September 30, 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
**Spoilers in weaknesses.**
When a white wolf is sighted in Grand Marais, Minnesota, Okan and his best friend Sara, are determined to find it, especially since Okan's grandmother wants him to protect it. Both have difficult lives. Okan's father abandoned his mother, and his Ojibwe grandmother helped raise him, but now she is sinking deeper and deeper into dementia. Sara's mother has died, and her father is not taking good care of her, so she has gained the nickname "Skunk" because she is not being kept clean. One of her worst tormentors is the school bully, Marcus, a rich kid with uncaring parents. When Okan and Sara skip school to go find the wolf, Marcus, who doesn't like to be called Moose, goes along with them as the "Wolf Club". Marcus and Okan used to be friends, but Marcus' parents didn't want him hanging around with a Native child. The three have quite an adventure in the woods, with a bear threatening them but only licking them, having to go swimming in the cold water, and having Marcus captured and threatened by two men who are also trying to find the wolf. Okan and Sara trick the men into carrying poison ivy, which eventually ends in them being arrested. After there is a radio announcement about missing kids, the three find the cabin of Mr. Goodman, who was a friend of Okan's grandmother, and find out the truth about the wolf. Sara and Okan also find out the truth about their own situations, but knowing the truth helps them to better their lives.
Strengths: There are a lot of middle grade books that address the fact that we should "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle", and this is certainly one. Even Marcus, the rich kid who is rather unpleasant, has things in his part that make him the way he is. The idea of a quest in the woods is always intriguing, and having disparate characters have to work together leads to an interesting story. I don't want to spoil the mystery of the white wolf, but I was not expecting the twist at the end!
Weaknesses: Poison ivy does not immediately take effect and make one itch. It takes at least four hours; my mother always had us wash with Fels Naptha soap after gardening to get the oils off our skin, and we never got a rash. For sensitive readers, it is important to know that Sara's father has died and is still in the house, which is why she has smelled bad for quite some time.
What I really think: This is mainly a realistic fiction book (as long as you can believe the bear licks the children) with an adventure that reveals secrets about the characters, like Anderson's Ms. Bixby's Last Day or Korman's The Fort. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "The Breakfast Club meets Hatchet", but that's certainly evocative to teachers and librarians of a certain age.
Weaknesses: Poison ivy does not immediately take effect and make one itch. It takes at least four hours; my mother always had us wash with Fels Naptha soap after gardening to get the oils off our skin, and we never got a rash. For sensitive readers, it is important to know that Sara's father has died and is still in the house, which is why she has smelled bad for quite some time.
What I really think: This is mainly a realistic fiction book (as long as you can believe the bear licks the children) with an adventure that reveals secrets about the characters, like Anderson's Ms. Bixby's Last Day or Korman's The Fort. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "The Breakfast Club meets Hatchet", but that's certainly evocative to teachers and librarians of a certain age.
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