GALLEGO, LAURA
that is the word to describe The Valley of the Wolves, by Laura Gallego García. Others might be surprising, exciting, a twisting rollercoaster...Immediately after reading it; I knew there was something about it I would never forget. Through her simple but meaningful words, and her use of common legends such as that of the unicorn and that of the werewolf, García has created for us a fantastic story filled with magic and uniqueness.
Now, I´ll bet you are wondering what this great story is all about. Dana is the main character. Born a simple girl, living the simple life, her destiny changes forever when she uncovers an astonishing secret about herself. Kai, a boy her age who is invisible to everyone besides her, aids her in her quest to rescue the treasure that lay deep in the Valley of the Wolves, and fight for what she knows to be right. However, Dana´s strong friendship with Kai, though it helps her in many ways, does not vanish all of her troubles. García keeps you inside the world of the book by applying her writing to all of your senses. More than once I found myself so absorbed in the text, it was as if I was seeing everything firsthand. Perhaps the only negative thing I found was the section in the middle, where Dana spends countless hours in her room studying. This became slightly tedious after a while, but García makes up for this monotonous stage with the wild chapters that follow.
The ending of the book is definitely one of these wild rollercoaster-like moments. It pleased me greatly, because somehow through all the difficulties and horrors Dana has faced, the fact that she was good at heart remains, and will always remain, the one bright spot through all the darkness. Though characters switched between the ´Good´ and ´Bad´ side many times, my expectations were filled about them. Fenris, another main character who faces many troubles as well, in the end, selects his side and remains loyal to his comrades. The story itself was very fulfilling, but I could definitely think up many ideas to go into a sequel of The Valley of the Wolves, just because though many things are solved, there is still so much to think about.
Overall, I would give this book an excellent rating. I recommend it to all who love surprises, adventure, and fantasy. Really, any age level over 9 could read it, but to understand all the discrete details that form in places you would least expect, it´s very helpful if you have more knowledge and practice in analyzing stories. To sum up what this book review has been about, I would say that García has proven that books can be so much more than just words on a page. It takes true talent to write like she has in her successful story, The Valley of the Wolves, and anyone who is eager to see how far a great talent can go, stop what you´re doing, and read this book.
