29 May 2015 OLD WOLF by Avi, Atheneum/Richard Jackson, August 2015, 160p., ISBN: 978-1-4424-9921-8

In the forest, just steps away from one another: a boy and a wolf.

“Straddle the line in discord and rhyme

I’m on the hunt I’m after you”

-- Duran Duran, “Hungry Like the Wolf”

“Now and again the old wolf lifted his nose. The wind had shifted. It was coming from the north now, behind him. The shift not only limited his depth of smell, it all but assured a big change in the weather. Another frustration.

“Nashoba halted to sniff a bush, then a boulder. There were elk scent markings but nothing recent. He listened. Where was that raven? He waited.

“‘Caw! Caw!’

“The bird was closer but still farther down valley. Nashoba hesitated. The lower he went, the more likely he would come upon humans.

“I can avoid them, he told himself, and kept on.”

“A wolf sprang into view.

“Casey clicked his mouse. The arrow shot forward, unspooling its red course like a bloody ribbon. The wolf made a sudden turn, avoiding the arrow, and bounded off.

“‘Bad shot! said the automated voice. Try again. Be alert! Aim better!’”

Over a few days in early spring, in a little town in Alaska where everybody knows everybody, a chance and fateful encounter begins to unfold.

The wolf pack hasn’t eaten in two weeks. When Nashoba is challenged by the pack’s young upstart in a slashing confrontation, the old wolf is compelled to prove his continuing mettle and leadership ability. He must do whatever it takes to scout out prey for the pack to kill and eat.

Meanwhile, Casey turns thirteen this week. He’s no longer just a kid and from now on, it’s not only going to be pretend killing. His parents have given him a beautiful longbow and a half-dozen top-quality arrows. When his birthday party is postponed because of an uncertain weather report, and his parents go off to work leaving him home alone with his new weapon, Casey has the opportunity to get himself into real life-and-death trouble.

OLD WOLF is a brilliant, tension-filled, coming-of-age tale for young readers and tweens about friction between the young, strong, and impulsive and the old and wise. It’s a tale of life and death. As the young boy and the old wolf move toward a climactic meeting, the character caught in the middle is the snippy and forthright old raven who’s proposed a deal to Nashoba that will benefit both the wolves and the hungry ravens.

In both the animal and human threads of the story, we see life transitions and the tension between youthful impulsiveness and mature wisdom. I particularly like the depiction of Casey’s level-headed parents. In addition to the bow and arrows, they give Casey archery books, schedule appointments for upcoming archery lessons, and talk to him about safety, before leaving him home alone with his new weapon.

The story shows how video games can have a terribly desensitizing effect on young players. In real life, death is final. When we experience the loss of parents, friends, siblings, or others of significance, our lives permanently change.  But In Casey’s favorite game, every animal he kills soon reappears. Nothing is lost.

That video game has in no way prepared Casey for the encounter that is just steps away.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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