It's a beautiful book with gorgeous pictures that perfectly complement stunning descriptions so well-written that you can't help but imagine everything being described. It's a book that makes you dream of a world of snow and wolves and friendship - not only between humans, but between humans and animals as well. 

There are many things about this book that just aren't realistic, I admit that much. But it's a book. It doesn't have to be credible as long as it is believable. Especially a book like this. It isn't meant to be realistic, it is meant to make us dream. And it does.

It's a beautiful story and one of the best middle grade books I've ever read. 

Full review coming soon!

One star taken off for the surprise picture of a scary wolf on page 296. Otherwise a solid plot and endearing characters. 

I absolutely loved this. 

This follows our main protagonist Feo, who is a wolf wilder. Wolf Wilders are the opposite of tamers, they rehabilitate tamed wolves so they can live in the wild again. However, the Russian government is not a fan of wolf wilding and they end up going after Feo and her mother and Feo ends up fleeing her house and going on a journey to save her mother. 

The writing of this at first felt a bit rushed. But, once you settle in and realize it's meant to be that way, as it's a kind of fairytale-esque story, it's paced really well and very engaging and compelling. 

The plot is basically what I mentioned above. Feo and her mother are wolf wilders and rehabilitate tamed wolves so they can live back in the wild, but the Russian government doesn't like that so they end up going after them causing Feo to flee with her wolf companions. She meets all kinds of lovely people along the way and things go from there. At it's core, it's a very simple plot - one of a fairytale and easy to follow, but once you dig a bit deeper, there's quite a bit more complexity to it and it's just really lovely seeing those extra layers. 

The world/setting is in Russia during the Russian Revolution period and it's very atmospheric and vividly written. The setting and the culture is just very present and I loved that you got to see different aspects of Russian life and it's people in such a short book. The setting element was definitely a huge strong point of the book for me. 

Finally, the characters. Feo is a fantastic character and I loved watching her grow as the novel progresses - she starts off as a bit naive with regards to the world, but incredibly smart, passionate and strong when it comes to her family (her mother and the wolves). She's also a fierce friend and note one to give up and I just loved her. Ilya was also a great character. I loved him a lot. I won't say too much more about him than that, but I loved his arc in general. And of course I loved all of the wolves. And I really enjoyed the characters we met along the way. 

All in all, a really great, fast-moving novel and perfect for a cold, winter evening.