Monday, March 28, 2011

Review of Kristen Chandler's YA novel Wolves, Boys & Other Things...

Another great Book Review from Lois Brown of Writers Cubed.

"The first time I tried Thai food, my taste buds thought they'd died and gone to heaven. To me, reading Kristen Chandler's book WOLVES, BOYS, AND OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME was a lot like that. I found it a delicious new flavor in the current smorgasbord of YA literature.

Don't be fooled by the title. This book has nothing to do with vampires and werewolves. Instead, it is a serious yet entertaining look at the ramifications of re-introducing wolves into Yellowstone National Park, a government program that began in the mid 1990s. (However, if you are looking a for a good paranormal read, I recommend the book PARANORMALCY.)


What could have been a dull, simply informational read is transformed by Kristen into a story that skillfully blends fact with excitement, intrigue, and, oh yes, teenage love.


It all begins when 16-year-old KJ is cajoled into writing a column about the Yellowstone wolves for her high school newspaper. She's to work side-by-side with Virgil, and expert photographer and the new kid at school. As luck would have it, he's a good-looking vegetarian whose mother is a passionate environmentalist.

As KJ learns more about the plight of the gray wolf in the United Sates, she gains an appreciation for an animal that most people in her rural community would prefer dead.


Her newspaper articles cause enough of a stir in town that the lives of those who are sympathetic to her cause are threatened. It's up to KJ to protect the wolves, keep ranchers' livestock safe, and to heal relationships gone bad.
Thanks Kristen for adding some spice to my reading list!"



Kristen will be presenting a class on Dialog: Give your characters a voice that readers will love at the Teen Writers Boot Camp in Orem, Utah at the Utah Valley University campus on Saturday, April 23, 2011. The boot camps is for teens ages 13-19. Cost is $39 before April 9th. For more information, visit www.writerscubed.com

3 comments:

Nas said...

Thanks for posting this review! It will add spice to my TBR pile!

Nas said...

Thanks for posting this review! It will add spice to my TBR pile!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting this. It looks like an interesting novel. I've only come across it a few times online, and it's piqued my interest every time.