  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 06/01/2015 An aging leader of a wolf pack, a raven, and a teenage boy find themselves face-to-face in this combination of survival tale and coming-of-age story. Nashoba must find food for his pack so they can survive the rest of the winter. Merla, the raven, informs Nashoba that a herd of elk is grazing nearby. They should be easy prey, but the grazing land is also close to where the humans live. Hunger trumps fear as Nashoba scouts the elk herd and then makes the decision to take his pack hunting. At the same time, 13-year-old Case, who lives with his family in this remote part of Colorado, has received a bow for his birthday and now yearns to practice his video-game archery skills in real life. The paths of all three—wolf, raven, and boy—will collide. A young upstart wolf’s attitudes parallel those of the impetuous Case, imparting the message that, sometimes, elders do know better. Featuring detailed pencil drawings by Floca, this is likely to appeal to fans of Gary Paulsen and Will Hobbs. - Copyright 2015 Booklist. School Library Journal - 06/01/2015 Gr 5–7—Two stories, one animal, one human, set in early spring in the Lodgepole National Forest and environs, converge dramatically in this brief, engaging novel. The opening line "It was the starving time" prefaces the fight between Nashoba, elderly leader of the Iron Mountain wolf pack, and Garby, the young wolf seeking to replace him. Victorious but wounded, Nashoba sets out to find food, reluctantly following the direction of a raven. He heads into the lower Bend Valley, dangerous to wolves because of its human population, and finds a field of elk cows and calves, then returns to persuade the pack to follow him back to this food source. Meanwhile, Casey Seton greets his 13th birthday excited to apply skills from his new archery books and eager to encounter a live wolf reputed to be in the area. His parents' gift is a longbow and arrows, along with soon-to-begin archery lessons to ready him for the fall hunting season. But, left on his own the following day, Casey succumbs to the temptation of trying out his new equipment unsupervised. The narrative's alternating points of view create tension, and the anthropomorphic portrayal of the animals (they think, decide, speak to one another), found in many of Avi's previous books, heighten the drama as wolf and boy come face to face. VERDICT Fast paced and exciting, this accessible novel will appeal to those who enjoy adventure stories.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY - Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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