Customer Reviews

Lone Wolf

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The book Lone Wolf, by Kristine L. Franklin, is a heart filled story about a boy named Perry Dubois. I liked this book because you can see and feel how Perry grows into a new person after tragedy. A lot of the feelings that Perry has, relate to the feelings people occasionally have. That is important. He thought that he would be just fine on his own. He didn't need other people. He wasn't lonely. After his little sister died, and his mom left his dad and him, he could be alone forever. This all changed after he met Willow.

This book is similar to my life, because Perry Dubois can only be friends with a girl, because no other boys live around him. When I was little, before very many kids moved into my neighborhood, the only person I had to play with was a boy. No girls lived around me, although it changed after a few years.

This is when Perry tells his father that he is going looking for a wolf with a girl. "Well, one of those girls, Willow, saw a wolf up on the big granite slab. She drew a picture of it. She has a big family and her mom's an artist. I think her dad is too. We're going looking for wolf foot-prints and stuff like that. (Franklin, 78)

The title of this book, Lone Wolf, means exactly what the book is about. Perry Dubois's life was just like any other kid his age's. But when his mother and his sister were in a car wreck, and his little sister was killed, his mom never got over it. She cried all the time, his father couldn't stand it, Perry couldn't either. After a year, Perry's mom walked out on them. He and his father moved into a forest about five miles away from town. Perry and his father rarely talked. Perry spent a lot of time in his cave that he discovered in the forest. The only other house around was vacant; The Bennet House, until The Pestalozzi Family moved into it.

Willow and Perry met in Perry's cave. The cave is actually on Willow's family's property. He's frightened of loosing his cave, it was his private resort where he could get out of his less-than-satisfying world.

"You're trespassing." My stomach dropped down to my knees. No! Could it be true? Could my cave, my wonderful secret hideout, my privacy place, be part of the Bennet House property? That possibility had never occurred to me. (Franklin, 31)

When I read the book, Lone Wolf, at times I felt very sad and sorry for Perry Dubois. Other times, when Perry is able to have fun, I felt good for him. He had such a depressing life, but as the book goes on, he gets to be happier. After Willow came into the picture, he was growing fond of her family. It was a happy event when the Pestalozzi Family invited his father and him over for Christmas eve.

Perry got his father to accept the invitation and go, but when he went into town for firewood, it was snowing too hard for him to come home.
"Did my dad call or anything?" I asked Mr. P when I got to the table.
"No Perry," he said sadly. "And it's snowing really hard out. I doubt if he'll make it back, so we'll go ahead and eat. Dinner has been ready for more than an hour. We may get fifteen to twenty inches tonight."
"He'll make it," I said, trying to sound sure of myself. "He's got the blade on the truck."
"Some sections of the highway are closed," said Mr. P. "We'll save some food for your dad, just in case."
"You can stay with us, Perry," said Willow. She pushed her glasses into place and blew a long strand of dark hair out of her face. "We can pretend you're part of our family, like a cousin or a brother or something." She grinned and wiggled her eye brows up and down. (Franklin, 196)
This is an example of how a sad situation can turn into a happy one.

This is the story of Perry, the lonliest kid in the world. In response to the tragic death of his daughter and separation from his wife, Jack Dubois takes his son, Perry to a secluded, forested region of Minnesota, then becomes the stereotypical "silent tough guy." As a result, Perry (who is also home-schooled), has no friends and nobody to talk to. He is self-reliant until a new family moves into the nearby Bennett House: A large family of talkative artists from California. Perry is upset about this (as I know I would be if talkative artists moved in next door to me), especially because the only family memmber his age is a girl (ewwwwwww!). Slowly, Perry and Jack open up to each other and build interpersonal relationships.

While I don't think this is Kristine Franklin's best book, it is a good one. I taught it to my fifth graders who enjoyed it a lot. One good thing about this book is the fact that Perry is a dynamic (changing), three dimensional character, so we can focus on him and how he changes during the novel, while the other characters are largely one-dimensinal. This is not a criticism of the book: it allows the young reader to identify with the characters and predict what his/her reactions will be ("Dad will say nothing, Willow will talk a lot and be annoying," etc.), so that reading comprehnesion is easier.

In sum, I recommend this book because kids enjoy the story, the static characters make reading it easy and because it's generally an easy book to teach.

Lone Wolf, set in northern Minnesota, reflects an 11-year-old boy's point of view. Every character in the book is seen through the eyes of this young man, so his perceptions of how the other characters relate to him are insular and are related to his innermost feelings, which are not objective during this period of his life. I found the book hard to put down and very descriptive. No one has mentioned how art plays a role in the plot. This is a book about feelings -- total avoidance of feelings and the consequences, the need for touch and companionship of social beings, and the basic human need for love. This is also a book about acceptance -- acceptance of those who are different from us, accepting change in our family units as people grow in different directions instead of growing together within the family unit, and accepting our own shortcomings in our family-and-friend relationships. I highly recommend this book.

Lone Wolf is a book about an 11 year old boy named Perry Dubois and his conflicts with his lonliness. His mother has left him and his baby sister has died, leaving Perry and his father to survive together. Perry starts out as a very private individual whose thoughts and struggles are only known by the reader. His cave is his retreat from the pain he feels. He enjoys being there with his German Shepherd and watching the wildlife..especially a wolf he calls King. It's when the Pestalozzi family from California moves in that Perry begins to change. The oldest daughter Willow befriends him and joins him in his cave. At first Perry is reluctant but while reading you can see that he's enjoying her company but having trouble admitting it. They enjoy sharing drawings and watching for wolves together. Over time he begins hanging out with the Pestalozzi family and finding himself having fun. He enjoys the company of others and starts to depend on it.
I like how the author incorporates a howling wolf into the story. It is as if a wolf represents Perry himself and the howling is a call for another wolf, just as Perry wants to be with others. Just like wolves, people are not meant to be alone, they need to travel in "packs".
This is a good book for discussion in a classroom. You can discuss how Perry has changed and how he and the wolf are alike. It will also spark a conversation on why people become lonely.
I would reccommend this book for a child and an adult. It will make you think about the internal conflicts we all have within ourselves.

Perry Dubois (pronounced "Du-boice," not "Du-bwah") has lived in Minnesota's north woods with his father for the past three years. His mother left when he was eight. Now he's eleven and used to the solitude of the forest. It means he and his father don't have to share their business with other people. It's not so bad, even if Perry's father hardly ever talks, and even though there aren't other kids around.

Then the Pestalozzi family moves in to a neighboring house that had been vacant for a long time. This new family's home is near the cave that Perry considers his private space, and Willow Pestalozzi is a dreaded new intruder who won't leave him alone. She's a girl, she talks too much, and she found his sacred hideaway. How is he supposed to deal with a girl who wants to know everything about him? It's none of her business why he lives in the middle of a forest with his dad, why he's home-schooled, or anything else.

Willow's irritating presence starts to grow on him, especially when she develops an interest in tracking a wolf with him, but something about her family reminds him of things he'd rather not think about. Although he likes her family's warmth, getting too close could be more painful than a lifetime of solitude.

More than another deep-woods tale, LONE WOLF is a poignant experience told from a young boy's perspective. Franklin explores the meanings of loss and coping through Perry's journey and beautifully captures the impact of a family's disintegration by bringing Perry to life. Everything he does, feels, and thinks is colored by a past that would be traumatic even to adults, indeed, as it has been to his father. The writing pulls readers along by dangling hints of the past throughout several turns in the story.

A compelling read, LONE WOLF promises to be a classic on the level of WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS or BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA. The experience of crushing loss is not limited to adults, and stories like these can help children to find solace and strength.

Highly recommended.

Reviewed by Christina Wantz Fixemer
02/02/2007

The book LONE WOLF is a great book by Kristine L. Franklin. The main character Perry Dubois is home schooled and his parents have just gotten a divorce. The conflict the main character experiences is living with his dad and never seeing his mom. The story is about a boy named Perry Dubois who lives in Minnesota with his dad and his dad delivers firewood. Perry finds someone to play with when new people move in by his house. At first Perry feels uncomfortable around the new people but later in the story he gets more comfortable with them and he makes friends with them. I think this is a good book because its an easy book to understand and it creates suspense.

I liked this book. It's not the best I've ever read, but it was enjoyable. I liked it!

Hi. This is Kris Franklin. LONE WOLF is set in northern Minnesota where I currently live. I wanted to write a book about a child who has dealt with loss by becoming emotionally frozen--and to explore the idea that love and acceptance are the road to recovering the ability to feel. Please let me know what you think of the book! KLF

Lone Wolf, a realistic fiction book by Kristine Franklin, is an excellent read. It is about Perry, a bright young man whose family has been torn apart by tragedy. Coping with a silent, hardworking father and an absent mother, Perry quietly lives close to nature in northern Minnesota, homeschooling himself without much input from his father. When a new family moves in to the house on some nearby property, Perry finds himself learning how to cope with new situations and the emotions they evoke. The plot and character development in Lone Wold is deep and powerful. As a teacher, I found this book an excellent read aloud that enabled the class to discuss many sensitive issues productively. It provided many personal links for my fifth grade students.

Lone Wolf was an excellent book. It is about a boy named Perry who lives in the woods. Perry has adventures in the woods and has a very Merry Christmas in the turnout. If you like adventure and sad times this is a book for you.