Wolf Shadows was another car audio with my boys. They are really into the idea of audio books right now. This one was selected after the second one requested a book with wolves in it. He has a love/hate relationship with this animal. He is constantly fascinated by wolves, always asking for books about them, and wanting to see pictures, and yet terrified at the same time. His deepest nightmares always feature a wolf. When he was three and he would wake up screaming in the middle of the night, he always said there was a wolf in the room. Poor boy. I had initially planned to bring home a classic, The Wolves of Willoughby Chase, but sadly there is not a single audio copy in the entire Carnegie Library System. The librarian searched for wolf books in their audio collection and I let the boys decide from there. Wolf Shadows was what ended up in our CD player.

This book tells the story of two friends, Seth and Matt. These two boys, despite their closeness, were quite different. Seth is the son of a local Game Warden who has taught Seth to both love and respect nature. When he isn't being homeschooled by his mother, he spends most of his days roaming the woods. Quiet and thoughtful, he is the exact opposite of Matt, quarterback of the football team and your stereotypical jock. Both of them are eagerly awaiting the first day of hunting season, but when Seth's mom goes into early labor, and then Matt finds his favorite calf dead, seemingly attacked by wolves, events are set into motion that could end their friendship forever.

For me this was a very difficult book to listen to, and not because of the narrator. The book was read by Johnny Heller, who did a great job at capturing the youthfulness of the two young boys. Rather it was the local opinion most of the characters had of the wolf, a predator out to steal their livestock and "their" deer that made this such an uncomfortable read. I'm thankful it was so short because I don't think I could have handled much more of the vitrol spewed by all the characters, with the exception of Seth. It was clear that her motivation was from a conservationist mindset, and that she understood how people on the other side of the fence think. I definitely share her opinion, and yet knowing what direction she was taking the novel didn't make it any easier to listen to the majority of the book.

However, the conclusion made it worth my while. Mary Cassanova did an excellent job with her characterization of the two boys. Both their personalities and their actions came across realistically, and she seemed to really understand the friendship of 13 year old boys. The way she wrapped up the events of the story also made for a great lessons in friendship and the role of nature that I was glad my own boys heard.

The book is written at a fourth-seventh grade reading level and I definitely think that children, especially boys, in that age range would enjoy this book. I also think it would make a great classroom read. It is a bit on the short side and simplistic for most adults, but I still found it an enjoyable read and believe that other adults who enjoy reading books about animals and conservation would like this one. ( )