I try not to DNF, or Do Not Finish, a book. Mostly because I am a bit stubborn and want to finish a book before passing judgement. The closest I ever got to DNF-ing is when I don’t feel like continuing or starting a book I put in my Currently Reading tab. However, in those cases, I usually set them back into my Want to Read list because I know I’ll want to read them, I just don’t want to at that specific moment.
When it comes to DNF-ing, it ultimately comes down to the person. Just because I may try to finish a book, that doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong if someone else doesn’t. It really comes down to the person and the book.
Recently, I decided to DNF a book. Because, despite liking the concept, I couldn’t get behind one aspect of the story. The book, Wolfsong by TJ Klune, the reason, how the main character and his love interest’s relationship was set up.
Background: Why Did I Pick Wolfsong Up?
I’ve been trying to find some new fantasy books as well as more books with LGBTQ+ representation. Wolfsong initially sounded like it could have been a book with just that. I ended up grabbing it from Barnes and Noble since it was on sale and my initial glance at the ratings (not including the reviews) seemed positive.
What Did I Think it Did Well Conceptually?
The story was something I thought was conceptually interesting. The premise of the main character Ox, being abandoned by his father and stumbling up on a family/pack of werewolves as a pretty solid idea. Throw in a murder relating to a figure who terrorized the Bennett family that causes most of them to flee for three years and I felt like there was a good concept.
As a story, I felt like there was potential, and the concept is one that I feel is a good/solid one. After all, it was the blurb that caught my attention (as did the cover). However, while reading it, the concept/story soured because of a decision the author made.
Why I Dropped it: Age Gap at the Wrong Age
I won’t go into age gaps and how/when/if to use them. That is its own separate discussion that can always be discussed another day.
What I can say about it, in this case, is that the age gap itself isn’t bad, so much as when Ox and Joe met. For context, there is a five year age between the two. On its own, I don’t think a five year age gap is the problem. It’s how old the characters are when Joe and Ox “get together” that is the problem.
Joe is ten years old when he decides that Ox, who is fifteen, will be his mate/partner. It would be one thing if Ox met Joe when he was ten, Ox befriends him/Ox develops an older brother dynamic with Joe, and Ox fell in love with someone else in the Bennet family/pack. That, given how, and when, the author executed the age gap, would have felt more appropriate.
However, that’s not what happened. Joe, at age ten, decided that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Ox. It’s a decision that didn’t feel right for a ten year old. And even though nothing “romantic” happened between until years later, that is still something that made me feel uncomfortable.
To say that it makes me feel uncomfortable may be putting it mildly, but it does describe how it made me feel. And I know I’m not the only one who did. In fact, when I did get to looking into the reviews, that was something I was looking into. I wanted to see if I was the only one who had that criticism. After reading a few, I noticed I wasn’t the only one. I think it was even a reason some people reviewing Wolfsong dnf-ed it. Because of that, I didn’t feel as bad DNF-ing Wolfsong.
So I DNF-ed it, despite being about three fourths of the way done. I just couldn’t bring myself to finish it. Now, I did still mark it as “Read” on Goodreads, since I was three quarters of the way through it. The only real reason it’s marked as Read is because I was behind on my reading goal and wanted to rate and review it.
I just could not bring myself to finish it because of that. Which I know I am not alone on.
How it Could Have Been Done Differently
I have two possible solution for how this could have been changed. One being them meet as adults with a five year age gap. The other, have them be closer in age, with Joe not being ten when he makes the ultimate/final decision that Ox will be his partner. Either way, I think it could have worked out better.
If it were to have them meet as adults, I feel like having them getting meeting/getting together when Joe was twenty-one and Ox was twenty-six would be a solid alternative. That way it could keep the five year age gap (if the author wanted to keep it) while not making it as jarring. The three year time jump would also still be able to happen.
As far as the closer in age option, I could see it as them having a one or two year age gap and having them meet in high school. That way, if the author still wanted them meeting up while Ox was a teen, them being a year or two apart would be more reasonable. In this case, I would say Joe could be a sophomore or junior and Ox is a junior or senior depending on if they’re one or two years apart.
And as far as the romance aspect, I could see it play out as a high school romance or first love angle. Then when Joe and most of his family leave for that three year time jump, maybe they tried to get with other people, but realize they loved always loved each other. It’d be a little cliché, but workable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Wolfsong was a book that I had hopes for. As both a fantasy series and a book with LGBTQ+ representation, I had hope. However, how and when they implemented the dynamic and romance between Ox and Joe made this book uncomfortable. Especially when it came to ten year old Joe deciding that he was going to be in a relationship with the then fifteen year old Ox.
This was the biggest critique for me, with the only other major criticism I had involved communications, or lack there of, when Joe was leaving being another. Though that criticism has roots in how old the characters were to a degree.
If you’ve read the book, what were your thoughts on it?
Images are from Amazon (the image in the post) and Soundcloud (the cover).
The Little Library 
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