From the Bookshelf of Retro Reads…

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (The Wolves Chronicles, #1)

Joan Aiken,

Pat Marriott (Illustrator)

Start date: March 24, 2019

Finish date: April 23, 2019

Discussion: Retro Children & YA Books

Discussion leader: Hana

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Retro Children & YA Books

* Retro Children's Books
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What Members Thought

Mar 21, 2024 Sarah B rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, historical-fiction, favorites, adventure, animal-stories, children

I remember seeing a different copy of this book back when I was a kid, with a red and white cover. I don't recall where I had seen it but that dramatic cover with the black wolves certainly had gotten my attention. I wasn't able to read it back then but I certainly remembered that cover image. So finally, decades later, I was able to actually read it. Truthfully I don't know if I would have been able to appreciate or fully understand this as a kid. Would I have known what a governess is? Or how I remember seeing a different copy of this book back when I was a kid, with a red and white cover. I don't recall where I had seen it but that dramatic cover with the black wolves certainly had gotten my attention. I wasn't able to read it back then but I certainly remembered that cover image. So finally, decades later, I was able to actually read it. Truthfully I don't know if I would have been able to appreciate or fully understand this as a kid. Would I have known what a governess is? Or how about a "wold" which is from the very first paragraph? If you look wold up, it says its a "moor" but as a kid that would have been another unknown word!

So I found this story dramatic and very captivating. Its about two young girls named Bonnie and Sylvia. They are cousins and Bonnie lives in a huge mansion on a moor with doting parents and servants. She has a huge collection of toys and she is very high spirited. Her cousin in many way is the opposite, very soft spoken, nervous about new situations and wants to do the proper thing but unfortunately often she is unsure what that is. Sylvia is leaving her elderly Aunt Jane to go live with Bonnie...she is to take the train. But its the dead of winter and hungry wolves are everywhere.

The main problem in here is the fact that the parents are going on a cruise and will be leaving the two girls with the new governess, someone who they had never met before... Of course I had guessed this would be the problem right away.

As an adult I could clearly see where the problem would be in this scenario. It was obvious, so it was no shock when Miss Slighcarp started to do totally outrageous stuff.

One thing in here that did shock me was the behavior of the wolves! Never did I think they would be so totally insane and slathering at the jaws to get people (anyone mind you). Some part of me finds it hard to believe that real wolves would act this way - but I believe it was common for people to believe that wolves did this stuff. In reality their diet is mostly rodents. So in my opinion their behavior is way out there but it makes a good exciting story.

As I was reading I did have a few different ideas of how this story would end. One of my ideas turned out to be correct with many others being wrong. After reading the end it does leave me with a few minor questions. But then I do tend to think about things. A good story makes you think.

There are countless turns, twists and surprises in here. Many of the characters are very clever and they do the most stunning things. Bonnie herself can be just totally out of control outrageous, including throwing liquid into the face of an adult. She knows injustice when she sees it and she is not willing to put up with stuff. Unfortunately its not that easy to fix. And how can she get her home back??

The main characters are just so heartwarming and the bad ones are true stinkers you want to hate. They just seem to ooze some horrid oily slime from their pores! In fact as soon as I met the one I just knew he couldn't be trusted and I was right!!

And I liked Simon and his geese too.

This story kept moving at a good pace. No boring scenes at all. There are secrets to discover too. Its a grand adventure story. ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 LeahBethany rated it it was amazing

I only wish I had read The Wolves of Willoughby Chase when I was little! I could see it being one of my favorite books that I would read over and over again. The novel was just a delightful tale of good overcoming evil with likeable characters, despicable bad people, bravery, secret passages, ferocious wolves, kindness, loyalty and a happy ending that we just don't get in adult books. ...more

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Nov 27, 2018 Elinor rated it liked it

This book would be more enjoyable if read as a child. Since it has received so many rave reviews, I decided to try it out, but I found it lacked the compelling emotion of The Secret Garden, for example, or Little House on the Prairie. The story is about two little girls who endure the most Dickensian abuse from their wicked guardians and owners of their boarding school, which is no better than a prison camp. The wolves in the title make an appearance in the first chapter when they attack a train ...more

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