Reese’s Review of Julie of the Wolves

One of the 100 most challenged books list (bookspot.com)

Exposition:

Lost in the Alaskan tundra, 13 year old Julie (Miyax in Inuit) is struggling to survive using lessons her father taught her and by trying to learn lessons from the wolves she watches.

Conflict:

Miyax is struggling with finding her place in the world and how her traditions fit into the world of her dreams.

Rising Action:

 Miyax flashes back to the events that have brought her to this place: her mother's death, being taken from her father by her aunt, her marriage to Daniel along with his attack on her, her decision to set out for San Francisco the place of her pen pals stories.

Climax:

While asleep, Jello steals her pack. Later she finds he has been killed by Amaroq for stealing it. She befriends Kapu, the black wolf pup and finds a plover bird that she names Tornait. Gussak hunters kill Amaroq and wound Kapu.

Falling Action:

She mourns the wolf's death and decides to treasure her Eskimo lifestyle. Miyax learns from a family who stops to share her fire of a hunter named Kapugen in a nearby village. There she finds her father has remarried and his life has changed. In her confusion, she heads back to the tundra.

Resolution:

After Tornait dies in the tundra, Miyax decides to head back to Kapugen's home.

Literary Elements:

The author uses tension to the story's advantage. The thread of tension, Miyax's internal struggle with her world and her place in it, weaves through the story from the beginning to even the very end. Additionally, the accuracy of the cultural details and the setting in the Arctic tundra add to the believability of the story.

George, J.C. (1972). Julie of the wolves. New York: Scholastic.