WOLVES

Author

• Katie A. SchiniFollow

Year of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis - Campus Access Only

Degree Type

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Degree Name

Creative Writing (Fiction)

Department or School/College

English

Committee Chair

Emily Ruskovich

Commitee Members

Robin McLean, Dr. Allison Wilson

Keywords

Fiction, Coming-of-Age, Horror, Grief, Child Narrator, Loss

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | Fiction

Abstract

My thesis for the MFA in Creative Writing (Fiction) entails the first half (eleven chapters) of my novel manuscript in progress. WOLVES is a novel told in third person that explores siblinghood, a broken family, grief from the perspective of a young person, and the vast woods of Northwestern rural Montana. Blending genre with elements of coming-of-age, horror and fantasy, the novel aims to investigate grief and loneliness in adolescence and inside family relationships, all from the perspective of an eleven-year-old girl named Marie. WOLVES begins with Marie’s move to Harper’s Creek – a tiny town on the Idaho and Montana border in the most northwestern corner of the “big sky” state – with her mother and her brother, Cole, following the divorce of their mother and father. From the moment they set foot in Harper’s Creek, Marie’s whole world shifts: their mother begins work as a nurse at the hospital a few towns over, pulling long hours and leaving Marie in a caretaker role for which she’s not ready. Cole becomes interested in the possibility of wolves living near their new house – even as the locals tell the family wolves don’t live in the area and there’s no evidence to suggest otherwise – and his interest quickly devolves into an obsession so extreme he believes he is becoming one. As Cole descends further and further into wolfishness, Marie navigates her own wolfishness as a lonely girl on the cusp of puberty, trying to balance her desire to take care of her brother and please her mother with her desire to be young and independent.

Then Cole begins to disappear, both literally – escaping out into the woods whenever he gets the chance – and metaphorically: he stops speaking to Marie, and English altogether, retreating further and further away from human behavior. Marie reaches out for help from her mom, from anyone, but battles her desire to handle her “wolf brother” all by herself. After Cole disappears and doesn’t return, what follows is a devolvement of self as Marie navigates the loss of the person who defined her relationship to this world.

Recommended Citation

Schini, Katie A., "WOLVES" (2026). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 12739.
https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/12739