⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis:
KJ lives in the small town of West End, Montana, where everyone know’s everyone. Growing up with the same kids in every class; and not much of a selection when it comes to the opposite sex. She works with her dad as a tour guide. Then someone new comes into town. His name is Virgil and he and his mother will only be in town long enough to study the wolf packs nearby Yellowstone Park. But they’re there long enough for trouble to stir and the ranchers in town are riled by the arrival of the wolves. An extremist pushes the town to the edge and possibly might end up pushing someone off of it.
First of All
I got this book from bookoutlet.com for a really good price. $2.99 brand new. You can’t beat that people. Well, maybe. But still…
What I Think:
Actual rating is 3.5 stars, which is not bad at all when it comes to my rating system. Also this book deserves some cover points. I love the cover so much. Maybe it’s just because I enjoy the outdoors and the wild. Which brings me to…
Concept & Setting. I was really attracted to the whole nature, activist, wild life aspect of this book. It’s majority of the reason why it ended up in my cart. Although the content of the book overall wasn’t so special, the theme gave me good vibes.
Writing. The writing style was simple and direct. Not bad, but could’ve been improved much more. I tabbed a few quotes which I will share at the end.
Characters. Now, some people will argue that the reason they gave this book a bad rating is because of the substance of the characters. The townspeople were jerks, and I even must admit that the male protagonist, Virgil, was very douchebag award worthy. But hey, NEWSFLASH, some towns have jerky people, and more often than not, girls put up with douchebag guys! It happens. It’s reality! and thank Chandler for sugar coating anything and exposing the real nature of humans.
I did think some of the choices that KJ made were kinda reckless and unwise, but she’s a teen girl. Every teen girl who has a little freedom in a small town is entitled her chance to make a few dumb mistakes. It wasn’t unbelievable like some other reckless actions.
Theme. I absolutely love the push and pull between new agers and conservationists. There was a hint of politics, but not enough to lure you away from what was really the problem. That problem being with the mindset. The problem with how scared people get and dangerous behavior that results from that fear. I love that we have a teenage girl concerned about something more than social status or the opposite sex. Chandler shows us what a person goes through when they’re fighting for something they love. I’m an animal lover and an animal rights activist, so I really had a connection with this book and I know anyone who reads it will see the importance in preserving wild life.
Dislikes
A lot of it was a little cliché. KJ was predictable most of the time and so was her father. The father daughter relationship was crap and her dad was horrible and way too hard on KJ. At the end of the book they still don’t have resolve. They just end up acting like nothing ever happened. Ok, maybe the dad said a few words, but nowhere near as much as he needed to. Lots of loose ends were left untied. We heard a bunch of negative comments and complaints about the town because of the wolves in the area and the refusal to remove them. But once the safety of the wolves was secured by laws, we didn’t get any feedback from the town. & everything happened so quick at the end. It was a rushed closing and I hate rushed closings. Majority of the book was moderately a slow pace, but all of a sudden it sped up within the last three chapters.
Virgil was also kinda a crappy guy to KJ. But she never confronted him about it. I would’ve also liked to see her tell her dad off.
That right there is a major character flaw. KJ can fight back against a town, go toe to toe with a town sadist all on her lonesome, and venture out into the wild where wolves good very well be wandering around, but she can’t put her foot down when it comes to her ‘overbearing-ruling-with an-iron fist-father’ and her double minded love interest.
Overall
Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone, despite the bad qualities. Its a quick light read and you don’t have to get too invested.
Quotes.
“For Brent and Gayle Chandler, who taught me to treasure what I cannot tame”
“I can walk over and see a caged wolf at the Discovery Station any day of the week. But seeing a wild wolf surviving our shared habitat is different.”
“She just wants to teach people to sift their flour before they mix it with creamed sugar.”
“Fear makes the wolf bigger than he his.”
“Maybe the future is like rowing for shore. Your only choice is to try or give up.”
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