Promise of the Wolves

by Dorothy Hearst

Once, long ago, a youngwolf kept company with a human child, and brought war and destruction to the land. Now there is a law against association with humans, as well as one to kill all pups with Outsider blood.
The wolflets of Neesa are such pups, and they must be killed. But Kaala fights back when the pack leader, Ruuqo, is about to end her life. And amazingly, the Greatwolves (the wolf-lords of the valley) want her to live; perhaps she is the one the Ancients have chosen to restore the Balance. Or perhaps not.
Although Kaala is officially part of the pack, that doesn’t make Ruuqo or his pups accept her any better. Kaala is determined not to become the curl-tail of the pack, which is especially hard when she is the outcast. And when she comes in contact with a human girl, she is strangely and powerfully drawn to the hairless animals she was taught to fear. It will take all the help and advice her friends Tlittoo, the raven trickster, and Ázzuen can give to keep her from doing something too stupid.
But what if “stupid” can save the lives of every human and wolf in the valley?

Dorothy Hearst’s debut novel is very unique and well researched. Each animal has a voice that humans can relate to, and yet one that is distinctly untamed and suited for the animal’s characteristics. Promise of the Wolves creates a great premise for the rest of the trilogy, and I hope to read the second book of The Wolf Chronicles very soon.