Wolf Road: The Times Children's Book of the Week

Product Information

Alice Roberts is not new to media, she is a broadcaster, a specialist in, among other topics, archaeology, and history. She has presented on Time Team and other programmes with a historical leaning and has written several books for adults, but this is her debut children’s book. It is a sweeping adventure, a story with a human heart, full of wild animals, as the title may suggest, which describes some heart-stopping scenery and danger. It has been inspired by real anthropological discoveries, is therefore based on people, animals, places that existed in the past. It is going to take you on an adventure of a lifetime and help to start the discovery, uncovering of all our histories. On the surface, The Wolf Road seems like a straightforward thriller, but as the story progresses, and particularly in its final chapters, it delves deep. Unfortunately, here the story does drag, with Elka grappling with her conscience for too long, ruminating at one point on how all humans have “dark in them.” Some rumination, however, is needed. The Wolf Road would be a lesser story without it. It still would be worth reading, but it wouldn’t touch the heart. What Lewis managed to do is thrill and stir the soul. This genre-bending post-apocalyptic book is part horror story, part cat-and-mouse thriller, part modern western, and part survival tale.

A hugely enjoyable YA debut from Richard Lambert. The Wolf Road is a story about Lucas, the central character and only survivor of a car accident which killed his parents, causing his life to change completely. It is extremely atmospheric with rich detail of the new home and community he moves to in a remote area of Cumbria. You can almost feel the cold penetrating the rundown cottage and see the wilderness surrounding it. However, all that safety and happiness about to be ripped away. On a fateful trip into town, Elka discovers that the man who had raised her for the last decade is not who she always thought he was. Trapper turns out to be a serial murderer wanted by the law, and unfortunately for Elka, her close association with him makes her an accomplice. The law is now after her in the form of a ruthless magistrate named Lyon, a hard woman who will stop at nothing to apprehend her prey. And now that Elka is aware of his true identity, the man she used to call her father is coming after her as well, determined not to leave loose ends. Read for post-apocalyptic book club. (My selection, but then events happened and I couldn't make it to the meeting. Mea culpa!) I liked it, but I just hope others did as well! and now, thanks to setting myself very specific 2019 reading goals, i have finally read it. and, yeah - it was as good as i’d hoped. One day when Elka was seven years old though, she found herself lost and alone in the woods. Against all odds, she was rescued and taken in by a man known only as “Trapper”. He sheltered Elka, when he could have turned away and left her to die. For the next ten years he took care of her, and even taught her how to hunt and to trap and to survive off the land. And in time, Elka came to see Trapper as her father.The story is set after the apocalypse. The world that Elka knows is rather brutal and the living conditions can be harsh. In many ways, her life was very reminiscent of the pioneer days. The book really had an Old West feel for me. When Elka is separated from her grandmother, she stumbles on to Trapper's cabin and he takes her in. She learns the skills to survive in this harsh land from Trapper, who she thinks of as a father. Her world is turned upside down when she learns that he is actually a serial killer. in the “books i didn’t read in a timely manner olympics,” this one is in the running for “most shameful karenfail” medal, because i had this as an ARC, and it sounded so great, i meant to read it immediately, but never got around to it, and then when the hardcover came out, i loved the cover so much

She will take you with her though, the gorgeous descriptive prose is totally immersive, the setting coming alive around you – a primitive and chilly post apocalyptic world cleverly set in no time or place specifically but all the more real for it. Primitive and unforgiving, The Wolf Road is part road trip, part drama, part mystery but the heart of it is this one girl, Elka. You will never forget her.I would highly recommend this book to others. It is a story that was often violent and gory but could also be thoughtful at times. I am amazed that this is the author's debut novel and I look forward to reading more of Beth Lewis's writing in the future. This is Elka’s story – and BOOM what a story it is. Her parents gone, lost in a storm, taken in by “Trapper” and brought up in the wild, until one day she discovers something sinister about her saviour and sets out on a journey across a wild and bitter landscape, a journey that will take her to unexpected places and unexpected people. Chased by her mentor and the law, nothing about this is going to be easy for Elka. It took a little while for me to sink into it and get its measure but it slowly and surely drew me in. It has a steady pace and gentle rhythm which becomes utterly charming and enthralling.

The first was the title. While there was a wolf in it, "Wolf Road" just didn't fit. The wolf was just mostly a minor side character (and Ander certainly wasn't wolf-like).

Synopsis

Elka is a child living in the world after the Big Damn Stupid (nuclear war). Her parents left when she was a baby to make a fortune in the north panning for gold and she's been raised by her Nana in a remote cabin.