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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
This was a favorite of mine as a kid, and I recently read it to my 7-year-old. Then we watched the movie Never Cry Wolf as a followup. It's a great book for a young kid interested in animals, the wilderness, and conservation, and it has a compassionate, smart, capable girl as a protagonist.
I had people say they wouldn't read this to someone so young because of the attempted rape scene. I felt that this age actually hit a sweet spot for this; she's still too young/naïve to really understand rape, but she understands the idea of consent and not touching someone else's body without permission. We were able to have a conversation about why what happened was wrong and why this led to Julie running away. It was meaningful and instructive without being incredibly scary.
What bothered my sensitive girl the most was the senseless shooting of the wolves. This is really upsetting in the book (and in real life) and also provided a good topic for conversation.
I had people say they wouldn't read this to someone so young because of the attempted rape scene. I felt that this age actually hit a sweet spot for this; she's still too young/naïve to really understand rape, but she understands the idea of consent and not touching someone else's body without permission. We were able to have a conversation about why what happened was wrong and why this led to Julie running away. It was meaningful and instructive without being incredibly scary.
What bothered my sensitive girl the most was the senseless shooting of the wolves. This is really upsetting in the book (and in real life) and also provided a good topic for conversation.
Read for sixth grade. It felt like we read this book for the whole year, our teacher dragged it out so long. This probably didn't help my horrible impression of it.
I really wanted to like this but sadly it left me feeling disappointed and frankly a little bit annoyed. Firstly, the way Miyax's would-be husband is presented is incredibly problematic and harmful for disabled children. The infamous scene where he attempts to 'rape' her is inexplicable and comes out of nowhere. It feels like the author needed to give Miyax a reason to run away, but had to justify Daniel's behaviour by making him 'dumb', as he's described in the book.
I did actually enjoy the theme of Miyax/Julie feeling torn between the tradition of her ancestors and the conveniences of the modern world, and - if you can suspend your disbelief a fair bit - the sections about her attempts to assimilate with a wolf pack in order to survive on the tundra make for a perfectly fine read. George also painted the landscape and unforgiving setting well.
The ending is where the book completely lost me, however. There are far too many conveniences and bizarre twists crammed into the last few pages. It was just too much to expect the reader to believe that Miyax's father was still alive after all and yet never really thought to make any decent attempts to get word to/find her; that he didn't recognise her when she arrived at his new home; that their reunion would be so lukewarm; that despite being previously presented as a gentle soul and a big believer in the old Eskimo ways, even teaching Miyax everything she had needed to know in order to survive her ordeal, he had abandoned the Eskimo life entirely, even going as far as to own a plane which he used to hunt wolves for sport?! No. Just no. Nor that she would thus declare him 'dead to her' and opt to live a life alone in the wilderness, but upon the random death of her feathered friend as soon as she leaves the village, decide to return to her father anyway... And all of this in the space of less than 10 pages. To me this final section felt incredibly messy and confused the central theme of the story, which had previously seemed to be about Miyax learning to love and honour her heritage but now seemed to be saying that that was impossible and she should abandon it. As such, it made the book a contradiction of itself.
I feel bad ranting about this, because I know it's something of a modern classic and a beloved tale from a lot of people's childhoods. I'm sure if I'd read it as a child, the sections with the wolves would have delighted me and the problematic sections would have washed over me, but coming to it for the first time as an adult, I just couldn't see past its flaws unfortunately.
I did actually enjoy the theme of Miyax/Julie feeling torn between the tradition of her ancestors and the conveniences of the modern world, and - if you can suspend your disbelief a fair bit - the sections about her attempts to assimilate with a wolf pack in order to survive on the tundra make for a perfectly fine read. George also painted the landscape and unforgiving setting well.
The ending is where the book completely lost me, however. There are far too many conveniences and bizarre twists crammed into the last few pages.
I feel bad ranting about this, because I know it's something of a modern classic and a beloved tale from a lot of people's childhoods. I'm sure if I'd read it as a child, the sections with the wolves would have delighted me and the problematic sections would have washed over me, but coming to it for the first time as an adult, I just couldn't see past its flaws unfortunately.
One of my all time favorite children's books. Phenomenal.
SUM: Julie/Miyax runs away from an arranged marriage, getting lost on the Tundra. She gets adopted into a wolf pack by Amaroq, the alpha, and grows up alongside Kapu and his siblings. The wolves help her survive until she can find her way south to her long-lost father.
REV: Very awesome book. I really love George's knowledge of wolf language--she's obviously spent lots of time observing wolves. I like the message, sort of veiled, about living in balance with nature, as the wolves do.
REV: Very awesome book. I really love George's knowledge of wolf language--she's obviously spent lots of time observing wolves. I like the message, sort of veiled, about living in balance with nature, as the wolves do.
Written in candid, direct prose, Julie of the Wolves tells the story of a girl’s transition toward adulthood.
One thing that impacted me about his book was how, even in such a different place and situation form my own, I could feel Miyax’s struggles and triumphs so clearly. Her fear of starvation, her relief at finding a way to survive, the letting-go and learning to be quiet, to observe, to let nature in to show her all she needs to know. And the complex agony of her choice to join the town and all it represented, instead of living in the way that she had discovered spoke to her spirit, but alone.
As an avowed “Winter-Hater,” I found it particularly interesting to read about how the snow and cold and ice actually made it possible for people to live there—to make homes and sleds and preserve food—and the way Miyax embraced the harsh Arctic and saw her life unfolding as part of the natural ebb and flow.
One thing that impacted me about his book was how, even in such a different place and situation form my own, I could feel Miyax’s struggles and triumphs so clearly. Her fear of starvation, her relief at finding a way to survive, the letting-go and learning to be quiet, to observe, to let nature in to show her all she needs to know. And the complex agony of her choice to join the town and all it represented, instead of living in the way that she had discovered spoke to her spirit, but alone.
As an avowed “Winter-Hater,” I found it particularly interesting to read about how the snow and cold and ice actually made it possible for people to live there—to make homes and sleds and preserve food—and the way Miyax embraced the harsh Arctic and saw her life unfolding as part of the natural ebb and flow.
I loved this book (and the whole series!) when I was a girl. I was surprised on re-reading it the difficult issues this book touches on: the disappearance of a Native culture/white assimilation, sexual assault and arranged marriages, and death of a parent. It strengthened my heart to see an author introduce these topics to kids in a natural, non-preachy way. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read this years ago but I'm currently going through my bookshelves rereading books that I'm ready to pass on to new owners. Never knew that it was part of a series, though now that I know I don't think I'll seek the others out.
I don't know why the author chose to put Julie's past in the middle, I personally don't think the placement adds to the story but it also doesn't take anything away. I felt that the relationship between Julie and the wolves was talked about as if it was very strong but I don't remember feeling like it truly was, I though she had a better connection with the bird that didn't join her until the end of the book. The ending did have me think about cultures lost over the years, not just in Northern America but around the world.
I don't know why the author chose to put Julie's past in the middle, I personally don't think the placement adds to the story but it also doesn't take anything away. I felt that the relationship between Julie and the wolves was talked about as if it was very strong but I don't remember feeling like it truly was, I though she had a better connection with the bird that didn't join her until the end of the book. The ending did have me think about cultures lost over the years, not just in Northern America but around the world.
My dad got me this book a long time ago. I remember it being the only book that actually made me cry.