Description

* “A little gem of a book for all wild-hearted lovers of the natural world.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Julie of the Wolves meets Hatchet in this middle grade novel that follows twelve-year-old Nika and her seven-year-old brother, Randall, as they leave their California foster home to spend a summer with their long-lost uncle. There she finds an orphaned wolf pup in a cave, whose mother has been shot.

This compelling first novel explores themes of searching for family and finding a balance between caring for—and leaving alone—wild animals.

About the Author

Polly Carlson-Voiles says this novel, her first, grew out of several things: her longtime love of the wilderness country in northern Minnesota, her experiences with wolves at the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, and her career of working with lost and found children as a secondary special ed/English teacher in inner city Minneapolis. She lives with her husband and dog near Ely, Minnesota, high on a ridge across the lake from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, where on lucky nights they listen to the music of the wolves.

Praise For…

"Debut novelist Carlson-Voiles renders Nika's emotional turmoil and moral dilemmas with gentle, compassionate strokes. Even the least wilderness-savvy readers will be drawn into the breathtaking landscapes, the human-to-animal relationships and the gradual evolution of Nika's new family. While evoking the girl-wolf-hunter triad of Jean Craighead George's 1973 Newbery Award-winning classic, Julie of the Wolves, the author brings enough of her own experiences with animals and troubled young people into the story that it feels like nonfiction. A little gem of a book for all wild-hearted lovers of the natural world."--Kirkus, starred review "Carlson-Voiles skillfully folds in generous quantities of information about wolf behavior and issues between wolves and humans . . . A tale with plenty of appeal for animal-rescue fans."--Booklist "The wealth of information about wolf development and the rescue and care of wild creatures will appeal to budding naturalists, while the vivid, kid-accessible descriptions pack a strong emotional punch."--Bulletin —