Wolf Hollow

Starred review from March 14, 2016
Echoing the tone and themes found in To Kill a Mockingbird and Summer of My German Soldier, this WWII story traces the unlikely friendship between a country girl and a shell-shocked veteran. Most people in Wolf Hollow, Pa., don't know what to make of Toby and his habit of circling the hills with "three long guns slung across his back." But he has always been kind to Annabelle, now 12, and he comes to her rescue when a bully torments her. After Toby is accused of a crime he didn't commit, Annabelle knows she has to take action, but her attempt to hide him from authorities spurs a chain of events that could lead to disaster. In her first book for children, Wolk (Those Who Favor Fire) movingly expresses Annabelle's loss of innocence through the honest, clear voice of her protagonist. Annabelle's astute observations of the Pennsylvania woods and the people who populate Wolf Hollow will resonate with many readers as they present a profound view of a complex era tinged by prejudice and fear. Ages 10–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Evil comes to rural Pennsylvania in an unlikely guise in this novel of the American homefront during World War II. Twelve-year-old Annabelle's coming-of-age begins when newcomer Betty Glengarry, newly arrived from the city to stay with her grandparents "because she was incorrigible," shakes her down for spare change in Wolf Hollow on the way to school. Betty's crimes quickly escalate into shocking violence, but the adults won't believe the sweet-looking blonde girl could be responsible and settle their suspicions on Toby, an unkempt World War I veteran who stalks the hills carrying not one, but three guns. Annabelle's strategies for managing a situation she can't fully understand are thoroughly, believably childlike, as is her single-minded faith in Betty's guilt and Toby's innocence. But her childlike faith implicates her in a dark and dangerous mystery that propels her into the adult world of moral gray spaces. Wolk builds her story deliberately through Annabelle's past-tense narration in language that makes no compromises but is yet perfectly simple: "Back then, I didn't know a word to describe Betty properly or what to call the thing that set her apart from the other children in that school." She realizes her setting with gorgeous immediacy, introducing the culture of this all-white world of hollows, hills, and neighbors with confidence and cleareyed affection. Trusting its readers implicitly with its moral complexity, Wolk's novel stuns. (Historical fiction. 9-13)

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Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Eleven-year-old Annabelle lives in a rural Pennsylvania community in 1943. The continued fighting of World War II haunts everyone, but life is mostly peaceful-until Betty Glengarry's arrival. Betty is cruel and threatening and thrives on inflicting pain. At first, Annabelle is slightly comforted to know that Toby is watching out for her. Toby is a local vagabond, a World War I veteran of few words who has become something like a friend of Annabelle's family. Meanwhile, Betty's violent malice only grows, until one day she goes missing. Toby immediately becomes the prime suspect in Betty's disappearance. Annabelle is sure of Toby's innocence and is determined to prove it. Readers are alerted from the outset that this is the story of how the narrator loses her childish naivete in a life-altering way. The narrative is powerful, complex, and lifelike. There are pointlessly cruel people, courageously kind people, and those who simply pass the gossip. Despite the jaded feelings that come with witnessing unjust persecution, the heart of this story is ultimately one of hope and empathy. Thematically, this book raises some of the same issues as To Kill a Mockingbird, but with social status rather than racism as the basis for injustice. Vicious bullying is also a highly relevant topic, and this aspect is sure to spark important conversations. VERDICT Highly recommended for purchase; a truly moving debut.-Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2016
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Annabelle is living a relatively idyllic life on her family's Pennsylvania farm, until its normalcy is interrupted by Betty Glengarry, who has been sent to live with her grandparents because she is incorrigible. Betty's sullen presence quickly upsets the one-room school's traditional pecking order, and Annabelle and her younger brothers are Betty's favorite targetsuntil Annabelle stands up to her. Not to be outdone, Betty shifts her attention to Toby, a strange WWI veteran already saddled with a dubious reputation within the community. Wolk conjures an aura of unease and dread from the first chapter, even as her pastoral setting and Annabelle's sunny family life seem to suggest that a happy ending is possible. The spare but hauntingly beautiful language paints every early morning walk to school, household chore, emotion, and rational and irrational thought in exquisite detail, while remaining true to Annabelle's early-adolescent voice. Her craft notwithstanding, Wolk is relentless in her message: lies and secrets, even for the most noble of reasons, have unintended consequences, as Annabelle's poignant dilemma reminds us long after the last page is turned. Perfectly pitched to be used in classrooms in conjunction with To Kill a Mockingbird.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016
In 1940s Pennsylvania, vagabond WWI vet Toby is falsely accused of attacks carried out by new-girl Betty. As the crimes become more serious, tension builds. The storytelling is dignified; the tone is memoir-ish, as narrator Annabelle (another of Betty's victims) remembers the story in the past. The portrait of sociopath Betty pulls no punches; unlikely hero Toby is a nuanced, poignant character.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from July 1, 2016
Two story lines wind around each other in this novel set in rural Pennsylvania in the 1940s. The narrator, twelve-year-old Annabelle, is one of the objects of vicious attacks by new girl Betty, who has inexplicably but relentlessly taken against her. In a supporting strand, a vagabond wanderer, Toby, a WWI vet suffering from what we would now identify as PTSD, is the victim of small-town prejudice as he is falsely accused of attacks that were in fact carried out by Betty. The plot proceeds with crime fiction logic and plausibility as Annabelle seeks out information, but then conceals what she knows, because who is going to believe a child's testimony? The adults, too, keep their secrets and maintain their masks. As the crimes become more serious -- and in one case, fatal -- Annabelle's role in protecting Toby becomes more and more difficult; the tension builds and never lets up. The storytelling here is dignified and the tone is memoir-ish, because Annabelle is remembering the story in the past. At points she seems a bit too wise and philosophical, but the portrait of Betty, an unredeemed sociopath, pulls no punches, and Toby is a nuanced and poignant character, an unlikely hero. sarah ellis

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

December 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-In 1943 rural Pennsylvania, Annabelle is plagued by intense and violent bullying by new girl Betty-until Betty goes missing. The prime suspect is a local World War I vet and resident oddball, Toby. Annabelle knows Toby is innocent and sets out to prove it. Prejudice is not sugarcoated; Wolk displays deep respect for readers and trusts them to grapple with complex moral themes. A middle grade novel distinguished for its stark honesty and unflinching exploration of injustice.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.