Review: The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

4

July 5, 2016 by Myndi @ madbooklove

Title: The Wolf Road
Author: Beth Lewis
Pages: 352
Genre: Fiction, Post-apocalyptic
Source: Free ARC from Crown Publishing

Rating: A+

Note: As stated under the Source (above), I received this book for free from Crown Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review (and trust me, honest is always what you’ll get).

Review: This book is a lot of things (great, wonderful, amazing things!), but it is NOT a thriller. Not a mystery. Not suspense. Post-apocalyptic? Yes. Character-driven? In all the best ways. But I didn’t find it to be suspenseful or intense. You know from the first chapter how it ends with Trapper. And that’s because this book isn’t really about him. It’s about Elka.

As she journeys through the wild lands of BeeCee (which I’m guessing to be post-apocalyptic British Columbia) in search of her parents, she begins to unravel the truth of herself. She has to face who she is, what she’s done, and the possibility that there is more to life, more to her, than what she thought.

Some might say that this book is too slow for them. It is a relaxed pace, but I also don’t think it’s a bad thing. It’s a book mostly set on simmer, and under that slow heat, it develops all of these beautiful and complex flavors. It’s a slow awakening followed by a reckoning. It’s a reflection on what we as humans do to each other. What is in a person’s nature and how much we can actually control it? What are we capable of when faced with adversity? How much do we hide from ourselves? Can we be loved for our entire selves, even the dark bits? If we let loose our dark parts on the world and then rein them back in, can we be forgiven for what we’ve done? How much of what we do can be blamed on those who raise us? Is punishment better than rehabilitation? What of second chances? Does it matter who does the forgiving? What does it take to make amends?

This book is spectacular. Truly. It is wild and introspective, thoughtful and unsettling.

It. Is. Phenomenal.

Must. Read.

MUST.

4 thoughts on “Review: The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

  1. […] I would have heard about them), and I would have been seriously missing out. Valley of the Moon, The Wolf Road, and The Sunlight Pilgrims were some of my favorite reads this year, and I feel privileged that I […]

    Like

  2. […] The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis – I don’t even know what to say about this book other than I loved it SO MUCH and if I had been forced to cull this list down to only five books, this book still would have been on the list. It was insightful and thought-provoking and perspective changing. Unlike any post-apocalyptic book I’ve read. Must. Read. […]

    Like

  3. […] me a bit of All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood crossed with a smattering of The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis. A little gritty, but not overwhelmingly so. Perhaps it’s the survival aspect that […]

    Like

  4. […] isn’t very often that I post about a paperback release, but The Wolf Road was one of my favorite reads last year, and I suspect it will be in my top 10 for this decade. It […]

    Like

Comments are closed.

Professional Reader

Reviews Published

2016 NetGalley Challenge

100 Book Reviews

First To Read

Categories

Archives

Goodreads

Blog Stats

  • 14,488 views