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White Rabbit, Red Wolf

Tom Pollock (Goodreads Author)

3.86 · Rating details · 1,581 ratings · 384 reviews

Peter Blankman is afraid of everything and must confront unimaginable terror when his mother is attacked.

Seventeen-year-old Peter Blankman is a maths prodigy. He also suffers from severe panic attacks. Afraid of everything, he finds solace in the orderly and logical world of mathematics and in the love of his family: his scientist mum and his tough twin sister Bel, as wel ...more

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Paperback, 396 pages

Published May 3rd 2018 by Walker Books Ltd.

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Average rating 3.86 ·

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· 1,581 ratings · 384 reviews

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Sep 05, 2018 C.G. Drews added it

Shelves: thriller-crime, young-adult, ya-male-narrators, read-2018

This was very good and also I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Talk about a mind splattering twist?! Seriously I don't even know how to review this because I loved it a lot but I am so hella confused as to what even was going on. And why. And omg maths. Lmao I sometimes count my books but that's about it and this was like "THE SQUARE ROOT OF 9489 IS = " ... it is my eyeballs bleeding. That's the answer.

So I did go in with slightly messed up expectations.
Possibly because I don't read blurbs. My bad, sir, my ba This was very good and also I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Talk about a mind splattering twist?! Seriously I don't even know how to review this because I loved it a lot but I am so hella confused as to what even was going on. And why. And omg maths. Lmao I sometimes count my books but that's about it and this was like "THE SQUARE ROOT OF 9489 IS = " ... it is my eyeballs bleeding. That's the answer.

So I did go in with slightly messed up expectations.
Possibly because I don't read blurbs. My bad, sir, my bad. I thought it was a contemporary about a math boy with anxiety (or autism?)....but it's more like a psychological thriller with so many plot twists and spies and scientists and experiments. Which was cool! It's not a genre I reach for but I loved so much about this.

It's also super well written with a narrator you just totally adore.
Peter is like an Anxious Wreck On Two Legs™. He has a panic disorder (eh he wasn't autistic) and serious issues and he's also SUPER awkward, gangly, a genius nerd and basically gets himself beat up all the time. He has a badass sister who'll protect him at all costs + a genius scientist mother. And like WOW he was such a dork. But I loved him immediately! His voice is self-depreciating and also nerdy and fun so literally the entire book was just a pleasure to read.

You reeeeally want to go in knowing as little as possible about the plot! It makes it WAY wilder. But it's mind fuckery ok. And it lost me...a lot. I'm not particularly blaming the book?? I just got lost in the super-mathy sections, and then I'm still not sure what everyone's motivations were. And they were screwing with Peter's head SO MUCH. So I get that! We end the book not entirely sure what's real vs what's not (The tag line is: "THIS STORY IS A LIE" after all. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) But I'm genuinely confused right now lmao. And super keyed up and like I have combusted into an exclamation point!

I loved this but also what the fuck just happened! Would recommend for anyone who wants their mind twisted, loves sibling stories, wants to thrillers that also have deeply adorkable characters with mental illnesses, and is here to go on the actual wildest ride ever. ...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Kai rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, owned, underrated

"Sometimes an idea can be the best on offer and still suck enormous elephant balls."

Yeah, and if you think you're gonna get away unscathed from reading this book, you better be warned that it will hurt like being punched in the face by equally enormous elephant balls.
So there's that.

As funny as this sounds - and this book has some hilarious moments, I'm telling you - none of it is fun and games. So your favourite character? Probably gonna be stabbed during the first few pages. Might end up dead, ...more

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Jan 11, 2019 Whispering Stories rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com

This is one of those books that is hard to write a snippet of because you don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll try. Our narrator is Seventeen-Year-Old Peter Blankman. Peter has anxiety issues, he’s a maths genius and constantly attacked by the school bully. When he has a bad ‘episode’ he eats and if he can’t find food he eats whatever is to hand, this is how we begin the story with Peter sat in the larder at home with blood pouring from h Book Reviewed by Stacey on www.whisperingstories.com

This is one of those books that is hard to write a snippet of because you don’t want to give anything away, but I’ll try. Our narrator is Seventeen-Year-Old Peter Blankman. Peter has anxiety issues, he’s a maths genius and constantly attacked by the school bully. When he has a bad ‘episode’ he eats and if he can’t find food he eats whatever is to hand, this is how we begin the story with Peter sat in the larder at home with blood pouring from his mouth being comforted by his mum.

Anabel (Bel) is Peter’s twin sister, she is older than Peter by eight minutes and those eight minutes mean everything to her. She is his ‘big’ sister. She is also his protector and low and behold the school bully if he attacks Peter whilst she is around.

Their mum, Dr. Blankman is a genius scientist working for a government agency. She has been nominated for an award and the twins are at the ceremony with her when Peter suffers from a massive panic attack and runs away, the next thing he knows is that a woman who states she works with his mother is trying to calm him down, his mum is on the floor bleeding from a stab wound and his sister is missing. He doesn’t trust anyone but if he’s going to find out what the hell is happening he’s going to have to rely on himself and his numbers skills.

This is a book that plays with your mind and you do wonder if what you are reading is true or not, not helped by the fact that on the front of the book is the line ‘This story is a lie’. Peter is a near perfect narrator. His voice comes across strong and I found myself instantly liking him. He is quirky, a little nerdy and has lots of issues, mentally.

The book is written in alternating chapters from the past and the present, starting six years before now and moving forward in time, getting closer to the present as you read. I’m not often a fan of this type of book, but this worked really well and you always knew which time period you were in.

As the plot thickens, mysteries unravel and the many twists and turns in the plot begin to unfold. At times I was left stunned and then more importantly left with an urge to find out more and carry on reading. All I will say is that you will get to the end and think back about what you have just read and shake you head in disbelief. This is a book not to be missed, no matter how weird, eccentric and wacky it is. ...more

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Oct 08, 2018 Shaun Hutchinson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

WTF did I just read? I'm not entirely sure, but I'm sure it was awesome. Twisty and mind-bending and utterly original. ...more

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Jul 26, 2018 Dani ❤️ Perspective of a Writer rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018, fiction-young-adult, g-a-real-combat, g-a-strong-family, genre-mental-health, rp-edelweiss, genre-sci-fi, imo-suspenseful, stand-alone, review-wrote-add-later

Check out more reviews @ Perspective of a Writer...

Peter is a teen math prodigy with an extreme anxiety disorder that manifests in intense panic attacks. When his scientist mother is nearly assassinated and his twin sister, Bel, goes on the run, he's forced to analyze the facts and figure out what's going on without the two pillars in his life. Running from the same organization that is hunting his sister and claims to be working with his mother, he joins forces with a girl who might be his ene ...more

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Jul 14, 2018 - ̗̀ DANY ̖́- (danyreads) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, 2018-reads

. : ☾⋆ — 4 ★

READ THIS REVIEW ON MY BLOG!!!
https://bit.ly/2umzAhU

ARC provided from the publisher via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review (thank you Soho Teen and Random House!!)

before picking this one up, keep in mind that the title of this book isn’t a lie, in spite of it being called This Story is a Lie. this book is unprovable. proving it true also proves it false. so it must be true, right? is it true that this story is a lie? is proving that this story is a lie true, also proving it ...more

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Jan 23, 2018 Lizzie Huxley-Jones rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It is rare that I read a book so far ahead of publication nowadays. I try to read things as they come out, so they get promotion around their launch into the world. But sometimes, some books creep into my head. After hearing Tom Pollock read an excerpt of the first chapter at the Walker YA preview event, I couldn't hold back and I pried open my copy on the train home that night.

This book. THIS BOOK.

Sometimes I read a book that makes me feel so many emotions that I end up tweeting the author my f It is rare that I read a book so far ahead of publication nowadays. I try to read things as they come out, so they get promotion around their launch into the world. But sometimes, some books creep into my head. After hearing Tom Pollock read an excerpt of the first chapter at the Walker YA preview event, I couldn't hold back and I pried open my copy on the train home that night.

This book. THIS BOOK.

Sometimes I read a book that makes me feel so many emotions that I end up tweeting the author my feelings, with specific page references. I definitely sent Tom at least two of those, though I won't repeat them because I want you to experience the plot hitting you like a truck.

This is a twisty-turny thriller, heavily peppered with unreliable revelations that send the plot -- and your brain -- spiralling. This is not a straight forward novel, and it is all the more exciting and brilliant for it.

Peter Blankman is often afraid, balancing his severe anxiety with logic and his love of maths, wherever possible. At an awards ceremony celebrating his scientist mother's work, everything goes to hell; his mother is stabbed, his twin sister Bel has disappeared, and he is taken in with a shadowy organisation telling him to trust them. Together with his only friend Ingrid, he must use is logic and analytical skills to save everyone... or at the very least find out what on earth is going on.

Several times in this book I thought I had everything figured out, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Pollock dangles tidbits and clues, only to flip the plot completely on its head.

I am a huge fan of how Pollock bluntly confronts mental health, tackling it head on and plainly showing the realities of living with a glitchy brain. The novel basically opens right into the middle of a panic attack, showing the reader the reality of anxiety and eating disorders. If you want a taster of his writing on mental health, this piece about his experiences with anxiety and bulimia is incredibly insightful.

I'm absolutely blown away by this brilliantly witty adventure through science, maths and the mind. Mark your calendars for 7th June and clear your weekend; prepare for an adventure you never expected.

What to read next:
Because You'll Never Meet Me by Leah Thomas
Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Replica by Lauren Oliver
A small note, this novel requires content notes for anxiety attacks, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, compulsive hand washing and self harm.

Thank you kindly to Walker Books and ED PR for sharing the copy with me in advance. ...more

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Jun 27, 2018 Figgy added it

Shelves: arc-or-netgalley, one-hundred-percent-rock-reviews, review-copy, to-review, unsolicited-arc, publisher-walker, review-2018, review-pending

Full review to come, but for now...

So there were good things and bad things here... For the most part it's interesting and approaches anxiety and OCD issues from and Own Voices standpoint, and there's a fair bit of action and mystery and so on.

I predicted certain twists and revelations right from the start, but there was still one that I didn't see coming until it hit right near the end.

I found the style really interesting, with every other chapter being a "recursion" or a memory that contribute ...more

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Jan 06, 2019 Ben Jackson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Review to follow

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Jun 18, 2018 Matthew rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, 2018

I'm not sure I can say anything without ruining this book for you other than I thought it was incredible. Please, go and read it!!! ...more

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Apr 26, 2018 Bridget rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, favorites

The title says it all. Loop upon loop, lie upon lie, it isn't the narrator who is unreliable in this story, it is everyone around him. Just when you think you have it sorted there is another twist and you are duped again.

Pete is the shy mathsy nerd to his twin sisters confident angry, rebelliousness. These two are as different as siblings could possibly be yet there is a strong bond, they have been bought together by their love of their mother, a frightfully important scientist who is doing sec ...more

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Jan 11, 2019 Daniel rated it it was ok

Recommends it for: no one

Shelves: ya, asd

2 stars - meaning it was bad, but not bad enough to earn the author a spot on my arch-enemies list.

I'm a sucker for a certain type of smart, isolated kid story. So I saw this book's description: math prodigy with anxiety disorder gets caught up in a world of espionage when his mother is stabbed and his sister disappears, and thought this might be my sort of thing.

I'd have been happy with either a Bruce Willis / Mercury Rising type story, or a more intimate, The Art of Starving type one.

I got ne ...more

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Jul 18, 2018 Ellie (faerieontheshelf) rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, ya-lit, thrillers-crime-mystery, recieved-for-review, stand-alone-novels, uk-lit, mental-health-rep

hello what was this book :o

RTC to come!

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review

This review is also available on my blog ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jul 16, 2018 Bex rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews, arc-s

After reading reviews promising me that the less I knew about this book, the better it would be, I was of course expecting some surprises. So, naturally I spent most of the book thinking there was no way I would be tricked. I had it all figured out. Except I didn't, and Tom Pollock made me look a fool. This is a thriller on the surface, with mental health at its heart, and an entirely unreliable narrator you can't help but relate to.

There is something utterly compelling about reading from the p After reading reviews promising me that the less I knew about this book, the better it would be, I was of course expecting some surprises. So, naturally I spent most of the book thinking there was no way I would be tricked. I had it all figured out. Except I didn't, and Tom Pollock made me look a fool. This is a thriller on the surface, with mental health at its heart, and an entirely unreliable narrator you can't help but relate to.

There is something utterly compelling about reading from the point of view of a character you cannot trust. Who in fact spends a great deal of time explaining how, logically, it's particularly difficult to say if something is true or not. And Peter is nothing short of a mathematical genius, but who on the surface is very observant - an excellent appeal again for most readers trying to figure stuff out. Having seen this book compared to The Curious Incident I kind of expected his genius, obsession with numbers and panic attacks to take centre stage, but actually they don't. And the subtlety of that fact is actually what made it so successful for me. Peter struggles with uncontrollable terror, but he doesn't allow it to define him, in fact we see a number of his coping mechanisms without it seeming too much of a focus; in this way, the serious issues tackled within this book are never trivialised but also do not dominate the book so much so that the rest of the story becomes irrelevant. It is the perfect balance.

The story revolves around an attempted assassination on Peter's mother, a scientist, and the probable abduction of his twin sister Bel. With the help of his best friend Ingrid (who has OCD herself), Peter must try to piece together the puzzle they have left behind. But Peter has the necessary skills to figure this out, if he can control his terror.

There is literally nothing more I can say about this book without destroying it for potential readers, other than that the reviews really are true - you will be surprised. Even once you've convinced yourself you haven't been.

An impressive, cleverly conceived book and an author who tackles mental health superbly.

ARC provided from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Aug 28, 2018 Kelly added it · review of another edition

Shelves: could-not-finish

The truth is, sometimes you begin a book and you're super into it, but the further in you get, the less into it you are and you realize not that it's a bad book -- I totally know the reader who'll love this -- but rather, it's not the right fit for you. So you let it go, make note of what worked well, and know that it'll be an utterly engrossing page-turner for readers who are itching for a fast-paced adventure full of twists, turns, lies, betrayals, and a great main character who struggles with ...more

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May 02, 2018 Bookread2day rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A brilliant author with an excellent imagination.

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Jul 30, 2018 Kelly rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2018-releases-read, 2018-reads, 5star-books, favorites, contemporary, physical-owned, horror-thriller-mystery, young-adult

If you asked me to tell you what White Rabbit Red Wolf was about, I would really struggle because it is honestly one of the most complex books I’ve ever read. What I could tell you is that this book is all about family, love, mental health, betrayal and so much more. This book is absolutely gripping and I couldn’t bear to put it down for long. The intrigue is there right from the beginning and every time I thought I knew what would happen next there would be a huge plot twist thrown down in fron ...more

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Dec 02, 2018 AlanHolmes rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It is really a good book. It is a spy story, but also a math one and a drama. I had to refocus many times and think looking for flaws in the flow of events but in the end everything has sense in the universe.
BUT i want to talk about something else: the math. Yeah, probably your worst enemy (or in a few cases the most loved one).
I love mathematics, and studied a lot of it in college (now I am studying Computer Science and.. NICE book!). You can find Godel, a small intuitive demostration about a ...more

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Jul 09, 2018 Ankita Singh rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arcs

This story is a lie. My advice to you: Do not ignore the title.

This book was absolutely wow. I mean, granted, YA is my favourite genre, but still this book, being a YA thriller still read more like a YA psychological thriller. And it was wow. Did I already say that? I'm sorry.

As you can see, this book has been a shock. I loved loved loved it. It had action, it had adventure, it was exciting, scary, intense—as in, nail-bitingly intense—all at the same time.

The characters were superbly created, ...more

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Jun 13, 2018 Karen Barber rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-physical-books

Touted as the new Curious Incident this is a very different book, and I think if you go into it expecting a lovable main character trying to make sense of the world around him you may be disappointed.
Peter is a mathematical genius. He uses maths to manage his extreme anxiety, and is convinced that maths has the answer to everything. Being that bit older than Haddon’s protagonist, he’s also got a slightly different take on the world.
From the moment we first meet Pete crouched in his kitchen havin ...more

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Apr 29, 2018 Trisha rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: action, mental-illness, family, mystery, secrets, survival, ya-literature, suspense, male-mc, review

Wow, this sent me all over the place. Thrilling and unpredictable.

Not sure about that end, though.

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Jul 11, 2018 Len rated it it was amazing

That ending is the best and the worst thing at the same time!
I don’t know what I’m thinking right now. My mind is blown away, I guess...

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Sep 09, 2018 Manon the Malicious rated it really liked it

Shelves: signed, physical, mystery-thriller, contemporary

*4.5 Stars*

This was incredible. I don't even know where to start. I don't want to say anything about the plot because diving in without knowing anything really worked for me.
SO many twists, and I saw none coming...
Incredible characters.
An amazing story, an amazing book. ...more

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Jan 07, 2018 Kirsty rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-author, ukya, review-books

I cannot write a long review for this book. Not because it isn't good, it really is, but because it'd be so easy for me to spoil something if I did.

White Rabbit, Red Wolf follows the story of a teen with issues. He has an extreme anxiety disorder, but the story is not about those issues and rather focuses on shocking events that unfold while he attends an event where his mother is due to give a speech about her work. The story is intense and told at break neck pace which means it is one of thos ...more

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May 08, 2018 Penelope rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult

Woah! That was a trippy thrill ride of a book. As the title suggests you are never quite sure who or what to believe and even on finishing it I'm not quite sure what to think. One heck of a speed racing plot and more twists and turns than a curly wurly this is a YA thriller that could certainly be enjoyed by an older audience, just hang to your sense of what's up and what's down and nothing in this book is certain. ...more

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Jul 13, 2018 Dahlia added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2018-releases

Oh my GOD. I will never, ever be over this book. Ever. It is twisted and messed-up as all hell, and full of math-y brilliance, and the mental health rep is out of this world, and so are the twists and the gore and the thrill and the ending and I just...I have no coherence about this book. But if you are a thriller fan, you need it in your life.

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Sep 24, 2018 Amy Plum added it · review of another edition

My Teen Book Club read this and gave it top ratings! Such an original book, with twists and turns that we never expected. This is my Must Read YA Book for 2018.

(Being a YA author, I don't leave stars for YA books.) ...more

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Apr 08, 2018 Amy Rush Da Silva rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: review-books

I received a proof copy of this book from my YA book club at my local Waterstones so thank you to them and Walker books.

I don’t usually read YA thrillers but after hearing some great early reviews I was intrigued. The premise of it was great initially but I wasn’t as engaged as I would have liked to have been. There were a lot of maths references and with me being someone who doesn’t like maths I felt lost. However, I loved how it brought mental health to forefront and being someone who suffers ...more

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Jan 20, 2021 Emmi Bee rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2021, book-club-books

I think this book sets itself up for big expectations with a tagline like "this story is a lie" - unfortunately for me, I feel like I have read quite a few similar things, so it wasn't an earth-shattering reveal by the end. Maybe 3* is a bit harsh with this being my only real let-down for the book but let's be honest, we're all reading this book for that lie, right?

I did like the story and the characters though. It was fast-paced and intriguing the whole way through. I really liked the maths the ...more

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Aug 26, 2019 Marta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

What....?

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About Tom Pollock

Tom Pollock

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Tom is a long-time fan of science fiction and fantasy, and has failed spectacularly to grow out of his obsession with things that don’t, in the strictest sense of the word, exist. He studied Philosophy and Economics at Edinburgh University. He now lives and works in London helping to build very big ships. The City’s Son is his first novel.