I was sent this book through LibraryThing's Member Giveaway program. It is a werewolf story intended for a teen audience. I found it an enjoyable, though short, book. Set in central British Columbia, it sets the background with a forest fire fighter finding four wolf cubs abandoned after a forest fire. He takes them home to his wife, they find later that instead of wolf cubs, they have four human babies. The story picks up fifteen years later, with the now teenage werewolves still living with their adoptive parents. Their secret is inadvertantly revealed to a documentary crew, and trouble ensues. The ending promises the possibility of other books about these characters. I think that younger readers interested in the supernatural would enjoy this book and series. ( )

I received Wolf Pack for review through the LibraryThing Member Giveaway program.

If it hadn't been published in 2004, I would say Wolf Pack was a response to the resurgence of werewolves in fiction sparked by the Twilight and Southern Vampire Mysteries series. This YA novel introduces a series featuring four teenage werewolf siblings who are being raised by a Canadian park ranger and his wife after their mother's death in a forest fire. The writing style is engaging and not overly simplistic, even for an adult reader. Most detailed and descriptive attention is given to the transformations undergone by the central characters, their runs through the woods and their battles in werewolf form, all of which are nicely evocative. The characterizations and plot leave something to be desired, however.

In this installment, one of the siblings is captured by a scientist who plans to study her and film the results in order to expose the pack's secrets to the world. Her brothers must rescue her and get the existing tapes back in order to maintain their anonymity. The narrative continually reinforces the themes of wildlife conservation and giving the human world a chance to do the right thing before using the weapons at the werewolves' disposal, however even with this tenets in place, several obvious and simple means of rescue are ignored (admittedly some that occurred to me may not be appropriate for young audiences). The moralizing also has a tendency to be a bit heavy-handed and preachy.

The characters are clear-cut "good" or "bad" with no nuance to add interest. The main villain comes off as evil to an unbelievable degree, especially for someone with no prior record of nefarious deeds. Most bothersome to this reader was the role of the female characters. Only two appear in more than one chapter: Tora, the kidnapped female werewolf, and Phyllis, the pack's adopted mother. (The only additional females are the soon-dead nameless wolf mother and a tabloid reporter, leaving all the government authorities and villains played by men.) Although lip service is given to Tora's strength and resilience, for the vast majority of the book she is reduced to lying in a cage while her brothers and human love interest come to her rescue. Phyllis stays at home and bakes cookies while waiting for the men of the family to report back. In future installments (of which there are already three, none of which I have read), I hope we can look forward to seeing the female characters do more than wait and worry.

This book was really short but so thrilling! You sit on the edge of your , as you quickly read through this book. The age group is probably 9-15 but I enjoyed it. Im glad I was able to snag a copy! ( )

I was fortunate enough to win a copy of this book through Library Thing. It is a very quick read geared towards young adult readers aged 9-12. The setting is British Columbia and the main character is a Park Ranger named Garrett Brock who finds 4 abandoned wolf cubs after a devastating forest fire. He brings them home and sets them up in the garage & has his wife Phyllis go check on them. She shrieks and calls out for her husband to come see what was left in the box, not 4 wolf cubs but 4 babies. These are no ordinary wolf cubs; they can morph and change into werewolves, having both wolf and human qualities. Garrett and his wife adopt the children and raise them as ordinary kids.
Fast forward fifteen years later and the kids trying to survive at school with their special abilities. The kids: Noble, Argus, Harlan, and Tora like to roam the woods and change into wolves and perfect their abilities. Unbeknownst to them, an evil Geneticist witnessed their transformation and has it on tape. Eventually, Tora is kidnapped and the brothers must ban together to figure out a way to outsmart the Doctor and get their sister back.
With only 181 pages, this book is a very quick read and younger children would love this book. I was impressed that this book is Canadian and also made with recycled material & is printed on acid free paper. I cannot wait to start the second book I received. ( )

As an adult reader, I found the book too simple, but I think it would be a great read for the 8-12 range. It's a good, solid introduction to werewolf stories, focussing on pack dynamics, the importance of family, and the sanctity of nature. I really didn't like the way Tora's character was handled, though. Why is it always the female who's in danger? And why does she "need" a love interest? I think the story would have been more compelling if Noble, the alpha, had been taken, because it would have made the other three rally their strengths (and leadership skills) to save him. ( )