The Children and the Wolves

There are books out there that don't so much entertain the reader as hit the reader over the head. THE CHILDREN AND THE WOLVES is one of these books. Told in multiple perspectives, it's the story of three troubled teens and the little girl that they've kidnapped.

Yes, you read that right. Teenage kidnappers. Most of the characters in this novel are middle school age.

And yet, you feel for these kids. You want them to grow, to do the right thing, to get what they want in life. You want Bounce to maybe not be a sociopath and to find a way to deal with her wealthy, neglectful parents. You want Orange to find a way to help his dad or at the very least help himself. And you want Wiggins to overcome his situation at home, stand up to his show more friends, and to let the little girl go. He takes care of her, he brings her food, lets her play her video game. But he knows it's not right. Wiggins is the hero of this book as well as one of the villains. And with Adam Rapp's lyric style, his voice is so honest, so real. As are his cohorts. And, hauntingly, the voice of The Frog -- as they've dubbed the little girl -- is just as distinct.

THE CHILDREN AND THE WOLVES is a beautiful book about horrible things. It's a story that maybe shouldn't work, but Adam Rapp makes it happen. I hope you're intrigued enough to check the book out for yourself. show less

The Children and the Wolves is a story about 3 very bad kids. Wiggins, Orange, and Bounce come from all walks of life, but find themselves in a very similar situations. Bounce has rich parents who are away all the time, Wiggins lives in a disgusting apartment with his single mother in the poor part of town, and Orange is somewhere in the middle with a single father confined to a wheelchair. I say they are bad kids because they are currently holding a kidnap child and using the sensational media coverage to collect money, so they they can purchase a gun to kill a guy Bounce doesn't like.

This is a pretty dark book, filled with violence, racial slurs, drug abuse, and sexual contact among children. I have a pretty high tolerance for show more disturbing imagery, but this was tough to read at times, partially because 1 or 2 of the characters are so universally evil, without reason for being so. They felt flat and lacking in motivation for their bad behavior, which gave an element of unbelievably to the book.

Looking at it with a critical eye, I certainly think Rapp has created something interesting. It's disturbing, for sure, and it will definitely be difficult to get through for some people, but it does have an important message, and there is plenty of room for discussion and interpretation.

On a more personal level, however, it's a little anti-climatic and unsatisfying, and I can't look over how one-dimensional 2 of the main characters feel. show less

I don't know what to think of this one. I was definitely pleased it was such a quick read since it is so thoroughly unpleasant. There are readers who would love it, but I am not one of them - for one thing I like a little humor for leavening in my books and there really wasn't any here. Rapp is dealing with some pretty heavy themes - this is basically an indictment of American consumerist society for one. How does violence in our entertainment influence our children? (Bounce's love of Ultimate Fighting, the video game Frog plays, etc.) One of the criticisms I've read of this is that the voices of Orange and Wiggins aren't distinct from each other, but I actually didn't think that was true. I thought all four voices were easily show more recognizable. Bounce is a terrifying character and I pity whichever school she ends up at - prep or otherwise. I can see Rapp's craft and the thought-provoking elements - and there's plenty of metaphor to look at in Frog's video game in particular - but I can't decide how successful he is because I'm so distracted by the unremitting grimness of things. It almost feels like a cautiionary tale - "if we don't do a better job taking care of our children, this is where we're going to end up." It's also so lean that it feels almost like a sketch at times. I guess I'm going to come down on the side of this being really well crafted, but not at all for me and quite depressing in general. show less

Curiously enough, this is the second book Adam Rapp has written about a trio of incredibly dysfunctional, drugged-out young people who have kidnapped a small child. (The first was 33 Snowfish.) Both books are incredibly bleak with semi-hopeful endings. Of the two, however, I preferred the first. I couldn't decide which one I pitied the most, but I had a very hard time connecting to any of the characters in The Children and the Wolves. Perhaps if the book had been longer and I got to know them, it would have been different -- but then again, 33 Snowfish isn't that much longer. I would still recommend this book but it's not one of Adam Rapp's best.

Adam Rapp once again demonstrates his mastery of raw, penetrating prose and bleak imagery. A grim, haunting story.

Totally not sure about this one. For starters I know it's not my kind of book, but I'm having a hard time knowing whose kind of book it is. Three teens--one a very smart girl, the other two her dim-bulb guy friends--mastermind a plot to kidnap a young girl and collect money for a rescue effort.

The teens are supposed to be in 8th grade, but they read much older. Lots of sexual references and drug use make this most appropriate for older teens but the young age of the characters might turn those older teens off, I dunno.

I think Adam Rapp just isn't for me. It's not a bad book, but totally not for me.

Deeply disturbing.