Wolf Rider: A Tale of Terror

by Avi

The phone rang three times before Andy picked it up. "Hello?" he said. A voice replied, "I just killed someone."

Only Andy Zadinski is convinced that the caller is serious. But no one else will listen; not the police, not his friends, not even his father. They all say he's crying wolf. But when Andy decides to investigate he discovers more than he bargained for. Nina Klemmer may not be the only target for murder after all...

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, School, Realistic Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1986

About the author

Avi is a pen name for Edward Irving Wortis, but he says, "The fact is, Avi is the only name I use." Born in 1937, Avi has created many fictional favorites such as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Nothing but the Truth, and the Crispin series. His work is popular among readers young and old.

Reviews

[Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

AHAHAHAHAHA BEST ENDING EVER

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was really disappointing for me. For a mystery, it really wasn't that thrilling or intriguing for me. I had high hopes, but it just fell a bit short.

Andy was a little naive, I kept thinking why are you antagonizing this potential killer and going by yourself to meet him? I get that he wanted to make sure he had the right guy and wanted to to protect Nina, but I kept thinking Nina was going to get killed BECAUSE of all the interfering Andy was doing, or Andy was going to get killed in the process. Either idea I would've welcomed happily (is that too negative??). It would've brought another dimension to the book, that I felt was missing. A little too predictable and a little too low key. I did like the scene between and his dad (why was he always referred to as Dr. Zadinski? So we would know that was their last name?). It was a nice touch!

[Jeannie]

After the phone rings and someone tell you that they killed someone how do you respond? Well, Andy Zadinski talks this guy through it. When Andy tries to tell the police, his dad, and his friends, no one believes him. Andy is the only one that is convinced that the caller is serious so he does some research on the girl he “killed”, Nina Klemmer. Once he realizes that Nina is still alive, he tells her that she is in great danger. Nina thinks that Andy is joking and refuses to believe him. He tries to forget about it but he can’t stop himself. When Andy finds out that Nina is not the only target for murder, he gets very scared.
Andy has to overcome an external conflict. He has to find out who the murderer is. He also has to convince Nina that she is in danger and he also has to help his loved ones because Nina is not the only one in danger. Andy gets caught up in a situation at the end of the book that could lead to death and that is the main conflict he has to deal with.
I like this book because it was told in first person and I got a clear idea of what Andy was thinking. Avi told this story with great suspense. The ending was a big surprise and I never would have guessed what happened. I also liked it because the ending was scary. It wasn’t just a surprising ending but it was filled with action. The place were this book was weak were the descriptions. Avi vaguely described the characters and the setting. Even though the characters had unique personalities, I didn’t know what they looked like and, therefore; I could not imagine the characters right in front of me. Other than that, the book was unbelievably good. This book was a real page turner. I recommend it to anyone who loves a mystery.
(294)

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book, it was breathtaking i wish there was a second one. :)

[Vanely · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the greatest book I ever read. It was suspenseful and I couldn't stop reading it.

[Lisa Rathbun · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't really like it. The premise had potential: boy receives a call from a stranger saying he'd killed someone. What should the boy do? As the story progresses, the boy keeps trying reasonable things like talking to his father and to the police but no one believes him. Being falsely accused and misunderstood forces him into more reckless behavior.



The story is realistic in a way; a young person could imagine being in just that very situation and feeling without options. Discussion topics could include death, loss, and grief; parent/child relationships; obsession (although the story barely touches on this); and communication failures (maybe tie in with Cassandra - knowing something would happen but not being believed.) One could also evaluate Andy's character: when Nina refused to believe him, why didn't he just drop the whole thing? The writing and structure is fairly simpe: the primary symbolism is that of the boy who cried wolf, but it is conveyed in a very peripheral way until an overwhelming obvious point in the plot where Andy actually rides on a wolf at a carnival.



Overall, however, I found the story rather dull and the ending disappointing. I wanted to find out motive: WHY had the stranger made the call in the first place? No motive is given.

This story had way more potential. I don't recall any bad words, but simply the absence of profanity is not enough for me to recommend this. A MUCH better book is "Nothing But the Truth" also by Avi. While to some people that ending is also ambivalent, I think it rounds out the story well. "Wolf Rider" gave me nowhere near the same satisfaction.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a surprising and welcome treat from 2003 Newbery Medal winner Avi. I've read good books by the author in a variety of genres, from historical fiction to school comedy to quirky fantasy and beyond, and I've read a few that rose well beyond "good". Crispin: The Cross of Lead is a well-built piece of historical literature, and so is The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, which did everything possible to deserve the silver Newbery emblem one can find emblazoned on its cover. I hadn't found another book from Avi of quite that high a caliber, however, until I stumbled upon Wolf Rider, and in those suspenseful nights I spent buzz-sawing from cover to cover, hardly able to tear my eyes away from the text for even moments at a time, my perception of Avi as a writer grew by leaps and bounds. Wolf Rider may be the closest I've ever seen any author come to writing like Robert Cormier. Far from being just another teen crime thriller, Wolf Rider is nearly as raw an experience as one could hope to have in a book, all kinds of emotions flaring uncomfortably high, possibly bringing the reader literally to the edge of his or her seat in rigid indignation at the almost universal dismissal of Andy's persistent fears regarding the call he receives that starts the whole nightmare. What would you do if confronted with similar disinterest, rejection and outright accusation when all you wanted was to make sure a death didn't happen on your watch, that you had done everything in your power to avert catastrophe before it becomes tragedy? One doesn't have to wonder about that too hard while reading Wolf Rider. The scenario jumps out from the book and messes with the reader's mind in subtle psychological ways, drawing one right into the heart of the story as less skillful writers couldn't hope to do. How would you respond if trapped in Andy's claustrophobic situation? You're about to find out the answer.

The phone rings, its familiar trill looming in the kitchen as it does every day, but nonstop terror rushes into Andy Zadinski's life as a result of what he hears on the other end of the line. A male voice identifying itself only as "Zeke" delivers the matter-of-fact statement that he has just killed a girl named Nina Klemmer. He hadn't intended on killing her, never planned to pick up the gun and end her life with a well-placed bullet. But you see, Nina wasn't interested in Zeke, no matter the painstaking overtures he made to win her affections. Nina would never be Zeke's girl, and that was evidently too much for him to handle. As Andy listens to the disurbing details of the murder laid out by the effectively anonymous caller, he gestures for his friend Paul to hook up with a policeman to trace the call and figure out what's going on, but Paul doesn't act quickly enough. The call is never traced, and no murder of any girl named Nina Klemmer is reported. The man who was Zeke slips away, an ephemeral voice disconnected from body or purpose, and only Andy knows the seriousness with which Zeke spoke of the horrible act he'd committed. The police urge Andy to forget the matter, to dismiss what was obviously a prank call and understand that without an actual crime against any girl named Nina, all he heard was a disembodied voice casting vague threats.

But Andy is sure there's more to Zeke's call than a prankster blowing off steam. Though he may be only fifteen himself, Andy recognized a quiet deadliness in the caller's voice that should not be ignored, and he isn't about to leave Nina to her own devices, whoever she may be. When Andy looks through the college directory in his professor father's office, he runs across Nina Klemmer's name listed as a student at the university. Now he knows there's a real Nina, but the police remain unimpressed by the stats sheet he's compiled on the perpetrator and alleged victim. Nina may be a real student, but who's to say she's in any actual danger from the guy who called Andy seemingly at random? No crime has been reported against Nina, so there's nothing the police could do even if they were inclined to act on Andy's tip.

As Andy unearths new information at a rapid rate and is forced to make crucial decisions without enough time to think them through, his mistakes begin piling up on him; and in such a volatile situation as this, those mistakes could easily blow up in his face. The police have no solid leads on "Zeke", but there is a growing case against Andy, for everything from harassment to intentionally misleading the police. External pressure mounts for Andy to drop his fixation on Nina and get back to normal life, but that's nothing compared to the pressure pushing back from inside himself. For whatever reason Zeke called Andy to talk about a murder that apparently never happened, it was Andy he called, and there's no taking that back now. Andy feels the weight of responsibility square on his shoulders to do something with what he knows before a simple mysterious phone call turns into a murder investigation, and leaves him with the full sickening awareness that he had been the only person with any chance of preventing the crime before it took place. No matter how hot tempers flare around the house and at school, with every authority figure of any station in Andy's life loudly insisting he stop obsessing over Nina before his borderline behavior turns undeniably into stalking, Andy won't give up on his perceived responsibility to Nina. He can't give up on it, as long as he knows there's someone out there whose fixation on Nina runs much deeper than his, and could be deadly instead of merely protective. But if Andy isn't going to receive any help from the police, his father or school officials in saving Nina, is there some way he can find Zeke on his own and prove to everyone his concern for Nina was warranted all along?

With reckless disregard for his own safety on the trail of a possible psychopath, Andy lurks in wait to draw the tiger from its habitat and pounce on its swinging tail, not caring that on the opposite end of any tiger is a vicious set of teeth. Andy's life has devolved into a nightmare of false accusations and misunderstandings, people blaming him for what he heard and haranguing him into giving up the idea that Nina needs any kind of savior, and now his only chance at redemption from an increasingly traumatic set of personal circumstances is to deliver on the hope of catching Zeke at his own game, turning the tables on the mystery caller and outing him the same way Zeke was so easily able to mask his true identity from Andy during that first call: by manipulating the anonymity of the phone system, putting Zeke on the defensive. But the tiger always does have a set of snapping teeth ready to fatally wound its enemies, no matter how scared it may be of them at first, and as Andy searches for a way to out Zeke publicly, he must hope the would-be murderer is having less luck tracking down Andy's identity. Because once the tiger has its prey in sight, how long can it be before the weaker party becomes his next meal?

What about Wolf Rider makes it so palpably compelling, the sort of story that sticks in one's throat and won't move up or down, causes one to break out in a sweat, manufactures such a convincing illusion of danger that it goes beyond feeling like a well-told story and affects the reader's nerves directly, as if the threat were present in real life? Much of that extends from the reaction of the police and Andy's father to his reports about Zeke's call. Instead of focusing on Nina as a potential victim of "Zeke" and working out ways to preserve her life from the imminent threat, the adults in Andy's life choose to focus on the teenager who reported the call. Rather than adapting a proactive approach to the case based on a "better safe than sorry" methodology, they elect to believe Andy has taken a harmless prank too seriously. The police suspect the prank call may have even been set up by Andy so he could justifiably stalk a pretty college girl, but Andy's father isn't willing to go along with that idea just yet. His mounting frustration with Andy is more along the lines of believing his son has blown the entire deal out of proportion and won't listen when told he's gone too far, and he fears Andy's mental health is tipping out of balance as the fifteen-year-old becomes overly mindful of Nina and her doings. This is the attitude Professor Zadinski maintains throughout most of Wolf Rider, pleading with Andy to forsake his new muse, then angrily threatening him when the pleading doesn't work. Why won't Andy give up his obsession with Nina, he asks again and again, most of his pointed questions for Andy a restatement of the same inquiry. But I think what the professor isn't understanding is a vital point Andy skirts around numerous times in their blowup arguments, without ever stating it concisely enough to appeal to his father's scholarly logic. Zeke's phantom murder confession may be a hoax, or it may have been a one-time cathartic phone call by some lonely soul infatuated with a girl he can never have. This is true, and Andy knows it. But if Nina Klemmer turns up dead, shot by an assailant known or unknown, and Andy had been tipped off ahead of time that it was going to happen and was unable to do enough to convince the police or even his own father that protective measures needed to be taken to save the girl's life, the guilt will haunt him forever. Who could feel anything but soul-consuming guilt at the knowledge that one was given practically premonitory awareness of a murder in its nascent stages, yet essentially did nothing about it and allowed the killing to take place? With every heated screaming match between father and son, nothing ever solved because Andy's father isn't getting why this is so important to Andy that he can't let it go even after all the warnings levied against him, and Andy refuses to turn his back on Nina as long as he knows she may still be in mortal danger, I kept hoping Andy would make it clear the reason he can never drop his involvement with Nina is that if he did, and anything happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself for not doing more to stop it, and understandably so. This isn't about Andy knowing for sure Nina's life is at risk; it's a matter of it being a definite possibility, and the police having already decided no legitimate threat exists. Who is there to help Nina if even the police won't take action? It's a lonesome position Andy has been put in, but he's isn't taking it lying down. I wouldn't have expected anything less, though few would show such tenacity in the face of so many threats from so many authority figures.

Wolf Rider is such a marvelous artistic success because it isn't only a captivating crime drama; it's a fascinating look at human behavior, at what changes when one turns a few dials and twists a knob or two. Avi does the turning and twisting with flawless precision, and after that the story drives itself, propelled by the heat and intensity of the characters' emotions to places the author couldn't have taken it in his own strength. Powerful emotion begets powerful emotion, multiplying on itself until the effect is dizzying, and Avi takes full advantage in this book. The pages continue to turn beneath one's fingers because the story's emotions are vivid and alive, even uncomfortably so. One can see oneself so easily in Andy's situation, fighting for what's right when no one else sees it the same way, bobbing to keep one's head above the ocean current steadily rising in the opposite direction. There's almost a physical need to see Andy proven right as the story progresses, to witness so many wrongs righted, so many unjust statements, insinuations and outright accusations finally retracted by those chastened with the unyielding truth, forced to acknowledge Andy was right all along and he had every reason to worry for Nina's safety and disregard the apathy of the police to make sure she would be safe. Only a superb storyteller at his best can conjure up such strong feelings in the reader, and Avi does that and more in Wolf Rider. It is a wonder of a novel.

1987 was an excellent year for Newbery. Eligible kids literature included Sid Fleischman's Medal-winning The Whipping Boy, Cynthia Voigt's Come a Stranger from her highly respected Tillerman Cycle, Cynthia Rylant's A Fine White Dust and Why Did She Have to Die? by Lurlene McDaniel. Personally, my 1987 Newbery Medal would have gone, without question, to On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer, one of the greatest books of any kind I've ever read. Wolf Rider would have probably earned a Newbery Honor nod from me, though, as deserving of recognition with the citation as almost anything Avi has written. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle may be the author's magnum opus, but if there were such a position as "magnum opus 1-A", it would have to be reserved for Wolf Rider, in my opinion. As I said in the lead paragraph of this review, Wolf Rider may the closest I've seen to a Robert Cormier novel with another author's name on the cover, and that's as meaningful a compliment as I can think to give. I unequivocally recommend this book.

[Experience The · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very interesting, with new and intriguing characters that added both suspense and drama to both the character and his/her internal emotions. The plot to me was fair, not horrible but also not the very best it could be. The story starts off clean, with little to no delays. It also sets the protagonists main obstacle in the story, along with his goal. Some aspects of the story were characters and setting.
The characters in the book set the stage for many twists and turns, and each of their personalities helped develop the main character, which is one of the elements that kept me reading on. The main character had a round personality in my opinion, with his words and actions keeping the plot going to the very end. Some characters in the book though, I thought were somewhat flat or bland in a way. Those characters only showed up a few times, and did little to change or impact the story. I also thought that if these characters weren't in the book, the story would be basically the same. Besides characters, the setting they were placed in was very ordinary.
Once and a while, Avi told the surrounding setting that the characters were placed in with lots of detail. He also described major places that characters often visited. The setting wasn't bad, but was very normal. There were no abnormal buildings or abandoned houses. This I thought, helped the plot a little. With many places to visit, it felt like a cat and mouse chase between the protagonist and the antagonist. You wouldn't know where the antagonist would strike next, or where he was, which I enjoyed a lot. I also enjoyed the way Avi interpreted the story, by telling it in the point of view of multiple personas. With this, you tell what the characters were thinking and could gain external knowledge that the protagonist does not have.
Overall, with characters, plot, theme, style, and setting, I thought this book was fairly good.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avi is amazing. He will not be pigeonholed into a type or style of writing. This is a psychological tale in which a young teen boy receives an chilling phone call from a very evil man who will claims he has killed a young woman college student. Andy Zadinski learns that the young woman Nina is not dead but definitely in danger. He becomes obsessed with protecting Nina when no adults in authority believe the young woman is in danger. He is assumed to be "Crying Wolf". The tale culminates in a dramatic showdown between the evil caller Zeke and the seemingly misguided, mixed-up powerless teen. Great psychological thriller in ilk of Lois Duncan.

[Philip · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a pretty good YA mystery. It was a very fast read, probably the fastest that my kids have to read.

Summary: Kid gets phone call from crackpot saying he killed someone.
Kid tells authorities, but none take him seriously.
Kid is forced to take matters into his own hands while others think he is crying wolf.

I was afraid it was going to go all Arlington Road on me, and if it did, I was going to be relatively peeved...

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

well the first time i picked up this book i think the book talks about child book "Cry Wolf" but i started to read this book i couldn't get my hands off of this book. I personally loves Thriller genre. I think it is freaky when the stranger called the protagonist that he killed someone but he didn't believe him. Later he researched about the girl, the stranger mention on the phone. But he found out she is still alive. But She, Nina is actually the target of the stranger.

[Adam]

Personal response
Wolfrider is a very interesting book. I feel that the book is always leaving me hanging, I need to know what is next. I like Andy's bravery in always disobeying whatever his father consistently told him. I wouldn't dare disobey my father. I also feel that I can’t guess what is going to happen next. There could be so many different outcomes from Andys actions. I dislike that Andy's father never would believe what Andy is saying about the phone call. He just wants Andy to forget about it.

Plot Summary
Andy is a young boy who goes to Highschool in a fairly large town. His father works at the college in town as a professor. Andy and his friend, Paul, are at Andy’s house when the phone rings. Andy answers the phone and someone answers by the name of Zeke. Zeke claims he has just killed his girlfriend, Nina Klemmer. Andy immediately starts writing down clues and sends Paul to call the cops. Zeke hangs up the phone and Andy is blown away by what he heard. Paul thinks it is a prank call. He goes to the police and they said the same thing, just a prank call. Andy decides to figure the mystery out himself. He finds the name Nina Klemmer with someone that goes to the college his father works at. Andy decides to try and talk to Nina and warn her about someone by the name of Zeke that she may know. Nina doesn't believe Andy and walks away from him like he is crazy. Andy stalks Nina and discovers her daily routine. He tries to talk to her at the school Library again and Andy scares her off. She calls campus security and gets Andy in trouble with his father. Andy's father grounds him and keeps him home when he wants to go out. With all the time Andy has at home, he tries to find who Zeke is. Zeke has to know who Nina is. When finding nothing in the phonebook he decides to look on the campus website. He checks for anyone by the name of Zeke but finds nothing. He decides to check the professors also. He finds one professor by the name of Lucas who has Nina in one of his classes. He could use a fake name on the call as Andy. Andy decides to call and when Lucas picks up, Andy makes the mistake of using the same fake name from the phone call Zeke made. Andy soon realizes Lucas’s voice is the same as Zeke’s. Andy determines that Lucas is the one who made the call. He tries to warn Nina but again she ignores what he has to say. His father is still in disbelief. He is on his own to figure out what to do. As he is disobeying his father, Andy is grounded so there is not much he can do outside his house besides make phone calls. He calls Lucas multiple times to set up a meeting with him and Nina. This irritates Lucas. Andy strategically has Lucas meet Nina when she is leaving her class at the old chapel, but Andy is not careful enough.

Characterization
Andy starts off as good kid. After the phone call he turns into a sneaky disobeying kid. He disobeys his father and lies to him about where he is going and what he is doing. He is very brave for what he does in the end. Even when everyone makes him look like the bad person, he intends to find a solution to the mystery caller.

Dr Zadiski also has a change in character. He starts off as a very laid back father to Andy. He lets him go where he wants with his friends whenever Andy wants to. However, soon he has to be strict with Andy because he is lying and misbehaving getting caught up with the mystery phone call.

Setting
The setting takes place in present time in Madison, Wisconsin. The most important places of the story would be Andy's house and the campus. They are important because the phone call takes place at Andy’s house. Also Andy's big interactions with Nina and Lucas take place at the college campus. The story takes place in present time, which is very important because at the time Wolfrider is written, the authorities do not have the technology to listen in on the phone call or trace it to who it came from.

Thematic Connection
I see the theme of overcoming fear appear through the reading, mostly because Andy is always afraid of what Zeke or Lucas would do. He is afraid in the first call when the caller claims to be Zeke and said he has killed Nina. Andy overcome his fear of not knowing what Lucus would do. He is brave for calling Lucas and risking him knowing who Andy is. Andy shows no fear when he waits at the chapel for Lucas to show up.

Recommendation
I recommend this book to anyone at the high school level. Any gender from high school would comprehend this book and enjoy it. Also anyone who likes to read mysteries would enjoy this book. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone below the high school level because there is some violence at the end. Also for how Andy misbehaves, they should not pick up on some of his bad habits.

[Zelia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stupid blackberry compote stained the pages ☹️ got this for free from the school library! Cute little mystery, gives me goosebumps vibes but for an older crowd

[Andrew Stubing · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a dark and stormy night :) A boy named Andrew or Andy was called by some random person named "Zeke". Zeke tells Andrew that he has killed someone by the name of "Nina". As Andrew heres what this whole conflict is all raging about, he decides to call the police, and tell them what everything has happened. Majority of the police officers think this is some kind of joke, but Andy thinks differently. Andy later tells his father about this whole situation and he believes it's totally bogus. Andy's father works at this college nearby, and Andy thinks smart enough that there might be a Nina at the college that Andrew's father teaches at. Andy later does, surprisingly find a "Nina Klemmer" that goes to the college. Andy searches, searches, and searches for this Nina, and to find out what rooms she is staying at. One of the first place Andy finds Nina is in the library. Andrew tells Nina that she is in much danger and she must be careful. Nina freaks out and files charges on Andrew for thinking that he was harassing her. Eventually she does not file charges, because she may be smart enough to actually believe Andy. Later Andy finds this teacher by the name of Mr. Lucas, and fits the exact way that Zeke explained to Andy. Andy knows he IS Zeke. Zeke later finds out that Andy and Paul are onto him. Mr. Lucas kidnaps the two of them and is going to try to murder Andy. As Andy is in his car, he eventually finds his way out and escapes. Mr. Lucas, A.K.A. Zeke, forgets to turn on the emergency brake on in the car. The car obviously and sadly rolls down the hill in the woods and crashes to kill Zeke. After this whole controversy has ended, Andy decides to get on a plane to go see his aunt. As Andy is traveling, his dad still at the main hometown, goes into Andy's closet, trying to find Andy's baseball glove. Instead of that he finds a cufflink that Zeke or "Mr.Lucas" would always wear. Andy's dad takes it with him, and goes to his car. Eventually Andy is still on his plane to go see his Aunt Mary, and not telling the truth to explain to his father what happened. Andy's dad goes to the garbage before leaving to get rid of the cufflink with tears on it. Overall throughout the entire story everyone thinks that Andy is just being silly and telling a bunch of white lies, and crying, like "The Boy who Cried Wolf". Overall I thought the book was great, interesting, and suspenseful, I LOVED IT,

Rating : 4 OF 5

[Corey Schmidt]

I read the book “Wolf Rider A tale of Terror.” It was written by Avi. It was a book about a boy, named Andy, who gets a phone call in the middle of the night by a man named Zeke. Zeke told him that the had just killed a girl named Nina. Andy has his friend call the police to try and trace the call. The police just laugh at them and think he’s playing a prank or someone prank called them. Andy is really concerned about the girl and investigates it to try and figure out who Nina is and who Zeke actually is. While investigating to try and save Nina, Andy freaks her out, and she files charges against him. Andy’s father starts to worry about him and decides to send him to his aunt’s house for a little rest and relaxation. This leaves Andy with only a little time to solve the mystery and save Nina. Andy starts to get desperate and ends up getting caught by Zeke and while Zeke takes him away they get in a scuffle, and Zeke ends up driving off a cliff. He ends up dieing and Andy gets off scott free, but he still has to go to his aunts.

The main character of this book is Andy. He is an average everyday normal teenager. He enjoys hanging out with his friends, playing baseball, and girls.

The setting of the story is in Madison. There is no other location given besides that. If the setting was in an earlier time period it wouldn't have been able to happen. There wouldn't have been a phone call for this story to happen in the first place. The time period is not specifically stated, but if I had to guess it would be modern time.

I think the author’s theme for writing this book was to show people that if you know something’s not right that you need to do what you think is right. Even if what’s right isn’t what everyone else thinks is right. I can apply this to my life by following my gut and doing what I believe is right.

I would not recommend this book to other people, but if someone insists upon reading it anyone at a ninth grade reading level or higher could read it. It has an easy vocabulary and is very easy to follow. However I thought the book was rather boring, and I also thought it had a terrible ending. I would rate this book one out of five stars.

[Brian Hart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole book Wolf Rider is based on one phone call. Andy gets a call from Zeke who says he "killed" Nina. Andy told the police, his friends and his dad about the phone call and murder, but nobody believed him. They told him it was a joke and to leave it alone. The author continually talked about how nobody believed him all throughout the story. I believe one of the themes of this book is to never give up in what you believe in and be persistent. Andy gets frustrated because he was not being taken seriously. He was struggling with finding answers and staying out of trouble with his dad. Andy ended up finding Zeke and Nina, but the character who ends up dying in the end isn't what you would expect.
This book deserves to have a 4 out of 5 ranking because it was a good mystery that had me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole story. This book would be a good book for someone who likes a suspenseful thriller with conflicts throughout the story. In my opinion, one problem with the book is that the author focuses too much on Andy's thoughts and actions in finding the killer. This book had conflicts throughout the story. The conflict that made the story really good was that nobody believed Andy about the call, including his dad.
Wolf Rider has many twists to it which made it really good. Even though there are some things that I would change, it is still one of the best books I've read in a long time.

[Omar Aden · Rating 4 out of 5]

don't you hate every time when you are telling a truth, and no one is beleiving you, well that is basically what happens to andy the charecter of this book. "Wolf Rider" by Avi is great fiction book about this young boy who suffers throw life in every possible way, but like any others books there is happy ending. This 13 year old kid goes from losing his mother to being untrusted boy. the climax of the book is when andy receives this unsual phone call from this man who calls him self Sack. sack says he killed a girl who goes to college around andy's neiborhood. andy knows neither the girl nor the sack, but he believes sack is not lying. " poeple campare me to the boy who carreid wolf when i tell them the story, but i never lied to them and nor am i lying know either. no one believes andy's story so he thinks he is obligated to find who Sack is and who the girl is and he wants to prove he was right, but the result he finds at the end is a mstary which remians in the book.

[Mackenzi Knoll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolf Rider is an amazing story about a boy who gets an odd phone call from a mysterious person, who is actually a killer. The boy gets numerous calls from the killer, and says he has killed someone, and tells him the girl's name that he had killed. The boy keeps wondering about the killer, and finds out the girl who was "killed" is actually alive, and is a student at a college his father works at. He goes to the college and find the girl, and tries to talk to her over and over again, but when she says enough is enough, the boy gets stuck in a horrible situation. I loved this book because it has a wonderful story behind it!

[David T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avi's exilerating novel, will keep you constantly curious. On the travel home from school I would be forced by the book to pry it open and flip pages whether or not I felt up to read. This mind boggling novel starts out where a boy answers his phone and is explained by a stranger that he (the stranger) has just murdered someone. When the boy explains his story and noone believes him he takes the investigation into his own hands. After finding out the girl is not murdered ...yet and lives rather close....well you'll just have to read it.

[Kaleb Mesick]

This book is one of my new favorite books it has everything I like to read about. Such as in the beginning when the phone rang and the person on the other side seed they just killed someone.
Andy stayed on the phone and talked to the person to so I was not sure what was going to happen next. But I’ll let you find out not done reading yet.

[Ariana]

Once again Avi writes something good.. gosh!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is so good i can't put it down!

[Addyson Huneke · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was SOOO creepy. It gives me chills even now to think about it.

This was a heavy read. What's crazy about it is that the phone call at the beginning of the book actually happened to the author just as it happened in the book. This is definitely the creepiest Avi book I've read, and it doesn't even have ghosts or anything like his some of his other ones do. This was my first book I read from my new library. I was so excited when I finally got my new library card! I'd been waiting for weeks.

Writing: 4.5/5
This book was written fairly well, Avi's books always are. The one complaint I had was I couldn't tell whether it was supposed to be an omniscient point of view or a deep third-person point of view. It seemed to be from Andy's point of view, and then it would say something that Andy wouldn't know because he had his eyes closed or something else like that. Probably something only a writer would notice. Other than that, the book was very well-written.

Setting: 5/5
There wasn't anything particularly spectacular about the setting. It was mostly in a college town. I got the impression it was in the eighties or nineties, however, this is never specified. For what it was, it seemed accurate and fairly vivid.

Plot: 5/5
Very interesting and intriguing. I certainly wasn't quite expecting the end the way it was. The plot was well-done and...creepy.

Character Development: 4.5/5
Not really spectacular, but not horrible either. Andy is well-developed and is given good motives for his persistence in believing what "Zeke" said on the phone call. Andy's dad was pretty well-developed, but "Zeke" could have used some more development and explanation into his past and motives and current state of mind and everything. Pretty well done, but not amazing.

This is a good book, though a little dark, and though I would recommend it, it's not for everybody.

[Heather M · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, along with Rumble Fish from S.E. Hamilton, is why I stopped reading other works from authors I love after reading the one book of theirs I fell in love with. This is what 13-year-old me gets for trying to check out other works by the author of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.

Apart from being an edgy psychological mystery/thriller instead of an idealistic spot of nautical historical fiction like True Confessions (I will say this, the man is good at writing multiple genres), the title is misleading (it has nothing to do with wolves--again, take that 13-year-old me who was obsessed with Julie of the Wolves), and the premise is underdeveloped. As others have said, it's a neat premise for a story: boy receives a mysterious call from a stranger confessing to killing someone, he tries to go to his dad and the police who shrug him off, he stumbles across the girl who was supposedly murdered and tries to warn her but she too shrugs him off. What to do? The story seemed like it could go so many interesting ways, but sadly, they were all under-explored. The book that was promised with the title and the first few dozen pages was not the book delivered. The final reveal is pretty underwhelming, although I'll admit the ending was a fine twist.

If you want to read a creepy, edgy, psychological horror mystery/thriller that takes you directions you weren't expecting capped off with a twist ending, you might like this book. If you don't like such things (as I don't), probably not for you.

[Jennifer Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn’t really make sense as a mystery or a thriller, even if it is a middle grade read. Considering that Nina wasn’t dead yet, I thought that maybe Andy’s med was going to cause her to be. I think I would have like some backstory as to why the professor was calling random numbers and saying he killed somebody, especially if they were local numbers he was calling, and why specifically Nina. I get that the professor was crazy or frustrated or angry, and maybe this was his weird way of letting off steam, but if we’re going to have the professor’s point of view to validate that he is in fact, the killer (?), then it might have been a good idea to give us a full motive.

I thought the ending was fascinating, though, considering Aunt thinks he’s done the right thing, but he hasn’t told anybody the full truth, knowing that they haven’t believed him this whole time. And now Andy’s dad thinks that maybe his son has killed his friend/coworker/the professor .

[Lexi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. Gosh. I loved this book so much!! That’s two exclamation points people, TWO! I couldn’t put it down which was unfortunate because I read it for a book club. I was so excited when it was finally time to finish. Throughout the whole book I was wondering what would happen to Andy, Nina and Zeke. How would Lucas react to Andy’s call? Would Andy get ANYONE to believe him? Oh, and WHY DID ANDY NOT TELL HIS DAD THE REASON DR. LUCAS DIED?! WHY DID HE NOT TELL HIM ANYTHING AT ALL?!! I would have confessed everything right away once the word had gotten out of his death. I guess that’s just me. Despite that, I really loved the last part where Dr. Zadinski threw away the cuff links while crying because Lucas was his friend, but he didn’t know that he was some sort of killer person. I just can’t get over this book. I definitely recommend it.

[Draven · Rating 2 out of 5]

In all honesty the idea of the book is really fanominal and an intresting idea, but the way it was executed really made loose intrest in it. The plot of the whole book was more or less....Meh. Not to mention how some of the characters are shown to not belive in the main character but in a more real world situation everybody would of taken it seriously even if it was quote on quote "a prank" and for a lost of a better word not realistic. And I found the ending to be really unsatisfying a lot could of been done to make this book better. So I really don't recommand this book due to these reasons.

[Monica Caldicott]

Read p. 1-3.
The phone rings. Andy, a 15-year-old high school student, picks it up. "I just killed someone," says s male voice on the other end. From this moment on, Andy is in a race to find out what happened - or is going to happen - to the beautiful college student the stranger said he killed.

But no one believes Andy. His friends, teachers, father and even the police say it has just a prank call. They say forget about it. A counselor at school even accuses Andy of acting like "the boy who cried wolf" just to get attention.

Read p. 52, "He kept thinking about Mrs. Baskins's … take the fact seriously."

[Viiga Losi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is exciting and mysetrious. Andy recieves a call from a stranger named Zeke, saying that he killed Nina Klemmer, someone andy doesn't know. After the call poor Andy tries to find answers and help to warn and protect whoever this Nina Klemmer is after finding out that she was still alive; however, noone believed him and thought that he was a freak and weirdo just playing his imagination. No one believed in Andy but himsef. Andy went through a lot to find the truth, but all was worth it.

[Karalynn Shade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is was way better than I had expected it to be. The mystery was suspenseful and I really felt for the main character. I really do love/hate the ending. It wasn’t perfect, which is exactly how endings should be. Not everything always ends well. It’s a quick read, but a good one nonetheless.

I would recommend this book to anyone in their teens that likes a good mystery. It’s a good short mystery that really gets you thinking. If you are any older, this might be too easy of a read for you and any younger and you might not be interested.