Wolf Brother

Title: Wolf Brother
Author: Michelle Paver
Orion's Children's Books, 2004

This is the first part of a trilogy and it is set in a fictional, wooded, mountain landscape thousands and thousands of years ago. In these woods, Torak lives alone with his father, away from their clan people. But, Torak's father is killed by a demon bear and his last message to Torak is that he must go to the Mountain of the World Spirit and, there, vanquish the demon creature. Otherwise, the forest and all that dwells there, will be lost. This marks the beginning of Torak's journey, on which he will be accompanied by a wolf cub and a young girl from another clan.

The story is fast-paced and every other chapter ends with a cliff-hanger, which would appeal to young people, especially those who favour the fantasy-genre. However, the vocabulary could be a bit difficult to master for some A-course students so I don't think it should be handed out to just anyone. For students who are moderately good at English though, and for whom the big, fatty fantasy tombs (the most common girth of that genre) are too much, this could be a good alternative.