Wolf Rider [Hardcover]

Avi (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

After receiving an apparent crank call from a man claiming to have committed murder, fifteen-year-old Andy finds his close relationship with his father crumbling as he struggles to make everyone believe him.

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

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

On an ordinary evening, just as he's about to leave for a party, 15-year-old Andy Zadinski receives a phone call from a stranger that changes his life. The caller, Zeke, confesses to the murder of a young woman named Nina Klemmer. Andy immediately calls the police, who shrug it off as a gag or a crank call. But Andy persists when he happens to meet Nina, who is just as Zeke described her. She takes his warnings as harassment, however, and everyone now thinks that Andy himself made up the call. His attempts to ferret out Zeke and protect Nina, while compromising his own safety, make for an exciting tale of the terror lurking beneath everyday surroundings and behind ordinary events.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up In this psychological thriller, Avi explores the dilemma of 15-year-old Andy, who is convinced that the crank call that he has received is the confession of a murderer. His father thinks that he's lying. The school counselor warns him against "crying wolf." Finding that the supposed victim is still very much alive only increases Andy's determination to unmask the would-be killerif he can find him. Andy's heightening confusion and fear, and his increasing alienation from the adults in his world, are conveyed convincingly in an understated style with lots of dialogue. Unfortunately the adult characters' behavior is not as believable. Andy's father and the counselor seem too ready to distrust his story, and the mysterious caller's motive and behavior are not explained. It seems as if Avi could not decide between plots, a conventional mystery with all the threads tied neatly at the end, or a psychological study raising as many questions as it answers. While the print is large and the vocabulary is not difficult, the tone and tension of the story make it more appropriate for older readers, as does the inconclusive ending. Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689841590
• ISBN-13: 978-0689841590
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (103 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,249,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Avi has published more than sixty books. Among them is Crispin: The Cross of Lead, winner of the 2003 Newbery Medal. Other novels with nineteenth-century settings, like The Traitors' Gate -- his grand nod to the work of Charles Dickens -- are listed before the title page, and include the Newbery Honor Book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Avi and his family live in Denver, Colorado.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not the best by Avi, but almost, February 5, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolf Rider (Hardcover)

It is by far one of my favorite books, but not Avi's best, but that is hard to compete to. This book is very addicting, a great thriller. Extremely hard to put down. It's about this young kid named Andy, he just moved in with his dad after his mother died. He got a phone call from this guy named Zeke one night. Zeke said he just killed someone. Nobody belives Andy, and he has no proof. But he is bound and determined to prove it is true, looking all over for help, and trying to find his own proof. It's not the most realistic book, but still is a book that keeps you on the end of chair, and on your tips of your toes. The cover or title didn't catch my eye. I wasn't going to read it until one day my reading teacher read a section to it to me. I continued it on my own, and I am glad. Must read great book. I highly recommend it to you.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one thriller that you can read more than once, October 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolf Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

Maybe I'm extremely weird, but it's been nine years since I bought this book, and I still read it just for fun every once in a while. The characters are great, as well as the plot. What may be this novel's most endearing quality is that it not only shows suspense, but it also accurately portrays the volatile relationship between a father and a teenage son. That's rare in a young adult book. And I'm so tired of reading thrillers about wimpy girls who can't take care of themselves, but this book didn't have that. This book had no trouble keeping my attention.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wolf Rider, August 14, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Wolf Rider (Mass Market Paperback)

Wolf Rider is a well written book with a lot of suspense and drama. Avi does a nice job of getting the reader's attention in the very beginning of the book, drawing him/her in with a extremely mysterious phone call. Aside from a few confusing parts in the middle and towards the end of the book, Wolf Rider's plot is almost flawless. Avi uses deductive thinking skills and almost unoticable clues to help stregthen the story line and make the novel more interesting. I would recommend Wolf Rider to anybody who really likes to see or read about mysteries unfolding or those who just are interested in critical thinking problems in general.