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A review by larrys
Into the Wild: Wolf Girl 1 by Anh Do
2.0
I have questions.
My eleven-year-old loved this book. She also loves wolves, so the story would've had to include cruelty to dogs and wolves to put her off. This story is safe in that regard. There are sad parts but it's not canines who cop it.
She read it in one sitting then literally placed it in my hands, because she wants me to buy the next one. She's annoyed the first has only just come out because now she has to wait.
So I read it myself and now I see exactly why she wants the second one. The publisher has given us five sevenths of the story. This is a classic dystopian mythic journey in which a main character leaves home, encounters a variety of characters both good and bad, hooks up with allies along the way, endures a near death 'battle sequence', has some sort of self-revelation then either returns home or finds a new one, but as a different, more mature person.
Wolf Girl cuts the story off before the self-revelation phase.
We never find out why everyone has had to suddenly leave home. Aliens? Massive reptiles? What were the bombs about? (One of the illustrations encouraged me down this track but then we discover it's an oversized picture of an actual lizard.)
On the final page we leave the character of Wolf Girl on the road, both literally and metaphorically. She has a new found family comprising dogs and a wolf -- sure -- but as the person who paid full price for a new book I am irritated at this trend. Hollywood did it with The Hunger Games -- I'm talking about the trend of splitting narratives mid-story, thereby requiring the consumer to buy the next ticket/book if they want a complete arc. It's manipulative. It's not even necessary. I would be feeling much happier about buying the second one if the first one was literally finished off. As I hope I have explained, this isn't simply a matter of me disliking open endings. I actually really like ambiguity in endings.
There. Is. No. Ending.
FURTHER NOTES
The illustrations are very nice. Loved them. (Seems they were done by two illustrators, though it's impossible to tell who did what.)
Anh Do's writing style irritates me a little but the target audience will find it an easy read.
The story is basically melodrama -- it is what it is. A dystopian fairytale.
Wolf Girl's journey offers much in the way of wish fulfillment -- in my kid's case it's the desire to find a pack of dogs and keep them as pets. They have human attributes. There's also that Little House on the Prairie type of wish fulfilment -- shared by Doomsday Preppers -- that no matter what happens you'll be able to survive on your own with a little ingenuity. I'm sure most kids have threatened to leave home at one point -- this story will help today's kids feel they really could do that if they wanted to.
My eleven-year-old loved this book. She also loves wolves, so the story would've had to include cruelty to dogs and wolves to put her off. This story is safe in that regard. There are sad parts but it's not canines who cop it.
She read it in one sitting then literally placed it in my hands, because she wants me to buy the next one. She's annoyed the first has only just come out because now she has to wait.
So I read it myself and now I see exactly why she wants the second one. The publisher has given us five sevenths of the story. This is a classic dystopian mythic journey in which a main character leaves home, encounters a variety of characters both good and bad, hooks up with allies along the way, endures a near death 'battle sequence', has some sort of self-revelation then either returns home or finds a new one, but as a different, more mature person.
Wolf Girl cuts the story off before the self-revelation phase.
We never find out why everyone has had to suddenly leave home. Aliens? Massive reptiles? What were the bombs about? (One of the illustrations encouraged me down this track but then we discover it's an oversized picture of an actual lizard.)
On the final page we leave the character of Wolf Girl on the road, both literally and metaphorically. She has a new found family comprising dogs and a wolf -- sure -- but as the person who paid full price for a new book I am irritated at this trend. Hollywood did it with The Hunger Games -- I'm talking about the trend of splitting narratives mid-story, thereby requiring the consumer to buy the next ticket/book if they want a complete arc. It's manipulative. It's not even necessary. I would be feeling much happier about buying the second one if the first one was literally finished off. As I hope I have explained, this isn't simply a matter of me disliking open endings. I actually really like ambiguity in endings.
There. Is. No. Ending.
FURTHER NOTES
The illustrations are very nice. Loved them. (Seems they were done by two illustrators, though it's impossible to tell who did what.)
Anh Do's writing style irritates me a little but the target audience will find it an easy read.
The story is basically melodrama -- it is what it is. A dystopian fairytale.
Wolf Girl's journey offers much in the way of wish fulfillment -- in my kid's case it's the desire to find a pack of dogs and keep them as pets. They have human attributes. There's also that Little House on the Prairie type of wish fulfilment -- shared by Doomsday Preppers -- that no matter what happens you'll be able to survive on your own with a little ingenuity. I'm sure most kids have threatened to leave home at one point -- this story will help today's kids feel they really could do that if they wanted to.