Spirit of a Mountain Wolf

November 15, 2013
After a devastating earthquake, a Pakistani mountain boy is inadvertently sold into slavery. All 14-year-old Abdur-Razaq Nadeem wants in life is to herd goats and sheep in the Kala Dahka (Pakistan's Black Mountains) in peace and to one day be married to the lovely Feeba. But when an earthquake wipes out both his immediate family and his bride-to-be, he remembers his father's dying words urging him to find his Uncle Javaid in Rawalpindi. In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, Mrs. Daud, Feeba's mother, confusedly accepts money from a man promising to find Razaq a good job in the big city. Though he's soon tangled in a series of horrific work situations, each worse than the last, Razaq never gives up hope of reconnecting with his uncle, and his uncle never gives up looking for him, despite the seemingly impossible odds of success. Telling her story in the third person, Hawke is unflinching and explicit in her descriptions of Razaq's experiences with forced labor, sexual exploitation and violence. Readers will be drawn into Razaq's predicament, and they will admire his mountain-wolf-like determination to survive. This riveting story depicts the heartbreaking lives of children caught in a harsh world of trafficking and prostitution. (Fiction. 14-18)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-As the story opens, an earthquake in the Pakistani mountains leaves a village destroyed and 14-year-old Abdur-Razaq Nadeem orphaned and homeless. Eventually, he travels to the city to find his uncle. There, Razaq is victimized and sold into slavery. Hawke's novel might remind readers of Kashmira Sheth's Boys Without Names (Random, 2010), but the protagonist is older and endures not only beatings but also rape and threats of castration. There is a lot of cultural detail, such as the villagers' disdain for an unmarried female aid worker. No glossary is provided for unfamiliar words that cannot be inferred from the text, for example, "chutti" (time off). Back matter includes the author's resources, both print and online, which ground the fictional narrative in the real world. A friendship with Tahira, a fellow slave, inspires Razaq's thrilling escape. Their last words, "there is always a way from heart to heart," deliver hope that they might have a future together, an ending that will resonate with readers.-Toby Rajput, National Louis University, Skokie, IL

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Watch your back. Do what you're told. Work hard and you'll stay alive. These warnings consume the daily thoughts of Pakistani 14-year-old Razaq Khan, who was tricked into underground slavery. In this world, the innocent are considered lumps of meat, and the people who own them thrive on breaking their spirits. In this searing novel, Hawke follows Razaq through his ordeal, including his quest to find his uncle Javaid in a city that becomes his cage. His journey begins when his mountain town is destroyed in an earthquake, like a blanket shaken in the wind, killing family and foreshadowing an unsteady future. He struggles to keep his spirit alive and avoid becoming the shadow of a wounded wolf. Hawke convincingly shows how memories of the dead, love for his friend Tahira, and an unbreakable hope all give Razaq strength to transcend suffering. Eventually, he finds his inner light by remembering who he is: a fearless mountain wolf. Pair this novel with Iqbal, by Francesco D'Adamo (2003), which offers another harrowing, fictional view of child slavery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)