The Wolf Road

The Wolf Road
by Beth Lewis


Blurb:

Elka barely remembers a time before she knew Trapper. 

She was just seven years old, wandering lost and hungry in the wilderness, when the solitary hunter took her in. In the years since then, he's taught her how to survive in this desolate land where civilization has been destroyed and men are at the mercy of the elements and each other. 

But the man Elka thought she knew has been harboring a terrible secret. He's a killer. A monster. And now that Elka knows the truth, she may be his next victim. 

Armed with nothing but her knife and the hard lessons Trapper's drilled into her, Elka flees into the frozen north in search of her real parents. But judging by the trail of blood dogging her footsteps, she hasn't left Trapper behind-- and he won't be letting his little girl go without a fight. If she's going to survive, Elka will have to turn and confront not just him, but the truth about the dark road she's been set on. 

The Wolf Road is an intimate cat-and-mouse tale of revenge and redemption, played out against a vast, unforgiving landscape--told by an indomitable young heroine fighting to escape her past and rejoin humanity.

My Reaction:
Elka is a powerful character with a distinctive voice and real depth, and because Elka is the novel, that means the novel has depth and unique appeal as well.

This is the most compelling book I've read in a long while. For the most part, I'd say it's very well-crafted, too. I've seen another reviewer refer to moments that strained her suspension of disbelief, and I agree they are there, but fortunately the story is strong enough that I could shrug them off and continue with the adventure.

The Wolf Road deals with some dark and truly horrific subjects, but there are also many moments of honest beauty, and the overall message is one of hope. I loved it.


Tidbit:
"'Ain't no monster. Monsters ain't real 'cept in kids' imaginations, under the beds, in the closets. We live in a world a' men and there ain't no good come out of tellin' them they monsters. Makes 'em think they ain't done nothin' wrong, that it's their nature and they can't do nothin' to change that. Callin' 'em a monster makes 'em somethin' different from the rest of us, but they ain't. They just men, flesh and bone and blood. Bad'uns, truth, but men all the same.'"