Old Wolf by Avi, illustrated by Brian Floca, 147 pages. CHAPTER BOOK. Atheneum Books for Young Readers (Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division), 2015. $17.
Language: PG (1 swear, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: EL - OPTIONAL.
AUDIENCE APPEAL: LOW
Nashoba, an aging alpha wolf, struggles to maintain control of his hungry pack, while Casey, a computer game obsessed teen, longs to trade his computer hunting skills for the real thing. When their worlds overlap, Nashoba and Casey both learn that the other may not be what they had been lead to believe.
The beginning of the book seemed a bit simplistic, but as I continued, the suspense of Nashoba and Casey’s inevitable meeting drew me in. Unfortunately, the ending felt unsatisfying to me. It seemed rushed, convenient, and less developed than the rest of the book My favorite parts of Avi’s book were the interactions between Nashoba and Merla the sassy raven, as well as the delicate pencil illustrations of Brian Floca scattered throughout the book. I would consider the PG ratings to be very mild PG. The mature content rating is due to issues relating to hunting and digital killing obsession. The violence rating is due to issues involving animal attacks and hunting.
Becci, High School Librarian
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