This book has been on my to-read for way too long now, so let's finally get to it! It's yet another wolfdog xenofiction where the animal doesn't talk. Spoilers ahead!
An dog-wolf hybrid survives a plane crash, which leaves him traumatized. While recovering, he forms an immensely strong bond with his caretaker, a young boy named Andy. When he is physically all better, his rich owner comes and picks him up, taking him 2000 miles south. However, the hybrid, Kävik, doesn't like staying couped up with the rich guy, instead choosing to face his fears and traumas by running away and trekking all those miles back north to Andy.
I've actually reviewed the movie adaptation of this book before on my movie review blog despite not having read the book yet. It's a fairly simple story: dog wants to get back to the boy he loves and must face his fears. But it's mightily effective. Honestly, this felt a bit like a Jack London story but for younger readers and without all the racism if you ask me. It's less bleak and dark, obviously, but it did have quite a few similarities (taking place in the cold North American north, sled dog wolfdog protagonist, a strong bond with a human owner, running wild with wolves for a while).
That's not to say there's no dark stuff in here: stuff like the plane crash and Kävik's lupine mate dying obviously aren't the most cheerful, but the general tone is just way more hopeful than in London's works. I think this would make a decent introduction to more "realistic" xenofiction (where the animal doesn't talk and behavior is mostly accurate) for younger readers without having to resort to London's or Curwood's works yet.
I also really liked the main character of Kävik himself. The risk of having a non-talking animal protagonist that isn't anthropomorphized is that the animal can feel bland and like they lack a personality. Luckily, this is not the case with Kävik. He very clearly goes from a hardened sled dog to a traumatized and meek pet that experiences love for the first time, and then finally to a brave dog that conquered his fears and returned to the place he calls home.
The side characters aren't mightily interesting, with Andy just being a good kid that loves his pet and Mr. Hunter mostly just being a pretty one-note stuck-up rich guy (not really a villain, more of an antagonist), but they honestly needn't be. This story is about Kävik and his character development, and it's executed brilliantly.
My favorite section of the book was probably where Kävik traveled north all by himself, even facing predators, prey and hunters in the process. He even temporarily went feral, running with wolves and taking on a mate among one of them, but in the end he never lost sight of his goal: getting back to Andy.
This is a rather enjoyable read and I definitely think it deserves reading. If you like London's and Curwood's works, it also makes for a nice change of pace to read some non-talking wolfdog xenofiction that isn't bleak as all hell.
Rating: 4/5
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