Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott (review)

When Sloan’s mother left two years ago, Sloan took off into the wilderness around their small Alaskan town and wandered for five days until she was rescued. Since then, Sloan panics if she loses sight of her father or her sister Maren, so when the twelve-year-old wakes up to discover they’ve left her alone, she’s frightened to say the least—and that’s before the blizzard sets in. She goes out to find extra diesel for the generator and encounters her teacher, a schoolmate, and a neighbor with a life-threatening injury. As much as her fear of the forest still haunts her, she knows her wilderness skills and ability with a gun mean she’s got to lead the group through the woods to get help. However, the wolves of the forest are hungry, they’re closing in, and Sloan’s only got so many bullets. Sloan’s narration is appropriately stoic, both as a leader of the desperate group and as someone who has emotionally shut down after what she sees as yet another abandonment. The tension ratchets up with each nearing howl and each gunshot, and not everyone makes it out alive when the wolves decide to stop playing with their food. A chilling survival story, this is perhaps best read when the forecast is clear of snow and ice.