The Wolf Wilder: Katherine Rundell

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The Wolf Wilder is the kind of novel that reminds you why books are worth reading and life is worth living Lauren St John

Once upon a time, a hundred years ago, there lived a dark and stormy girl. She was wild in spirit and loved fiercely; and no wonder, for she was raised in the company not of humans, but of wolves. They were her friends, her teachers, her pupils, her family - her (almost) everything. And, at the tender age of twelve, this girl and her half-tame friends would go on to lead a revolution. It took Feo ten minutes to ski to the ruins of the stone chapel. At the entrance hall were three dilapidated statues of saints: They had no heads, and two of them had grown a scaly skin of green lichen. Even without heads, the saints managed to look unimpressed by this state of affairs. Only two and a half of the chapel walls were still standing, and the roof had long ago crumbled onto the mosaic floor below. There were pews, half eaten away by woodworm, and a marble miniature of the Virgin, which Feo had cleaned with the chewed end of a twig. If the light was right in the chapel, and if you looked closely, you could see that the walls had once been painted with gold figures. It was, Feo thought, the most beautiful place on earth.The Wolf Wilder has everything: it's a truly compelling read; it's beautifully written; it's totally original and yet has the familiar feel of an established classic Jacqueline Wilson And then we get introduced to Ilya, a 13-year-old soldier boy, and he just ruined the story. I’m surprised that someone can ask so many damn questions, aren’t soldiers like him trained to keep quiet?? i really loved this book. i read it in two giant gulps, completely immersed in its world and characters. for those of you with feelings - parts of this book might require kleenex, but it's not a bleak story overall. The story alone is beautiful, but what brings it to the next level for me is the history. Learning about wolf wilding is awesome and man was that a profession in need of a novel if there ever was one. Even more, The Wolf Wilder is set in the waning period of Tsar Nicolas II’s reign. Without feeling remotely textbooky or infodumpy, there’s a lot of history laid out really subtly in The Wolf Wilder. A gorgeous flight of imagination set in a snowy Russian fantasy world, this has both the beauty and the fierce, funny and uncompromising storytelling style that sets Katherine Rundell's books apart. The Wolf Wilder is a Faberge egg of a novel - rich, bright and perfect Robin Stevens

Wait!” said Feo. Both wore the tall furry hats of the tsar’s Imperial Army, and exaggeratedly official expressions. So let this story of a fierce, independent, stubborn, determined girl who runs with the wolves be all the motivation you need to go out there and make a change. Because if a half-wild girl can speak such eloquent words as those below, than there’s no reason your voice shouldn’t be heard either. ”Mikal Rakov started all this. Rakov came in the night and burned down our home. He took my mama away, because he was afraid of her. He was afraid that she wasn’t afraid. He’s taking our food and homes. And he’s taking the people we love. And he’s taking our future. And the future needs our protection: It’s a fragile thing. The future needs all the help it can get. In this world, St. Petersburg aristocrats keep wolves as status-symbol house pets. But wolves can only be tamed to a point. The wolves are overfed and indulged until the day they rebel against their capricious masters and revert to their -- well, wolfish -- instincts. This is where Feo and her fierce mother Marina come in. They teach the wolves to be wild again; they return them to their rightful home and proud, fierce natures. While the adults in this world are terrified of harsh retribution -- with the exception of Marina, who has been jailed for her defiance -- the children are still wild and bold enough enough to fight against unfairness. Yes, the children show the adults the way . . . a time-honoured theme in children's literature. On the other side of the equation, Rundell periodically remembers that Feo is meant to be a young, not well-educated wild child who doesn't have substantial knowledge of the world outside her isolated woods. She conveys this through jokes that fall rather flat. For instance, when Alexei's sister describes him as an "agitator," Feo doesn't know the word, and assumes that she's being told that he's an alligator. "That just seems...so unlikely," she says, and they move on.This is glorious. A haunting, fast-paced snowy adventure with another superb gutsy heroine told in Rundell's beautiful and witty style -- A Case for Books Katherine Rundell gives us a version of the second type of wolf. Set in Russia in the lead-up to revolution, her book tells of “a dark and stormy girl” called Feo and her mother, Marina, who are “wolf wilders” – they find wolves that were once the pets of the St Petersburg elite, and, in the snowy Russian forest, teach them how to be wolf again. there was nothing to indicate it was this particular lullaby, but i couldn't shake this feeling off, this song off, those tears While it's clearly geared toward younger readers, The Wolf Wilder is an enchanting fairy tale for those of all ages.

I will not,” said Marina. Her face looked empty of blood. It made Feo’s stomach ache; it made her wish that she had a gun to point at the man in the doorway. Rooftoppers was all charm - a magical book with beautifully light prose, unforgettable characters, and a plot like a symphony - all rise and fall and elegance. but wolf wilder has bite. (chortle, chortle) it has the same kind of unconventional and bold heroine as Rooftoppers, the same killer prose, but it has much more depth. it's dark and stark and sleek and less charming than fierce. My Auntie who is Mongolian went to boarding school in Siberia about 28 years ago – it took her four days to get there on the train. She is happiest when it snows. When are you most happy? Feo did not go close - it is wisest not to interrupt wolves when they are eating, even if they are your best friends Thankfully I have never been in a situation such as this, but Katherine Rundell made you feel like you were in Feo’s shoes experiencing her tragic story. Feo’s unconditional love for the wolves even though she couldn’t control them showed the strong friendship and loyalty that this book is all about. In this book the wolves were described very well, I loved how the book emphasised that they were free and uncontrollable but safe if you were kind to them.I absolutely loved the characters. They were all so warm and charming in their own ways, from fierce, brave Feo, to her lovable friend Ilya and the bunch of children they encounter on their journey. The wolves as well were fantastic, each with their own personalities, and the bond they had with Feo was so lovely to read about. Society" wolves could always beg, hold out a paw, lie still. Often - it made Feo want to cry - they could dance on their hind legs, their faces blank.

There were enjoyable parts to the planning of the revolution in a burnt out castle, the imagination of the children inventing a plausible costume was creative and fun, I liked the different characters and their Russian names and personalities, parts were quite atmospheric. Family, good vs evil, revolution, bravery, corruption, fantasy, nature, love, freedom, difference, diversity. If you care about the look and feel of books, do buy this one in the beautiful hard-cover edition. The combination of Rundell's spare, elegant words and Gelrev Ongbico's delicate, smoky illustrations is truly transporting. The mood is Russian winter, folklore and fairy tales and wood-cuts, in all of its dangerous beauty. The unlikely friendship between Liya and Feo gives the reader hope. The sacrifices Liya makes for Feo shows the true loyalty of their friendship and the determination to make Russia a better place. Nothing worth anything,” said one soldier. His eyes moved across her reindeer-skin bedspread and the hurricane lamp and came to rest on her skis, leaning against the fireplace. Feo ran to stand protectively in front of them.Not deliberately – but I have a big brother who, in amongst all our sibling scrapping and biting and declarations of war, taught me an enormous amount about the world and about love. He did some very good brotherly work. He’s been the first reader for all my books, and Gerard in Rooftoppers is named after him. That’s a very good question! I imagine it must have been terrifying, that sudden upheaval of the past, and I would have been terrified. But there were female revolutionaries, a small group and some of them very young (only 2500 female Bolsheviks, officially, in 1917) and they fought alongside the men for equality for women, and whatever you think about the revolution itself, they sound like very brave souls. I badly wanted to love this book. On the surface, it holds so much promise: why wouldn't I be excited about a sharp-elbowed Russian heroine who spends her time teaching partially domesticated wolves to howl again? Plus, I've enjoyed the author's other works, and I've been excited about this one since I saw it on display (but not being distributed) at ALA. It is, without a doubt, one of the prettier books I've bought this year. You very much started it! You’re pointing a gun at me.’”You might have to suspend some disbelief in the fact that there was a separate children’s revolution in Russia (which never happened), but this book contains such a powerful message, especially at this politically tumultuous time. Children are our future, whether we want to believe it or not, and oftentimes their words, actions and ideas can make all the difference. The wolves, of course, positively steal the show. The passages about the wolves - their mistreatment at the hands of humans, their indomitable spirits, Feo's interactions with (and love for) them - are among the most beautiful in the book.