THE BOOK: The Wolf Princess
AUTHOR: Cathryn Constable
THE GENRE: Young Adult, Children’s Literature, Fantasy
AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.cathrynconstable.net
Synopsis
Alone in the world, Sophie dreams of being someone special, but she could never have imagined this. On a school trip to Russia, Sophie and her two friends find themselves on the wrong train. They are rescued by the beautiful Princess Anna Volkonskaya, who takes them to her winter palace and mesmerises them with stories of lost diamonds and a tragic past. But as night falls and wolves prowl, Sophie discovers more than dreams in the crumbling palace of secrets .
Review – The Wolf Princess
Winter stories about wolves are great. The Wolves of Wilhoughby Chase. The Box of Delights, with its thrilling line: The wolves are running. The Wolf Princess goes one better. It has not only snow and wolves – white wolves! – but diamonds too.
It’s the kind of book that draws you into a magical and mysterious world. Even the chapter titles, with their Spirograph-like artwork add to the magic. There are many mysteries. Why does Sophie keep dreaming about her father, a strange girl and a wolf in the snow? Who is the mysterious visitor? Why have Sophie and her friends been taken to Russia and the Volkonsky Winter Palace? What happened to the Volkonsky family and their diamonds? One of the few flaws in this book is that some of the mysteries are a little easy to solve. (Or is that just me?) But that takes nothing away from the rich and atmospheric world it is set in.
I bought this book as an early Christmas present for myself and really enjoyed it. When I was a small girl, I once wrote a story about a princess who had a white wolf for a pet, so I loved it that Cathryn Constable had the same idea. The part where Sophie and her friends get taken away by train and sleigh to the Winter Palace also reminded me of a story I used to read at my grandma’s house: “The Secret Ballet of the Steppes.” If, like Sophie, you have always dreamed of going to Russia, this book will take you there. It’s the perfect book to read on a winter’s night in front of the fire with a cup of hot chocolate.
Adaptation Recommendation
I just read that The Wolf Princess is to be made into a 2D/CGI Walt Disney film, due for release in 2017. I could tell it would make a good film when I read it, so watch out for that, and read the book first!
Overall rating
“You had me at hello.”
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