Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Unflattering as the story of Little Red Riding Hood is to wolves, no rational adult believes that a wolf could eat Granny and then climb into bed wearing her nightgown. But readers believe Jodi Picoult because many, like me, have been impressed with the author's meticulous and exhaustive research into the subject matter on which the plots of her other novels are based. This attention to detail makes the stories credible and the outcomes believable. Thus, I am incredulous at the degree of inaccuracy and the amount of absurd misinformation about wolves in Lone Wolf. The editorial review above references "Picoult's impressive research into wolf biology, hierarchy and pack mentality." Wrong. Picoult didn't do her homework properly this time, and her reputation for getting the facts in order just plummeted into the abyss. As a wolf educator and writer of wolf curricula for teachers and non-formal educators, I am frankly infuriated by the sheer nonsense in the "Luke" segments of the book. In an effort to debunk the myths about the wolf as "the beast of waste and desolation," Picoult has created an equally unscientific, inaccurate and ultimately harmful portrayal of wolves and of wolf packs. Why did she not go to the books and articles by the renowned researchers and scientists like L. David Mech, founder of the International Wolf Center - a man who has spent over 50 years studying wolves and sharing his knowledge with the general public? What about the other science-based wolf education organizations that have web sites crammed with solid information about the biology and ecology of wolves? They include the Wolf Conservation Center, the California Wolf Center and the Red Wolf Coalition. As for a human living with a wild wolf pack, that is the stuff of ancient legend and of the baseless boasting by a few self-promoting individuals who think that a human can "become" a wild creature and who dishonor animals by ascribing to them human characteristics. Anyone who believes a person claiming to have been accepted as a member of wild wolf pack is naive in the extreme. Picoult should have carefully checked the credentials of her information source. Because she didn't do that, wolf educators' jobs have been made that much harder, and the "real" wolf has once again been subjected to ludicrous - and tragic - misrepresentation. Shame on Jodi Picoult.