by Carol Rifka Brunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Immediately arresting with fascinating characters. I particularly related because it was set in 1987 when I was in high school. The fourteen-year-old narrator is excellent but unreliable because of her immature and limited viewpoint. The eighties authenticity was well-executed especially regarding early reactions to the AIDS epidemic. The way each of the characters dealt with grief and loss felt quite real. This book is definitely a character-driven story where the relationships ARE the story. Bits and pieces of the story felt somewhat contrived, but it was still well-done and immensely readable. The reactions of our book group varied. Some thought it dragged a bit. Others never finished. But most liked the book. We disagreed on the reliability of the narrator and the motivations of the characters. All of which made for a great discussion. As for the wolf imagery, was it symbolic of society’s reaction to AIDS or did it have more to do with family rivalries? Maybe it was both.

Quotes:

“I’d run from the train station right across town, and it had felt like maybe I was running for my last chance at being normal” (p. 90).

“I stared hard, trying to find a pattern. Thinking if I kept looking hard enough, maybe the pieces of the world would fit back together into something I could understand” (p. 154).