Lauren Wolk is hands down one of my favorite children's authors that is currently writing. She writes vividly, creating not only a descriptive world, but one with robust characters. When I heard that she was writing a new book, I was thrilled. When I heard she was writing a sequel to Wolf Hollow, I was ecstatic.

Admittedly, my remembrance of Wolf Hollow is fuzzy (I had to read a Cliff Notes version again. LOL). However, I loved the emphasis was on Annabelle and her needing to forgive those involved with the events in the previous book. (But before you ask, no, you don't need to read Wolf Hollow first). I could relate to Annabelle--feeling sorry for someone because they are hurting and yet still being pissed. Who can't relate to that??

While Wolf Hollow was set more in an obvious Historical Fiction period, My Own Lightning falls into an interest genre dilemma. Is it realistic fiction? Is it historical because it is a different time period? Is it an animal tale due a Doctor Doolittle-esque subplot? It is a book that, due to its variation, will appeal to many readers. Or so I hope. ( )

My Own Lightning
Lauren Wolk

This is not a gentle book. But it is eloquent in its portrayal of the harsh sides of life and our responses, the evolution of understanding and emotions, and the moral dilemmas we can face.

This book is a sequel to Wolf Hollow, and Annabelle is struggling with traumatic memories and grief from the tragic death of Toby, a veteran who had become her friend.
Returning home from helping her teacher clean the school, a sudden storm catches Annabelle out in the open and she is struck by lightning. She has a foggy memory of rough hands restarting her heart; she is confused but knows she is lucky to have survived. Although physically healthy, her sensory world is magnified, and she intuitively understands the feelings and body language of animals in her rural home.
Annabelle is searching for her brother’s lost dog, and learns that other dogs have gone missing.
Andy Woodberry, a bully who persecuted Annabelle in the past, is also looking for his dog, and she realizes they share a compassion for animals. Slowly they come to see each other differently.
Wolk’s characters are complex : Annabelle is introspective and suspicious; Andy is cruel in response to the harshness and cruelty he experiences at home.
Annabelle is distrustful of her reclusive new neighbor and intrigued by a stranger claiming to be looking for his dog. She comes to view Andy in a new light as they learn the brutal truth about the stranger and the charitable truth about their secluded neighbor and his daughter.

This is a beautifully written book; while it is not necessary to read Wolf Hollow first, the reader will get much more from My Own Lightning if they are familiar with Annabelle and Andy’s backstory.


I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review ( )

This sequel to Wolf Hollow is set about six months later, still on Annabelle's family's farm, in Western Pennsylvania, 1944. Betty and Toby are dead, and there is a new neighbor between Annabelle's family and Andy Woodberry's family. Mr. Edelman keeps to himself, but barking dogs can always be heard in his barn, and eventually Annabelle investigates, as both her brother Henry's dog and Andy's dog have both gone missing. With Annabelle's new "superpower" of being able to understand animals - a side effect of being struck by lightning, and brought back to life by a mysterious hero - she is able to understand the dogs' histories. Annabelle sifts through her feelings toward Andy, who is clearly being mistreated at home, yet has always been kind to animals; Annabelle doesn't know what to think about him, as he was also Betty's partner in crime, responsible for injuring her younger brother James.

Quotes

Smart often comes after a mistake. (15)

All around me, the world whispered its secrets, and I felt myself listening harder than I ever had before. (55)

Maybe...we all knew things we didn't know we knew. (106)

A seed has a shell for a reason, I realized. But that shell needs to open. (231)

"I want to understand everything a lot better than I do. I want to know what's true and what's not. And how to tell the difference." (235)

"A good deed doesn't erase a bad one, but it's worth a lot." (grandmother to Annabelle, 236)

"Remember, always, that you have a responsibility to me, to your mother, to everyone in our family, to look after yourself properly. To think twice before you take risks. To consider what happens to the rest of us, every time something happens to you." (Annabelle's dad, 281) ( )

This was a very classic work of youth literature, I can definitely see it winning awards, just like the Wolf Hollow book to which it is a sequel. I really enjoyed the strong positioning of the story in place and time, and the relationships between people, and between people and animals, that it explores. ( )