Lone Wolf

Kristine Franklin’s Lone Wolf (1997) is a realistic novel for middle grade readers. Eleven-year-old Perry Dubois and his dad, Jack, live a quiet, isolated life in the north woods of Minnesota. Perry keeps his feelings about his mother’s abandonment and his little sister’s death safely bottled up until the large, warm-hearted Pestalozzi family moves in nearby. As Perry gradually makes friends with the family’s oldest daughter, Willow, he learns to express his feelings and is finally able to acknowledge his grief. Franklin explores themes of loss, family, and friendship in Lone Wolf, which was listed as a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Perry and Jack have lived alone in their house in the deep woods since Perry’s mom left them three years ago. Following the death of his little sister, Olivia, in a car wreck, Perry’s mother was overwhelmed with grief. Perry wondered why she couldn’t be strong, like his dad, who never even cried after Olivia’s death. Perry’s mom and Jack fought constantly until one night when Perry was eight, Jack woke him to tell him his mother was leaving. Perry had to choose which parent he wanted to stay with. Perry chose Jack, because his mother didn’t even come to say goodbye. Perry keeps three years’ worth of unread letters from his mother in a sack under his bed. He is afraid to read them to find out that he is part of the reason his mom left. He thinks his mom doesn’t want the “leftover” kid.

Perry admires Jack’s silent strength. After they moved to the woods, Perry taught himself not to cry, saying, “crying is for wimps,” but he does suffer from bad dreams. Every time “weakling feelings” like sadness or uncomfortable emotions threaten to break free, Perry goes to his cave in the woods. Perry admits that initially, he missed his friends at school in St. Paul and missed his Grandma, but he has grown used to being alone. Now, Perry doesn’t have any friends, except his German Shepherd, Rhonda. Perry doesn’t go to school, instead, taking correspondence classes at home. Perry does his classwork, helps Jack with his lumber and snowplow business, rambles the woods, and hangs out in his cave hideout. Perry doesn’t mind Jack not talking much, because Perry doesn’t talk much either. Sometimes, though, Perry wishes Jack would listen a little more. Recently, Perry heard a single wolf howl in the woods. Knowing timber wolves are rare, he would love to see it. He names the wolf King.



One day, a family moves into the big white house by Perry’s cave. He watches as a red-haired mom, four girls, a baby boy, a grey-haired, bearded dad, two little dogs, and a cat pile out of the car and U-Haul truck. Perry is upset that there are no boys his age, and he worries about the girls prowling around and finding his secret cave. He moves his woodpile inside the cave so no one will see it, but when the oldest girl, the skinny one with “droopy black hair” and glasses, comes searching for her cat, she finds the cave and Perry. Her name is Willow, and she talks a mile a minute—something Perry isn’t used to. She admires the drawings Perry has made on the walls of the cave and says she is an artist also. The cave is on their family’s land, but she would like to share it with him. But Perry, feeling that his special hideout is ruined, stays away.

After a while, Perry returns to his cave and finds a sketchbook and a note left by Willow. He looks at her drawings of birds and animals and realizes she is a talented artist. When he sees the picture of the wolf, he knows she has seen it. He calls her excitedly and they talk for an hour about wolves. Their friendship builds from there. Together they track the wolf and find a tuft of fur and a pawprint. Perry realizes how much he has missed having fun with someone. Willow’s loud, large family takes Perry in for pizza dinners and monopoly nights. Soon, Perry is spending most of his time at Willow’s house, which “feels like home.”

Jack grows even quieter and Perry worries it is his fault. When Perry snowshoes to the cave by himself and accidentally falls asleep there, Jack is frantic and furious. Jack grounds Perry for a month and warns him to never leave the house without telling him. Perry snaps, replying that since Jack is never around, he can’t tell him anything. After this blow-up, Jack tries to be more friendly, even putting up a Christmas tree, which they haven’t done since Perry’s mom left.



Willow’s family invites Perry and Jack over for Christmas Eve dinner. A huge snowstorm rages outside, and Jack is delayed. Perry opens up and tells the family about Olivia and his mother, then breaks down in tears. Jack arrives and Willow’s dad explains what happened. Back home, Perry and Jack hear the wolf howling. With tears in his eyes, Jack wonders if the wolf is “as lonely as we are.” Perry’s mom calls on Christmas Day and tells Perry she misses him. Jack plans a trip to St. Paul so Perry can visit his mother. Perry takes the sack of letters to his cave and begins to read them.