I normally don't mind xenofiction where the animals don't talk, but this is a case where I think the wolves SHOULD'VE talked. They're very anthropomorphized, anyways (they have their own traditions and culture and prejudices), plus this is a fantasy book, so having the animals talk would've probably worked better than keeping them quiet.

As is, this book does a lot of telling (e.g. "Mala felt X emotion") but not a lot of showing. The wolves do have distinct personalities, but again I think these would've come across better had there been actual dialogue.

Also, despite Mala supposedly being the main character she doesn't get a lot of page-time or POV-chapters.

Not a terrible book by any means but I think having the wolves talk would've fixed a lot of its issues.