An attack on Gwen’s town forces the family to pack
what they can and set out in their car to escape the disaster. All the people
of her town find themselves in the same situation. When a bomb falls, every one
runs. Gwen finds herself separated from her family and alone in the forest of
an unknown area. She is saved from drowning in a raging river by four dogs, who
also are alone and homeless now. One of them is a wolf pup.
Although she finds her way back to the town, no one
is there. Initially, whatever food she finds in the abandoned cars lined up on
the main road, is used to keep herself and the dogs from starving. The family
car becomes their shelter until she realises she must begin her search if she
is to find her family.
Their food supply doesn’t last long. She is forced
to hunt for food. She learns how to use the sling she found in their car as a
tool and a weapon. They eat lizards and snakes that the dogs catch and which
soon become their staple diet.
Gwen is now the pack leader. When she saves an
eaglet abandoned in an eyrie. It too, becomes part of the gang and an
additional protector.
In Wolf Girl
2 - The Great Escape, Gwen, her pack and Eagle, have grown and changed. It
has been four years since the disaster. Gwen is strong, courageous and resourceful;
having survived every challenge and obstacle that life has put in her path. Together
with the dogs, they are a powerful force.
The first human they see after all this time, is
not the help Gwen believes him to be. She is kidnapped and driven to a hidden
place. Her thoughts all the way, are with the dogs and Eagle. How will they
find her? They can’t outrun the truck travelling at high speed. She tears out
strands of her hair for the dogs to trace her scent. Eagle follows up high. The
dogs are determined to find their leader.
At this stage in the story, we see what the dogs are thinking. Their thoughts are presented in bold text.
At this stage in the story, we see what the dogs are thinking. Their thoughts are presented in bold text.
Reaching their destination, Gwen sees countless
children labouring at breaking stones. Refusing to tell her captors anything,
and after trying to escape, she is imprisoned and deprived of food. At this
point, the story takes on a specific shape and meaning. Its direction becomes
clearer, where till now, it was a series of events leading up to something
shadowy.
The dogs by now have picked up her scent. The
strangest and most thrilling events take place. With the help of Tiny, the
smallest dog, Gwen manages to escape, taking with her the boy Rupert, put in an
adjoining cell for giving her bread.
The guards, although on full alert, are no match
for the dogs and Eagle.
Gwen discovers that adults are being held in
another compound. To return and free the other children is her main priority as
she flees. Also, she must track down the whereabouts of the adults that have
been driven away in trucks.
Title: Wolf Girl: Book 1- Into the Wild, Wolf Girl: Book 2 - The Great Escape
Author: Anh Do
Illustrator: Jeremy Ley
Publisher: Allen & Unwin, $ 14.99
Publication Date: July & December 2019
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781760525095, 9781760876357
For ages: 8 - 14
Type: Middle Grade Fiction