October 16, 2010

Wolf Brother - By Michelle Paver

Thousands of years ago, a lone boy and his wolf pup set off to stop the evil monster that has been magically released from the dark side of the world, and to save their forest and tribes from complete destruction.  And then they went to Disney Land!  Just kidding about that last part, but I did put off reading this book for a long time because the cover looked very Disney-ish (but it turns out the story is not at all like that.)

Young Torak is the last member of the Wolf Clan, and when his father is killed by a giant bear, he sets off to seek revenge.  Along the way he picks up a wolf cub named Wolf, and a girl who is tough enough to kick his butt.  Together they set off on a series of adventures through the physical and spiritual worlds, eventually making their way to the mystical mountains, where they must make the hardest choices in their lives.  I LOVE this book, and can't wait to read the entire series.  It's similar in some ways to The Conch Bearer, which I reviewed recently, but rather than taking place in modern India, it is set in an ancient land much like America would have been before the Europeans came along.

This is a fabulous book for readers craving adventure and suspense, mystery and ancient magic, giant evil bears and deadly avalanches, cute wolf pups and lots of chasing, hiding, running, and generally being brave and heroic.  Just read it, and I don't think you'll regret it.  Then go to Disney Land.

P.S. If you like audio books, this one is fantastic, especially because of the reader: Ian McKellan!

2 comments:

Momo said...

Keep going with this series Mr K you will LOVE all of them. The author visited Australia in 2006 and spoke so passionately about her research - she lived with the native people in far flung places to understand all the hunting, survival etc techniques in her books. Her love of this era goes back to her childhood. After her talk I couldn't wait to get my hands on this series.

The cover of these books in Australia is much much better - have a look at Google images - ours are all plain with a symbol on the cover - very inviting.

Michelle Paver is able to take you right into the places in her books. You will go into ice caves, swim with killer whales, be freezing cold and stand in ancient forests - all thanks to this terrific writing.

Ms. Yingling said...

Didn't like this one at all, and now there are six in the series. I've had a few students ask for them, but they are just as happy with other things.