Miyax has fled her Eskimo village into the wilderness in an attempt to find her way to San Francisco. When she gets lost, she learns the ways of the wolf through a small pack, and finds some sense of acceptance from them. They, and the memories of her life before her father's death, help her survive as she crosses the Alaskan wilds. But when she reaches civilization and her pack leader is shot for sport, not even the discovery that her father is alive is enough to keep her there.
Impression: When I read the author's brief bio on the back cover of this book, it was no surprise to discover that she's a researcher and observer of nature. The "story" read more as an attempt to wrap fiction around a report on living in the Alaskan wilds. The book honestly raised on my literary analysis hackles, annoyed me as a reader, and frustrated me as a writer.
The short, choppy sentences have little to do with the main character's age or point of view, and made reading very difficult. There's a "let's learn about this" feel to the writing, and constant, out of character exposition on Alaska and living in the wilderness that make it very dull reading. Unnecessary and intermittent verb shifts were jarring as well. And the naturalistic message at the end - that civilization is corrupting and living close to nature no matter the cost (or age) is preferred - was heavy-handed, annoying, and insulting. This could have been a wonderful story. The author's choices in the telling, however, have made it into one I can't recommend to anyone.
