Yolen here portrays the cruelty of schoolchildren, the cluelessness of adults in charge, and lack of courage in the well-meaning, at least as much as the story of the feral girls themselves. It's top-grade sound reliable imaginative insight. ( )

Based on a historical account of two girls rescued from a wolf den in India by a missionary, this fictional story tells about Amala and Kamala through the eyes of a boy who lives at the orphanage. While the other children view the girls with disgust or fear and constantly taunt them, Mohandas tries to understand them and gain their trust. As Mohandas gets closer to Kamala, he tries to coax words out of her, encouraged by the Reverend who hopes the girls will one day speak and tell everyone details of their past with the wolves. But eventually Mohandas realizes that the girls' true nature and abilities do not match up with anyone's assumptions- they are not terrifying demons as the villagers fear, nor sources of hidden information as the Reverend hopes. They are something else altogether. Mohandas keenly observes how everyone reacts differently to the girls, and what that reveals about each person, including himself.

from the Dog Ear Diary ( )

00004155