Lone Wolf

By Kathryn Lasky

Animal: Wolves

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

This beginning of a new series called Wolves of the Beyond takes place in the same world Lasky's Guardians of Ga'Hoole did. Faolan is born with an oddly splayed paw with some wavy lines imprinted on the pad. But it is clan law that any deformed cubs be taken away and left to die, and so it happens with Faolan. But as luck would have it, an old grizzly bear who recently lost her own cub finds him and decides to adopt the wolf. So Faolan and Thunderheart form a loving bond of mother and son, despite their differences, and Thunderheart teaches Faolan some very bear-like moves that wolves never learn. And it is this basic difference that troubles both bear and wolf alike--will Faolan be able to go and live with a pack? What and where is his place in the world? What is the meaning of the pattern on his paw? As Faolan struggles with his identity, one thing eventually comes clear--he will need to meet a pack, but as to his place in the world? He will be the one to decide what it will be. Although sometimes the narrative wanders a bit, most readers (especially fans of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole) will eagerly seize upon the story and look forward to what the sequels will bring.