Wolf [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Gillian Cross (Author), Christian Rodska (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1995

Cassy, a teenage girl, lives with her Nan. She knows nothing about her father, and asks no questions. Nan says it's better to keep quiet. Suddenly she is packed off to stay with her beautiful, feckless mother, Goldie. Cassy discovers Goldie with her boyfriend and his teenage son, living in a squat. They are producing a play on Wolves. As Cassy becomes more involved in the production, she begins to sense a terrifingly real wolf stalking her. Gradually, Cassy learns the awful truth about her father and his involvement in a bombing campaign.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cassy much prefers her ordinary, well-run life, safe at home with her no-nonsense grandmother. But every so often--never with any warning--she is sent to stay with her mother, Goldie, a dreamy beauty who drifts from one seedy London neighborhood to the next. Goldie's latest home is a dilapidated "squat," where she lives with her boyfriend Lyall and his son. Somewhat unwillingly, Cassy finds herself participating in Lyall's latest project--an unusual theatrical production called Wolf. Gradually, Cassy realizes that Wolf has a sinister connection to the mystery at the core of her life. Driven by this new knowledge, the heroine returns to her grandmother's house to play an important role in a chilling finale. Crackling with suspense, this book demands to be read in a single sitting. As usual, Cross ( Roscoe's Leap , A Map of Nowhere ) has created a wholly believable cast of characters and placed them in a unique set of circumstances. Terrorism, the dark world of childhood fantasy, and the nature of fear itself are among the subjects tackled in this meticulously plotted novel. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8-- Although she lives with her grandmother, brief visits to her mother, Goldie, have always been part of Cassy's life. But this visit is different, for Nan won't answer her letters or her phone calls. While she adjusts to Goldie's friends' odd living conditions and even helps with their traveling show on wolves, Cassy worries about her grandmother. A recurring nightmare, glimpses of a mysterious stranger, and slowly surfacing memories of her father come together as Cassy realizes that she must act to save her Nan's life. Cross has taken some hard realities--irresponsible parents, squatters in abandoned houses, terrorism--and set them into a fairy-tale framework created by Cassy's dreams. The wolf image echoes throughout the book. Cassy dreams, night by night, a Red Riding Hood story; her father, as a terrorist, behaves as a savage "lone wolf"; the players in their wolf show demonstrate to their young audiences that real wolves are loving parents and members of a community. This complicated structure may make readers wonder at first whether the story is a fantasy, but they will soon know better. Cross, a writer who believes in challenging both her characters and her readers, has created an exciting, multilayered, and thought-provoking thriller. --Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Chivers Audio Books (October 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745125069
• ISBN-13: 978-0745125060
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,415,627 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is eerie, enthralling and brilliant!, November 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolf (Hardcover)

I LOVE this book! It's amazing.

It stars Cassy, a young girl raised by her grandmother who is sent on sudden visits to her mother, Goldie (who is slightly 'away with the faries'). Her gran sends her on one of these vists and she starts having nightmares involving wolves, linked in with Goldie's latest project, a play about wolves. And a plot unwinds...

We read this in class and everyone, even the book haters loved it. The plot is on so many levels and it all come together brilliantly. It was exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat until the end- when I went back and read it five more times!

A must read!

4.0 out of 5 stars *Interesting...*, January 22, 2009

By 

writer/rider - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf (Paperback)

"Wolf" is an interesting, intriguing, but sometimes confusing read. The plot is good, unexpected, and strong to the end. The characters are well-constructed and believable. This book held my intrest to the last word. Gillian Cross brings a poetic and mystical quality to her books as only British writers seem to do(funny, huh?:). My favorite thing about the book had to be the way Gillian Cross used wolves to symbolize people and how the blood-thirsty, man-eating wolves of our nightmares are not the real wolves of nature, but the wolf inside of us. Overall, a very interesting and thought-provoking book. One of my favorites!:)
I would like to recommend the following books by Gillian Cross:
Roscoes Leap (fair warning: don't read before bed!)
Born of the Sun (very intense adventure story)
Tight Rope (haven't got it yet but sounds really good)
On the Edge ( haven't got that either, but also sounds good)

3.0 out of 5 stars Wolf, March 8, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Wolf (Oxford Childrens Modern Classi) (Paperback)

A girl called Cassy lives with her nan and she is called away to see her mother who is always moving house. She finds her mother, but Cassy also comes across two other men who live with her. They make wolf masks and put a type of explosive in them. . . . . .

I would recommend this book to Year 8 or 9 students.

Nick