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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Since it’s banned book month, I listened to Julie of the Wolves to see why it was on the list and compared to some of the others I’ve read I’m disappointed. This is a really slow book and the only thing kind of objectionable about it was that Julie/Miyax gets married at 13 years old, there is a brief mentioning about how her father-in-law is an abusive drunk, and her “husband” is a literal idiot who rips her dress and tries to “mate” with her but can’t figure it out. This gives her the reason to run away which then she gets lost and joins a wolf pack which is the majority of the story. It really wasn’t a huge part of the story to get it in the banned book list. I think middle schoolers would have no problem with the book, but probably not an elementary book just due to that.
I found Miyax really juvenile and the dialog was just ridiculous, but maybe it was how the narrator read it. I had a hard time caring about her in the beginning and she’s basically the only character so that’s bad. The first half of the book reminded me of a movie I saw in 8th grade about a scientist learning about wolves, I think it was Never Cry Wolf. I found this book boring but I am not an outdoorsy kind of person. I remember reading George’s other book, My Side of the Mountain, in elementary school and Hatchet by Gary Paulson in 6th grade and thinking they were ok, but this one just drug on for me. Maybe I’m just really not the intended age group, but if you liked the other two books I mentioned you might like Julie of the wolves. 🤷🏻♀️
The second part about the customs of the Eskimo and Miyax’s childhood was a little more interesting and I was starting to like it at the end. By the last part, Julie grows up a lot and steps into her own which is a good note to end on. I liked the contrast between her father and adopted wolf father. I almost gave it one more star except for the very last sentence of the book! Ugh! I feel like that totally undoes all the good there at the end. Anyone with me on that?
I found Miyax really juvenile and the dialog was just ridiculous, but maybe it was how the narrator read it. I had a hard time caring about her in the beginning and she’s basically the only character so that’s bad. The first half of the book reminded me of a movie I saw in 8th grade about a scientist learning about wolves, I think it was Never Cry Wolf. I found this book boring but I am not an outdoorsy kind of person. I remember reading George’s other book, My Side of the Mountain, in elementary school and Hatchet by Gary Paulson in 6th grade and thinking they were ok, but this one just drug on for me. Maybe I’m just really not the intended age group, but if you liked the other two books I mentioned you might like Julie of the wolves. 🤷🏻♀️
The second part about the customs of the Eskimo and Miyax’s childhood was a little more interesting and I was starting to like it at the end. By the last part, Julie grows up a lot and steps into her own which is a good note to end on. I liked the contrast between her father and adopted wolf father. I almost gave it one more star except for the very last sentence of the book! Ugh! I feel like that totally undoes all the good there at the end. Anyone with me on that?
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Sexual assault
adventurous
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars
I’m glad that this is getting re-released, because I think that it deserves to find a new generation of fans. This book is very short (less than one hundred pages) and simply written, but I found it very affecting nonetheless.
The story opens with the Eskimo girl Miyax lost, alone, and starving in the Alaskan wilderness. Her only hope of survival is the nearby wolf pack, and the long ago memory of a tale that her lost father told: of one hard winter when he appealed to a wolf leader for help and was given aid. Desperate, Miyax begins to emulate wolf behaviors and communication. The wolves slowly begin to accept her presence, but she can’t rely on them for all. Miyax must unearth a hidden strength and the nearly lost wisdom of her ancestors to survive.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Miyax has another name and another life. In childhood, she left the warmth and tradition of the seal camp and her father, to join her aunt in a more developed town. There, she attended school, gained a pen pal in San Francisco, and became Julie. But at age thirteen, according to the Eskimo tradition, she agrees to marry the son of her father’s close friend. All seems well, until her husband becomes aggressive. Julie decides to flee toward the hope of San Francisco and a new life.
This is a powerful story of conflict between two identities and two sets of traditions. Julie loves the safety of home and people; she wants to have a place in society. But when Julie runs into the wilderness, her proprieties and her limits are stripped away. She loses her fear and uncertainty and she finds Miyax underneath it all. And she finds even more than that: a new family and a new home.
But can Miyax’s new home remain untouched? With the industrialized world expanding ever further into the north, her new life is not a stable one. The ending is bittersweet, but it feels like truth.
What’s most interesting to me is that I felt my own reactions to Miyax’s environment change right along with hers. In the beginning, I felt frightened for Miyax and a bit disgusted by the lengths that she was forced to go to in order to survive. But by the end, I was happily eating raw liver and packing my sled with caribou “chips” (aka, poop) for fuel right along with her. I rejoiced at the thought of Miyax turning her back on “civilized” life and surviving on her own.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Genesis – White Mountain
From the 1970 album, an epic song about harsh reality and adventure through the eyes of a wolf on the white mountain. Couldn’t be more perfect!
I’m glad that this is getting re-released, because I think that it deserves to find a new generation of fans. This book is very short (less than one hundred pages) and simply written, but I found it very affecting nonetheless.
The story opens with the Eskimo girl Miyax lost, alone, and starving in the Alaskan wilderness. Her only hope of survival is the nearby wolf pack, and the long ago memory of a tale that her lost father told: of one hard winter when he appealed to a wolf leader for help and was given aid. Desperate, Miyax begins to emulate wolf behaviors and communication. The wolves slowly begin to accept her presence, but she can’t rely on them for all. Miyax must unearth a hidden strength and the nearly lost wisdom of her ancestors to survive.
As the story unfolds, we learn that Miyax has another name and another life. In childhood, she left the warmth and tradition of the seal camp and her father, to join her aunt in a more developed town. There, she attended school, gained a pen pal in San Francisco, and became Julie. But at age thirteen, according to the Eskimo tradition, she agrees to marry the son of her father’s close friend. All seems well, until her husband becomes aggressive. Julie decides to flee toward the hope of San Francisco and a new life.
This is a powerful story of conflict between two identities and two sets of traditions. Julie loves the safety of home and people; she wants to have a place in society. But when Julie runs into the wilderness, her proprieties and her limits are stripped away. She loses her fear and uncertainty and she finds Miyax underneath it all. And she finds even more than that: a new family and a new home.
But can Miyax’s new home remain untouched? With the industrialized world expanding ever further into the north, her new life is not a stable one. The ending is bittersweet, but it feels like truth.
What’s most interesting to me is that I felt my own reactions to Miyax’s environment change right along with hers. In the beginning, I felt frightened for Miyax and a bit disgusted by the lengths that she was forced to go to in order to survive. But by the end, I was happily eating raw liver and packing my sled with caribou “chips” (aka, poop) for fuel right along with her. I rejoiced at the thought of Miyax turning her back on “civilized” life and surviving on her own.
Perfect Musical Pairing
Genesis – White Mountain
From the 1970 album, an epic song about harsh reality and adventure through the eyes of a wolf on the white mountain. Couldn’t be more perfect!
Julie, or when she goes by her Eskimo name Miyax, is a young Inuit girl, that ends up running away from her husband to escape a marriage she was not interested in. Her intention was to go to San Francisco to move in with her friend Amy. After spending some time in the Alaskan tundra she finds her true path, and it turned out it was not the path to San Francisco. Miyax learns the language of the wolf, and is adopted by a pack that is lead by a wise wolf she named Amaroq. The Wolf pack had saved her life on several occasions, and she was able to return the favor. This was a great story about self reliance, self discovery, respect for nature, and the movement between cultures.
I read this and My Side of the Mountain regularly. "For a bounty! For money, the magnificent Amaroq is dead!", breaks me every single time. :-(
I read this a while ago, but do remember kind of liking it.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated