I can honestly say this is one of the best books I've read this year. I didn't really know what to expect, maybe a book that had some world-building going on, a futuristic setting, and some connection to the past, but damn, it surpassed that expectation. If you've ever read Shusterman's Challenger Deep then you might have an idea of what this book could be like, because it is not only on the level of CD (a magnificent book), but maybe inches it out as an award winner.

So, I read this alongside another book which shall not be named here and it just amazes me that one book could hold such a valuable story and lessons in life while the other was about as shallow as a zero-entry kiddie pool. Imogen was a strong and very developed character and her connections to Lark and Kin, Toni and Lovingood, and her mother of course, played in the story in such a wonderful way it's impossible not to appreciate all that she has been through and all that we've all been through.

I love the way the story was written and I love the way that everything comes together. Once I started reading the book I came home and pet my Husky dog Cass because I felt what Imogen felt and the security there with her Ira. That's how powerful this novel is. Make sure you recognize what you love in this world, what helps you, who helps you, and hold on to those things tightly. Imogen found her way. The world is a crazy place, for sure, but we can all band together, make it better, and find our way.

Synopsis:

In the future, a Black girl known only as Inmate Eleven is kept confined—to be used as a biological match for the president's son, should he fall ill. She is called a Blue—the color of sadness. She lives in a small-small room with her dog, who is going wolf more often—he’s pacing and imagining he’s free. Inmate Eleven wants to go wolf to0—she wants to know why she feels so Blue and what is beyond her small-small room.

In the present, Imogen lives outside of Washington, D.C. The pandemic has distanced her from everyone but her mother and her therapist. Imogen has intense phobias and nightmares of confinement. Her two older brothers used to help her, but now she’s on her own, until a college student helps her see the difference between being Blue and sad, and Black and empowered.

This book empowers listeners to remember that their voices and stories are important, especially when they feel the need to go wolf.

My Thoughts:
It’s official, Amber McBride is one of my favorite authors. Her way of storytelling has a way of eliciting so many emotions. As a former teacher, this is a book that I wish I could gift to my students. I think it’s such an important read that will resonate with not only children, but their families as well.

This was such a different twist to a story that makes our middle grade readers think deeper about people and humanity.

Gone Wolf by Amber McBride is beautifully written, through the imagination of a young Black girl discovering the hardships and harsh truth of her small world. Her life is told from two perspectives and two times, in the years of 2022 and 2111.

This Dystopian novel combines history and the today’s ongoing pandemic.

A 12-year-old Black girl deals with fear, grief, pain, and suffering caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and America’s history of enslavement and racist violence.

It’s the year 2111, and Inmate Eleven is undergoing a test. She must decide which is better: the blond, blue-eyed, light-skinned doll or the doll with blue skin and hair like her own. Inmate Eleven lives in an unimaginably cruel world. She is a Blue, separated from the pale-skinned Clones and has been isolated in a cage her whole life. Her only source of comfort is her dog Ira who is just as restless. He often goes wolf pacing the small cell in restless abandon.

The dystopian and unique novel is fictional, but also shares a lot of important black history and is a good tool for understanding black lives in the U.S. from slavery to today.

The story is raw and powerful, and will appeal to a select group of middle grade readers. I’d say the serious and thinker type.

Gone Wolf by Amber McBride is beautifully written, really capturing the imagination of a young girl discovering the hardships and harsh truth of the world. Told from two perspectives and two times (2022 & 2111), that sometimes meld into one, this novel combines history and the present pandemic and imagined futures into something that still has child-like wonder in it while being about hard topics. The dystopian future of a divided America and still raging pandemic and hatred is not far off from what can still happen in our society, yet there is hope for individual reconciliation and love between others. While being fictional , this book also shares a lot of important black history and is a good tool for understanding black lives in the U.S. from slavery to today. The emotions McBride writes about are so raw and powerful, yet simple for middle grade to understand as well as for those older to feel connected.

Gone Wolf by Amber McBride is a story that is written in honor of the ways we have each been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic that is very much still present. The pandemic is not over and no matter where you stand in terms of your own beliefs around how and why it happened, you will relate to Imogene's experience in this narrative. It may even help you process some of your own confusion, rage, and disassociation.

The story starts with the dream Imogene finds herself consistently in: a place where some are Blue and some are Elite and racial differences dictate who gets to control the narrative in the political sphere. There are risks for those who challenge this political system and Imogene is all about finding out the truth despite these risk factors. This leads her to make some difficult decisions in her attempts to resist the programming she continues to be fed.

Zoom out and now we meet Imogene's therapist who is normalizing and validating her daydreaming. You see, Imogene has suffered great loss. As a young Black girl she is trying to make sense of it all. Daydreaming is one way of coping and Amber McBride uses her mastery of literary devices to show us how the daydream is not really delusional at all. The daydream is a storytelling mechanism in which Imogene is trying to make sense of the world and make meaning out of her painful losses and experiences.

I couldn't put this book down. I found myself deeply attached to the outcome especially once I realized I was reading Imogene's mental health decline and attempt to find her footing in reality. This is a book everyone will be able to read and reflect on while reading. I found myself crying, rooting for Imogene, and extremely proud of Imogene's therapist for her ability to hold space and to help Imogene's mother understand the true basis of her break from reality.

Thank you to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read!

As someone who never reads the blurb, I guess I thought this book was going to be much different. Since it's Amber McBride, I thought this was going to be a novel in verse, but that is not the case. I'm also really not a fan of science fiction/ dystopian fiction/ speculative fiction/ etc, personally, though I do definitely see the appeal of this for an audience who does like that genre.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

In 2111, Inmate Eleven is one of the blue people used as genetic matches for clones. In 2022, Imogen tries to live her life amidst a still ongoing pandemic. This book was so powerful and I've never read something so honest that was geared towards J Fic readers. Usually when books for kids are talking about things like racism or prejudice, they talk about society at large or maybe parent groups if it takes place at a school but I've never seen something so outright talking about our real corrupt government before (as opposed to a fictionalized evil in fantasy or dystopian setting). I also very much appreciated that the parts that took place during 2022 had people that were still being cautious about the pandemic and had characters that were still acknowledging that the pandemic is still ongoing. I loved the big and complex feelings Imogen was having and that the book was written in a way that was accessible to kids without pandering or talking down. I actually have so many feelings about this book that I cannot put into words but it is special and I cannot wait to purchase it for my library.

"Gone Wolf" is a unique story appropriate for upper middle grade level readers. It is a necessary perspective of what it is like to be young and Black. The main character of Imogen is coping with struggles through the creating stories. Interwoven are factual references to Black history throughout time.

Amber McBride has proven to be a force to be reckoned with in young adult literature, and she certainly comes out swinging in her middle grade debut, Gone Wolf. The experimental form may prove a bit tricky for the average middle grade reader, but the themes of trauma resulting from generational racism and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable kids are immensely powerful. And, or course, McBride’s prose and poetry, which come together to channel a distinct POV, are extremely well done.

Having read all of McBride's books published so far, this author's talents know no bounds. From Moth to Whimsy and now Imogen- readers FEEL the characters and their situations. Gone Wolf is exceptional in bridging metaphors of a fictional example of oppression to meet and cross over into real events. Inmate Eleven's character is delightfully childlike while also smart and introspective, and readers will see big changes as Imogen builds new relationships and addresses pain from the past. This book is a serious contender for Newbery and CSK awards, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves. I can't wait to read what this author writes next!