Lone Wolf

By: Jodi Picoult

Narrated by: Natalia Payne, Louis Changchien, Celeste Ciulla, Nick Cordero, Angela Goethals, Mark Zeisler, Andy Paris

Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

In the wild, when a wolf knows its time is over, when it knows it is of no more use to its pack, it may sometimes choose to slip away. Dying apart from its family, it stays proud and true to its nature. Humans aren’t so lucky. Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara. Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?

©2012 Jodi Picoult (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC

almost a fairy tale

This is not my first Picoult's book, and I usually enjoy her writing. However, even though the story was not bad in itself, with twists and surprises along the way, the characters were poorly developed and most of all, the information about the wolves are fictional and misleading. International wolf researcher David Mech has rightfully criticized this book for this aspect. I wish Picoult's had done some research before writing her book.

good but a bit slow

the story was a bit slow. I did like how they used different narrators for the characters narrating each chapter. I wish they would have allowed the actors to voice their character when they spoke in other chapters so an actor is not having to use a voice out of their range.

Enjoyed this book

I enjoyed listening to this book. I especially liked the segments concerning wolf packs and their habits. I got it on a 2:1 sale, and feel it was a bargain.

I really liked this story.

Not your typical Jodi Picoult story. I wasn't sure that I would like it. As it turns out, I really enjoyed this story. I like that it's not the "man loves wild animals and they live together happily ever".

Wish I read it sooner

Had this in my library for a while now. Finally picked it up, and had it done with in a couple days.
Loved the way this was written, how the story weaves in and out, and is told from different perspectives ♡
Great book for Audio, because if that, allowed for multiple readers/voices to tell the story.

thought provoking

intriguing with a look at a situation we might all face.

loved the look into how wolves live

Lone Wolf

Life as how a wolf lives relates to our human inadequacies The strength that comes from knowing and living with the wolves.

Unfortunately predictable

I’m a big Jodi fan but this was not her best. Full of her typical research so you learn a lot. But plot is predictable for the most part. Worth it if you can pick it up on sale.

Not my favorite JP

I like Jodi Picoult and include some of her books among my favorites. Her last few books have been sentimentally predictable, none more so than LONE WOLF.

Luke Warren and his daughter 17-year-old Cara are in a car accident that leaves him on life support with no chance of regaining consciousness. Brother Edward returns from overseas, having been absent for seven years after a falling out with Luke. Told in the voices of Luke, Cara, Edward, and Georgie, Luke's ex and Cara and Edward's mother. Edward wants to remove life support and donate Luke's organs. Cara wants to keep her father alive, hoping for a miracle.

Cara is one of the least sympathetic characters Picoult has ever written. She's narcissistic, spiteful, sneaky, and immature. While I can understand a teenager wanting her father to recover, this young woman often reads as a caricature. Edward is much more sympathetic and realistic as a 23-year-old man trying to do the right thing for his mom, dad, and sister, but sometimes making matters worse through assumption and lack of communication. I never got the feeling Cara was trying to do the right thing, it was all about Cara.

My favorite part of the book was that Edward was a gay character, but that was just one part of who he was the same as if he had blue eyes or red hair. He didn't have a partner and wasn't dating during the 17 days the book took place. Picoult did a masterful job making him no different than any characters. I never thought of him as a gay character, because he was just a character who happened to be gay.

The sections written in Luke's voice are basically an allegory between wolf relationships in packs and family relationships. Luke has lived with wolves on and off and almost considers himself more wolf than human. His sections take away from the flow of the book, and frankly often bored me. If people are very interested in wolves, they would probably like these sections more, but much of what Luke (in a coma) wrote bored me.

I expected more. I'm not sorry I read the book, but in the future I might just wait until I can get her next book from the library. There's no need to rush out and buy the book, you can wait for the paperback or library and save some money.

Another Jodi Picoult masterpiece

I thought I had read all of Jodi Picoult's novels. After the first few, I made it a point to read everyone. I do not travel in literary circles, and had never heard of her. She is, without a doubt , my favorite author. Her books are masterfully written , all engrossing, and hit you with such a turn of event toward the end, you will never see it coming. They all are very informative, having a current social issue connected to it...you will be left days later contemplating issues in your mind that you may never have otherwise considered. Lone Wolf was truly a treasure. Purchasing all of Jodi Picoult's novels by buying extra credits, etc., this one became buried in my library of 100's books. I found it one day recently, and was so pleased to have yet another book of hers to read. Perhaps when I was reviewing her books to read, I thought that wolves would have nothing to teach me, but to my surprise, I was wrong!