The Wolf Wilder

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. 

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

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.)