The Wolf Road

The Wolf Road by Richard Lambert

Book of the Week: 15 November 2020

Illustration by Holly Ovenden

The Wolf Road is a powerful and painful exploration of a boy’s grief after his parents are killed in a car crash and he has to live with his prickly-natured grandmother in the wilds of the Lake District.

Lucas is convinced a wolf caused the car crash by stepping into the path of his parents’ car. Once he is in his grandmother’s cottage he believes the wolf is shadowing him as well as killing the neighbouring farmer’s sheep. Lucas cannot concentrate at school and is too angry to respond to those people who try to help him or form a relationship with him. Nothing in this book is cosy or easily resolved. Just like the short, vivid depictions of the natural world that surrounds Lucas, everything is raw and messy and wild. The bullies in the story are believable and chilling.

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