Review Detail

In SUMMER OF THE WOLVES, two girls (Diana and Stephanie), who have just recently become step-sisters, set off for a family vacation at a ranch. They barely know each other, and are very different. One is outdoorsy, the other less so. One is interested in boys, the other, not so much. Yet they both harbor fears about the continuing affection their divorced parents; they both long for, and yet resist, connection. In the end, they come together to rescue two trapped wolves (misguidedly, as it turns out), and they stay together to deal with the consequences.

The most striking thing about this book is that the first-person narration alternates, chapter by chapter, between the step-sisters. This was also what I liked best about it. The basic plot is interesting enough, and I especially enjoyed reading about Diana’s growing connection to Copper, a young (and somewhat unpredictable) horse at the ranch. Yet what was most profoundly enjoyable was to be able to experience this world through the eyes of both girls, to understand them both, and to root for them as they learn to understand each other.

To experience this story from the perspective of only one of the two would be painfully limiting. Really, one of the main points of the story is that we must all learn to see things from another point of view if we truly wish to be connected. To see inside another’s head is one of the great gifts of any story. This story offers two gifts, and I suggest you accept them eagerly.