Julie of the Wolves: Book
Review
I recently read Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George. The genre was realistic fiction and I enjoyed that it was, I find it quite refreshing. Instead of fantasy or science fiction it was realistic. Realistic fiction always seems to wake me up out of my fantasies and lure me back to reality, like dumping a bucket of water on my face right when I wake up. If a bucket of water was to be dumped in Alaska onto my face the water would freeze midair and crash onto my face. A frozen wave. (Alaska is where the story takes place.) I also really enjoyed learning about the Eskimo ways. The author, Jean Craighead George, put Eskimo facts into the story in a nice and subtle way.
The story started out with an Eskimo girl, Miyax (or Julie her English name), stuck in the wilderness on the Alaskan tundra. The beginning starts without the reader knowing how Miyax got out on the empty Alaskan tundra. You get curious about how she got out there. When it starts out this way it makes you hungry for Miyax's past. Later in the book Miyax has flashbacks of her past, so you do finally know how she got on the deserted Alaskan tundra. While she is on the tundra she finds a pack of wolves and learns to speak their “language”. When I read Julie of the Wolves I learned that sometimes languages aren’t just speaking. Languages sometimes can be made up of actions too. Particularly animal languages. I enjoyed this aspect of a girl surviving in the wilderness. Luckily Miyax did have some experience though... She’s an Eskimo.
Some parts of the book were a little bloody and a few places in the book there were frightening scenes that might not be appropriate for children under 10, but I liked it. I thought it had just the right amount of action and adventure. I thought it was nice how Jean Craighead George mixed adventure in. I liked how she wrote in general. While I was reading George’s words I felt like a sponge. (No, this is not a typo, and yes, I did mean to write sponge.) I don't know why but almost every time I read stories like this where people are in the wilderness discovering new things and braving every rain drop, mosquito bite, and breath of air, I try to absorb every word in the book. Because somewhere in my delusional mind I think someday maybe I’ll be stuck in the wilderness and I will NEED to know how to survive. (I know this will never happen.) I liked this book a lot and would highly recommend it.
I enjoyed the way Miyax’s feelings and words stood out in this book. It was written clearly. It was straight forward, exciting, and entertaining. Miyax was made into a great character. She had a good heart and a smart head. Please read this book. You won’t be doing me a favor, you’ll be doing yourself one.