The Wolf Wilder

by Katherine Rundell (Author)

Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

A girl and the wolves who love her embark on a rescue mission through Russian wilderness in this lyrical tale from the author of the acclaimed Rooftoppers and Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms.

Feo's life is extraordinary. Her mother trains domesticated wolves to be able to fend for themselves in the snowy wilderness of Russia, and Feo is following in her footsteps to become a wolf wilder. She loves taking care of the wolves, especially the three who stay at the house because they refuse to leave Feo, even though they've already been wilded. But not everyone is enamored with the wolves, or with the fact that Feo and her mother are turning them wild. And when her mother is taken captive, Feo must travel through the cold, harsh woods to save her--and learn from her wolves how to survive.

From the author of Rooftoppers, which Booklist called "a glorious adventure," and Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms, which VOYA called "a treasure of a book," comes an enchanting novel about love and resilience.

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Kirkus

Rugged cross-country adventure with a diverse cast of two- and four-legged fellow travelers and a sturdy main character who is more than a little “wilded” herself. 

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Feodora "Feo" Petrovich is a "dark and stormy girl" who lives deep in the snow-covered Russian forest with her mother circa 1917. They are wolf wilders, brave souls who help reintroduce wolves into the wild, once the animals have outlived their usefulness as pets and entertainment for the aristocracy. When the deplorably evil General Rakov threatens their livelihood, burns down their home, and arrests Feo's mother, the plucky young girl sets off into the woods with her three lupine companions and a newborn wolf pup. She's soon joined by a runaway soldier from the tsar's Imperial Army who's not much older than Feo herself. Together, the ragtag band of humans and wolves must outrun Rakov and his men, survive brutal winter conditions, and figure out a way to liberate Feo's imprisoned mother. As in her previous two novels, Rooftoppers (2013) and Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms (2014, both S. & S.), Rundell gives readers a fierce young heroine whose strength and independence are as appealing and authentic as her painstakingly concealed vulnerabilities. Though appearing only briefly in an handful of scenes, Feo's mother is a well-drawn, larger-than-life presence in the girl's life; readers will believe that Feo will risk anything to save her. The pacing slows in the middle, as the characters visit a struggling village and recruit other kids to their cause. The ending, though satisfying, comes quickly and stretches credulity just a bit. Rundell's strength is in the beauty of her writing--lyrical sentences that evoke the drama and simplicity of fairy tales and folklore, combined with descriptions of a setting that will have readers shivering along with the frozen characters as they trudge across the unforgiving terrain. VERDICT A solid addition to middle grade collections; hand this novel to kids who appreciate strong characters and harrowing survival stories--Kiera Parrott, School Library Journal

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

In 20th-century tsarist Russia, aristocrats raise captured wolf pups to perform as dogs, but when the wolves go mad, they send them to a girl named Feo and her mother, Marina, who "untame" them, so they may live in the wintry wild again. General Rakov, ruler of the tsar's Imperial Army, orders Marina to shoot the wolves; when she refuses, he burns their home and takes her prisoner. Feo plans to rescue her mother with the help of her best friends--wolves White, Gray, and Black--and Ilya, a teenage army deserter with "skinny wrists, but a muscly brain" and a passion for ballet. As in her previous novels, Rundell's (Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms) evocative prose offers startling imagery; when Feo, feeling abandoned, realizes she is not alone, "The moments in which the world turns suddenly kind can feel like a punctured lung." Fairy tale and history merge seamlessly; in a land where terror reigns and adults grow numb with fear, a "little wolf girl" outmaneuvers a sadistic general, awes a village, and inspires an army of children to march on St. Petersburg with dreams of justice. Breathtaking. Ages 8-12. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Aug.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

"A triumph! Exciting, moving, highly original, fierce, completely convincing. The world had better watch out. I don't really know what a cocked hat is, but you'll be knocking all the rest of us into one soon. I loved the characters, the speed, the force of it all."—Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass
Katherine Rundell
Katherine Rundell was born in Kent, England, and raised in Zimbabwe. She is a fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, and the author of numerous award-winning books for children, most recently The Explorer, winner of the 2017 Costa Children's Book Award. She has been short-listed for the Carnegie Medal and won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Katherine Rundell lives in Oxford, England.

Icelandic-born Kristjana S. Williams is an award-winning illustrator and designer whose commissions include art for the Rio Olympic Games and The Wonder Garden, written by Jenny Broom.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781481419420
Lexile Measure
640
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date
August 25, 2015
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV002250 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Wolves & Coyotes
JUV001000 - Juvenile Fiction | Action & Adventure
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV013000 - Juvenile Fiction | Family | General
Library of Congress categories
History
Mothers and daughters
Wolves
Russia
Nicholas II, 1894-1917

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