, the guilt, the pain… it all remains when the oxygen has been consumed. And that suffocation by what remains is where the heartbreak of the story really lies. That as much as Inti tries to help carry her sister’s trauma, some things simply cannot be shared, nor can her sister be saved from it. Aggie just has to survive it in whatever way she can.

Final Thoughts: I’m quickly discovering that, as much as I’ve really enjoyed reading McConaghy’s books, I need some time post finishing them to come to terms with their themes and endings. In the meantime I’ll be Googling if the wolf sanctuary near me is still open, so clearly she did something right.

—Bonus Rounds—

Neither Here Nor There: The Jurassic Park lover in me was incredibly disappointed in Inti for fumbling the “clever girl” reference when clueing into the fact that a hidden wolf was watching her, assessing her, stalking her. “Bold girl” just isn’t the same.

Biggest Complaint (Slightly Spoilery): If I read Migrations and it also has themes focusing on women being self-sacrificing for the happiness of a man and the malleability of a woman’s conviction in whether or not she wants children, I might lose it. I realize this could be McConaghy exploring something she worked through herself, and that’s why it repeats in both this and Wild Dark Shore, but it gets a bit frustrating as someone who has had my lack of wanting children questioned repeatedly.

---

“Off the Shelf” is my review series of older book releases outside the “TV/Film Prep” write ups, because it was just too sad to call this “Lauren’s One Woman Book Club.” If you have any book recommendations please leave a comment below!

And be sure to check out my review of McConaghy’s other book, Wild Dark Shore.