Wolfsong

Wolfsong (2016) TJ Klune (Green Creek)

Ox was twelve when his daddy told him that Ox wasn’t worth anything and people would never understand him.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road. Joe talked and talked and talked, but Ox found out later the boy hadn’t spoken in almost two years.

Ox believes he is stupid and of little worth, even though he has a mother who loves him and friends who care for and support him.

TWO THINGS happened on my sixteenth birthday.

I was officially hired at Gordo’s. Had a business card and everything. Filled out tax forms that Gordo helped me with because I didn’t understand them. I didn’t cry that time. The guys patted me on the back and joked about how they no longer worked in a sweatshop with child labor.

I really liked Gordo. He obviously cared for Ox, as well as for the men who worked for him. And he recognizes Ox’s worth, even when Ox is unable to see it.

Such as this bit, which reminded me very much of one of my favorite Roald Dahl books.

He showed me how to change the oil when I was three. How to change a tire when I was four. How to rebuild an engine for a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Coupe when I was nine.

That’s the end of where things feel the same as Danny, The Champion of the World, but it was still nice. It also helps to emphasize to the reader that regardless of how Ox feels about himself, he isn’t stupid.

Plus, he’s heart-breakingly sweet and gentle.

(T)he only things I owned that were beautiful were not mine to give away. My mother. Gordo. Rico, Tanner, and Chris. They were the only things I had.

To the reader who has been immersed in werewolf fiction, and who read the title of the book, it’s somewhat obvious what Joe and his family are. But it’s ok that Ox doesn’t get it, since he does not live in a world of magic.

“Sometimes people are sad,” Joe said, leaning his forehead against my arm. A whine sounded like it came from the back of his throat. “And I don’t know how to make it go away. It’s all I ever wanted. To make it go away.”

TJ Klune has an unusual writing style, and it takes me a bit to get into the flow of the story. It’s not bad, just different.

He also has some fascinating world-building and ideas about werewolves and witches etc. I adore seeing what different people do with the various mythos that exist around supernatural creatures.

I was frustrated by the pace at times, but I thin that was part of the story–time passed slowly for Ox, so we see how it went, even if I wanted to move onto the bits where Joe grew up and returned.

It was a very different story, and I quite enjoyed it.

Scars showed what I’d been through. That I was still alive.

Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Rating: 7/10

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