The Belly of a Wolf
Reviewed By Nan van Dissel March 10, 2026
Author Julianne Negri
Distributor: UWA Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-76080-320-9
Publisher: UWA Publishing
Release Date: 1 March 2026
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To a teenager losing your best friend on your 15th birthday is calamitous but when this lost is the result of a suicide, it is more than disastrous, it is life changing. Cast as the main characters in the ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ kindergarten play, Red and Wolf have been best friends ever since; their life was entwined, that is until without warning Wolf took her own life.
Based on a true story, award winning author Julianne Negri’s in her book “The Belly of a Wolf” has created a narrative in verse, which sensitively explores the feeling and life of the remaining friend in the aftermath of this devastating suicide.
Six months after Wolf’s death, Red returns to a school, which isn’t quite the same as the one she had left; her favourite teacher is no longer there. Finding it difficult to adjust to school and life without Wolf, Red retreats to the music room where she isolates herself from her classmates.
It is here that she meets a patient and persistent Music Girl, who is keen to befriend a resistant Red. Meanwhile Red continually reminisces about Wolf and their escapades together, which allows her to keep her friend alive in her mind but it also delays her ability to move on.
I highly recommend this beautifully written novel, in which the author uses vivid imagery to allow the reader to embrace the characters of Red and Wolf and to share their joys and disappointments. It also perceptively explores Red’s feelings of sadness and guilt, as she questions herself about what she could have done and what she missed; an ideal classroom text for exploring the impact of juvenile suicide.