Brilliant White Peaks by Teng Rong
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by AstilbeA beautiful story of life, love, and loss in the animal kingdom.
Brilliant White Peaks follows a young wolf and his companions as they battle harsh weather conditions, scarcity of food, and other predators to survive in the wild.
Raised by a loving Ma and Pa, a wolf pup grows up with his shy sister White-Ears to be a ferocious hunter. However, while foraging for food in the winter, the family is attacked by a pack of hostile wolves, leading the young wolf and his sister astray from their parents.
Desperate to find his parents again, the young wolf slowly nurses White-Ears through her injuries and sets off for the ocean, where Ma and Pa promised they would be waiting.
Surviving in the wild is difficult even for predators!
The character development was well done, especially when it came to the protagonist. He was such a persistent and courageous wolf who often put himself into danger to save the ones he loved. I was also fascinated by his canine conceptions of what might happen to an animal after death. That was not a topic I’d ever expected him to think about, so reading his thoughts on it later on in the plot was a real treat.
My sole criticism of this book involves the ending. The main character spent almost the entire storyline searching for his missing parents. It was such a powerful source of motivation for him that I was a little disappointed to see how this conflict was resolved even though the author’s reasons for writing it that way did make sense to me. I’d love to see a sequel that addressed this topic in greater detail and explained it fully for the reader as I would have otherwise given this a full five-star rating.
I was impressed by the numerous plot twists. Like all wild animals, the main character was surrounded by danger every moment of his life. Food could be difficult to find, and even the simplest hunt or chance meeting with another predator could go wrong in an instant. There was no telling what might happen to him or his family next, and I was surprised more than once by how things turned out for them.
Brilliant White Peaks was an exciting adventure that I’d recommend to adults and young adults alike.
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