Scan barcode
mitch718's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
kellerko's review against another edition
3.0
Solid characters in this YA post-apocalyptic book. Enjoyed the quick read.
leosaumure's review against another edition
5.0
Can easily stand against The Hunger Games and the like.
bmg20's review against another edition
3.0
Short Summary: After a nuclear war and a devastating pandemic, Lynn McBride and her family are surviving in the wilds of Canada, but secrets her parents kept hidden are suddenly seeing the light of day and those secrets endanger everyone.
Thoughts: This can easily be compared to all the big names: The Road, The Passage, Ashfall, etc. because despite my continued love for the genre, it’s been done to death; however, Johnson manages to still make this a worthwhile tale (especially with the added help of narrator Jayme Mattler).
Verdict: As a debut author, Johnson’s pick of genre may be overdone but his writing skills shine with possibility for future novels.
I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Thoughts: This can easily be compared to all the big names: The Road, The Passage, Ashfall, etc. because despite my continued love for the genre, it’s been done to death; however, Johnson manages to still make this a worthwhile tale (especially with the added help of narrator Jayme Mattler).
Verdict: As a debut author, Johnson’s pick of genre may be overdone but his writing skills shine with possibility for future novels.
I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
jojo_mando's review against another edition
4.0
Thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada, the author, and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
There is a lot to like in the debut novel “The Wolves of Winter” by Tyrell Johnson. The main character Lynn McBride was the perfect person to narrate this story. Readers may think that this character has been done before – a girl, providing for her family, good with a bow and a dead father – but that is far from the case. She has her own distinct voice and she is a believable 23 year old who is trying to accept her life isolated in the wilderness of the Yukon while not really understanding any of the reasons that brought her family to live there in the first place. The story definitely benefits from this strong and realistic character.
Johnson set this story in a post-apocalyptic world that’s a little different than what we’ve seen lately in this genre. There is no clear dictatorship or strong central government in North America calling all the shots, and the cause of the world’s downfall was a mixture of all-out war between superpowers and a flu that killed much of the population. Lynn and her family are living in a remote valley in the Yukon, surviving by hunting game and eating potatoes and carrots. Readers slowly learn more about what brought the family to the Yukon and why they are living in such isolation, and that slow revelation keeps you engaged trying to put all of the pieces of their story together.
This book is well paced and there is a great mix of action scenes and quiet moments with our main character. It did take me a few chapters to really get into this book and I think that is mostly because Johnson has a direct way of writing and it took a little while for me to fall into his rhythm. But once I spent some time with Lynn McBride, I knew I needed to keep reading to find out where this story would take her.
I’m not sure if there is a sequel planned, and the story doesn’t necessarily need one.”The Wolves of Winter” comes to a relatively satisfying conclusion, but if Johnson decides to continue this story I will definitely be picking up that book.
There is a lot to like in the debut novel “The Wolves of Winter” by Tyrell Johnson. The main character Lynn McBride was the perfect person to narrate this story. Readers may think that this character has been done before – a girl, providing for her family, good with a bow and a dead father – but that is far from the case. She has her own distinct voice and she is a believable 23 year old who is trying to accept her life isolated in the wilderness of the Yukon while not really understanding any of the reasons that brought her family to live there in the first place. The story definitely benefits from this strong and realistic character.
Johnson set this story in a post-apocalyptic world that’s a little different than what we’ve seen lately in this genre. There is no clear dictatorship or strong central government in North America calling all the shots, and the cause of the world’s downfall was a mixture of all-out war between superpowers and a flu that killed much of the population. Lynn and her family are living in a remote valley in the Yukon, surviving by hunting game and eating potatoes and carrots. Readers slowly learn more about what brought the family to the Yukon and why they are living in such isolation, and that slow revelation keeps you engaged trying to put all of the pieces of their story together.
This book is well paced and there is a great mix of action scenes and quiet moments with our main character. It did take me a few chapters to really get into this book and I think that is mostly because Johnson has a direct way of writing and it took a little while for me to fall into his rhythm. But once I spent some time with Lynn McBride, I knew I needed to keep reading to find out where this story would take her.
I’m not sure if there is a sequel planned, and the story doesn’t necessarily need one.”The Wolves of Winter” comes to a relatively satisfying conclusion, but if Johnson decides to continue this story I will definitely be picking up that book.
sarahlopod's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This review can also be found on my blog.
I tend to enjoy plague dystopians, but this one was a little different in that it didn’t really focus on the illness itself. It did feel a little different, a little more realistic than most: the “end of the world” really came through a culmination of believable factors rather than one big bad thing. The Wolves of Winter follows one family who has escaped to the great white north in the aftermath of society’s downfall. They are almost entirely cut off from humanity, and live like survivalists until the day a Mysterious Stranger happens by.
Snow is the quietest kind of weather.
As much as I enjoyed this, a lot of it was a bit heavy-handed. The twists are hinted to generously, and are easy to see coming. Lynn’s grief for her father felt overdone and less than genuine. It certainly had its place, but I often felt more annoyed by the repeated references to his death rather than feeling sympathetic or saddened. Aside from Lynn, her parents, and Jeryl, the other characters all sort of blurred together for me. Jax, Ramsay, and Ken didn’t feel like they had much in the way of personality other than just being men -- Jax was really only easy to tell apart as the outsider.
My stomach stirred like I was hungry. But I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t like the feeling.
I will say that I did like Lynn, but she was sort of the stereotypical one-of-the-boys-and-stubborn-as-nails heroine. My favorite character was probably Jeryl, just because he felt the most lifelike. Thinking about it, though, pretty much all the characters were kind of stereotypes in their own way. The plot itself is also kind of formulaic and I didn’t really end up getting caught by surprise much, although I wasn’t able to predict all of the details and thus was interested in finding out “the truth” alongside Lynn.
“And nothing can happen more beautiful than death,” Walt Whitman says. Fucking liar.
Overall: this wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was a fun read and I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more by this author!
This review can also be found on my blog.
I tend to enjoy plague dystopians, but this one was a little different in that it didn’t really focus on the illness itself. It did feel a little different, a little more realistic than most: the “end of the world” really came through a culmination of believable factors rather than one big bad thing. The Wolves of Winter follows one family who has escaped to the great white north in the aftermath of society’s downfall. They are almost entirely cut off from humanity, and live like survivalists until the day a Mysterious Stranger happens by.
Snow is the quietest kind of weather.
As much as I enjoyed this, a lot of it was a bit heavy-handed. The twists are hinted to generously, and are easy to see coming. Lynn’s grief for her father felt overdone and less than genuine. It certainly had its place, but I often felt more annoyed by the repeated references to his death rather than feeling sympathetic or saddened. Aside from Lynn, her parents, and Jeryl, the other characters all sort of blurred together for me. Jax, Ramsay, and Ken didn’t feel like they had much in the way of personality other than just being men -- Jax was really only easy to tell apart as the outsider.
My stomach stirred like I was hungry. But I wasn’t hungry. I didn’t like the feeling.
I will say that I did like Lynn, but she was sort of the stereotypical one-of-the-boys-and-stubborn-as-nails heroine. My favorite character was probably Jeryl, just because he felt the most lifelike. Thinking about it, though, pretty much all the characters were kind of stereotypes in their own way. The plot itself is also kind of formulaic and I didn’t really end up getting caught by surprise much, although I wasn’t able to predict all of the details and thus was interested in finding out “the truth” alongside Lynn.
“And nothing can happen more beautiful than death,” Walt Whitman says. Fucking liar.
Overall: this wasn’t anything groundbreaking, but it was a fun read and I wouldn’t be opposed to picking up more by this author!