Wolf Road

Author:

Alice Roberts

Illustrator:

N/A

Published by:

Simon & Schuster Children's UK

First Published:

6 Jun 2024

Ideal for readers aged

13+y

My Review

Alice Roberts is an archaeologist-turned-TV presenter, an expert in Stone Age history, and, it turns, out, an excellent storyteller! Her knowledge makes this debut children's novel really pack a punch in terms of educational value - I learnt so much as I read - but the knowledge is so imbued in the story and the lives of its characters that this never feels like just a history book. The wild tundra and its wildlife, the unpredictable river, the seasons and the values of the tribes, are brought to life so vividly in the sweeping story that time seems shortened and the reader is fully immersed in life as it would have or could have been thousands of years ago. Anyone who loves a good scout survival story will love the detail in this book of weapon making, fire starting, and hunting tactics. It's a book that not only takes us back in time, but back to nature.

Heads Up!

A couple of warnings - Roberts attempts to imagine in the story what the spiritual lives of the tribes might have looked like. Tuuli's aunt, Aski, is the tribe 'Shaman', their spiritual guide. Through most of the story her input is on the sidelines, but there is a scene where she goes on a 'spirit flight' - a kind of (possibly drug induced) coma/sleep during which the tribe believe that her spirit leaves her body and she is shown visions of what is to come. In the morning, after a night sleeping, she reports back to the tribe what she has 'seen'. I really like that in the book, Remi, Tuuli's dad, is a 'progressive' character, respectful but more cynical than the rest of his family about the Shaman's role. He prefers to take a more practical approach and teached Tuuli to see the world in this light. Additionally, the end of the book is not a happy one, and Tuuli's friendship with Andar, the outsider or 'lone wolf', ends in tragedy as he is hunted down by a member of another tribe. Despite her own family showing acceptance and hospitality towards him, they couldn't protect him from the hostility of their neighbours.

The book ends with Tuuli leaving her tribe and heading to the mountains, Andar's home and a place she longs to explore.....queue 'Wolf Mountain', the sequel to 'Wolf Road', due out in 2025!

Publisher Review

Discover the history of our lifetime through the adventure of a girl and her wolf, in the bestselling children's novel from Digging for Britain presenter, Professor Alice Roberts. Selected as Waterstones Children's book of the Month and The Times Children's Book of the Week. 'A fine storyteller' Philip Pullman ‘This lost world is beautifully rendered, so rich in detail you can almost smell the campfires . . . a captivating tale.’ The Times Children's Book of the Week Tuuli is a prehistoric girl, travelling with her tribe through the seasons – making camp, hunting for food and protecting themselves against the many hazards that the climate throws at them. Tuuli knows there’s a bigger world out there, and when she spots a strange boy lurking outside their camp, she realises that he might hold the adventure she is looking for. He is from another tribe, sent to find safer ground and as he and Tuuli strike up an unlikely friendship, they set out on a journey that will impact the rest of human history. A vast adventure with a very human heart, full of wild animals, huge scenery and heart-stopping danger and inspired by real anthropological discoveries.