Wolf Cry

by Julia Golding

Set in Viking times, Wolf Cry is the epic story of Freydis, left for dead following a raid on her father's stronghold, and her friendship with Enno, the extraordinary African slave over whom she is expected to rule.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fantasy, Adventure, Fiction, Romance

351 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2009

About the author

My journey to becoming an author has been a roundabout one, taking in many other careers. I grew up on the edge of Epping Forest and was that dreamy kind of child who was always writing stories. After reading English at Cambridge, I decided to find out as much as I could about the wider world so joined the Foreign Office and served in Poland. My work as a diplomat took me from the high point of town twinning in the Tatra Mountains to the low of inspecting the bottom of a Silesian coal mine.

On leaving Poland, I exchanged diplomacy for academia and took a doctorate in the literature of the English Romantic Period at Oxford. I then joined Oxfam as a lobbyist on conflict issues, campaigning at the UN and with governments to lessen the impact of conflict on civilians living in war zones - a cause about which I still feel very passionate.

Married with three children, I now live in Oxford between two rivers, surrounded by gargoyles, beautiful sandstone buildings and ancient trees.

My first novel, 'The Diamond of Drury Lane', won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize 2006 and the Nestle Children's Book Prize 2006 (formerly known as the Smarties Prize). I was also chosen by Waterstone's in 2007 as one of their 'Twenty-five authors for the future'. In the US, 'Secret of the Sirens' won the honor book medal of the Green Earth Book Award.

My latest series, which starts with Mel Foster and the Demon Butler, about an intrepid Victorian orphan who lives in a household of monsters, won Bronze in the Primary Teacher awards in 2015. The next part, Mel Foster and the Time Machine, has set the time-dial to arrive in 2016.

Reviews

[Christina (A Reader of Fictions) · Rating 3 out of 5]

First thing, which really does not matter at all, is that I cannot figure out why they changed the name of the book. The new name, Silver Sea, does not really have any correlation to the story. Yes, they spend a lot of time sailing on the waters, which are probably silver sometimes when the light shines off of them the right way, but there is actually a prophecy in the story referred to as 'Wolf Cry.' Pointless change is pointless.

Last year, I read my first book by Julia Golding: Dragonfly. Although the story was largely predictable, I loved it. The characters were engaging and felt like real people. (And the P&Pish nature of the romance held appeal too.) I expected this book to be much the same: predictable, but quite enjoyable and clever in spite of that.

Well, I was wrong. I totally thought I knew what was going to happen. But I was wrong. For one thing, I didn't get the super happy ending that I was expecting. Most books for teens end pretty happily, although I can name a good selection that don't, although most are somewhere in the middle of a series or a dystopia. In this instance, the sad ending does make for a more realistic story given the setting. Still, I was rooting for the characters and hoped all the good people would get to have everything they wanted and the bad people die.

Julia Golding writes strong women, although not necessarily physically strong. They are clever, resourceful and determined. Although I recommend Dragonfly more than Silver Sea, I will definitely be reading more Julia Golding and think she is a fantasy author well worth trying.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was amazing!! Freydis has been injured and her older brother got taken prisoner. First of all, I love how the author jumps right into the story. The next part I didn't kile her father very much. He leaves her with an African slave named Blue Man and leaves her with a neighboring tribe. What about her safety. The neighboring tribe could take her captive or she could never leave because her father is killed. I was relieved when Toki was ably to escape the pirates and go free. This was a very eventful book. It was full of amazing action. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Pirates, Action, Adventure, Fantasy and Romance.

[Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending really surprised me. I enjoyed reading this book!

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so heart-wrenching at times, it made me cry!



Freydis's father is an a-hole! He made me so mad, I wanted to punch the guy! And Enno... Oh Enno! He was so cute!! He probably wasn't meant to be a cutesy character... but he was! He is one of my favorite characters now.

I love Norse-mythology so this book was perfect for me! I really do recommend this to everyone who loves vikings and a bit of romance (about Toki... he was fine but I didn't like him as much as Enno.) And whats-his-name was funny, that guy that always flipped his hair... I've forgotten his name -__- I did like him though... but did I? Who knows...



HAIR FLIP!

Anyway, enough of this nonsense, READ THE BOOK! .... That was probably a better "review" of the book then all the crap I wrote at the top... I have to polish my writing skills a bit, hehe!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

My blog - https://lfbooks.blog/

I love all of Julia Golding’s books, I haven’t come across one that I haven’t liked. Her writing and stories are always so easy and a joy to read. There is no over the top, no unneeded drama. Just the story. Plus an Author’s love for her passion, which shows in her work.

I just like how the Author didn’t rush to tell the story. It let you as the reader, just relax and enjoy. There was action straight from the beginning and at the end. The middle let you get to really know all the characters. Let their actions speak volumes about their inner characters. Plus gave you time to connect with them, to either like them or hate them. (Her father? Like seriously he needed punching.)

The fighting was done very well, it wasn’t over the top or unrealistic in anyway. The fights weren’t dragged out, I like how the last fight went. It was realistic of a battle, sometimes you just lose your footing. People die and it not scared to show that. (It not gory about it).

(Random fact did you know that Julia Golding also writes as Joss Stirling and Eve Edwards. Damn it. I need to check out her other books now.)

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you pick up a book everyone praises and you dislike it. Sometimes you read a book with no expectations and it blows you away. This book was the latter. The story features Norwegian Viking sealords as well as Sami people, which almost all had Finnish names, which I of course liked a lot. The story is full of great characters. They are built so well, I sympathized with many of them. Belief systems are elegantly woven into the story, which is fast-paced and exciting. Beautiful story, even made me cry in the end. This was a gem of a book, I read two thirds of the book today because I couldn't put it down.

[Callie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia Golding is great for a nice, well written story. Her characters, cultures, and settings are thorough and interesting. Not sure if this book is a historical fiction or fantasy, however. It had a date of 880 AD. Perhaps a historical fiction with creative license? Or a fantasy within a historic time frame? More likely it is a classic historical fiction and I am just not at all familiar with Nordic customs and cultural relations in 880 AD...

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit slow-going at some parts, but I stuck with it until the end and was rewarded. I honestly was very surprised by the ending, having read some f Julia Golding's other works I was most definitely not expecting for this one to go the way it did.

[Jacque · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I finished this book I didn’t really like it because of the ending, but as I thought about the story I realized it was a good story. The ending was short and tragic, but the rest of the story was intriguing.

[Shannon Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my god! This book had me hooked from the very beginning. I felt every emotion reading this from happiness to sadness to anger! Julia Golding is an incredible author and I cannot wait to read more of her books! Also, the ending...wow!

[Francois Bouwer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy read. A story of Freydis (a Viking “princess”) and her love for Enno (a slave from Africa). Furthermore, her brother Toki’s quest to rescue his tribe and a story of a difficult, yet soft hearted father. More aimed at a younger generation.

[Ash Arcuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kills me with how good it is. The story never ceases to amaze me and the ending gets me every time. Highly recommend.

[keshii · Rating 4 out of 5]

i feel like the ending of this book is really realistic and i love it, and i'm really fond of the way enno loves freydis. It's a beautiful book and i really love it

[Mackenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review originally posted on: Oh, For the Love of Books!

After Freydis’ village is attacked while her father is away, she is injured and her brother is taken captive. Upon her father’s return Freydis and her newly bought slave Enno embark on a journey to save Toki. On this journey they learn about friendship, family, love and overcoming their differences.

Freydis may seem fragile but she has a quiet strength, something I came to love. She was resourceful, admirable and had spirit, especially when it came to her father. Her father didn’t care about her at all. In fact, he was disgusted by her because he thought she wasn’t really his daughter and it didn't help that during this time period women were worthless. He only cared about his son. There were many times that I wanted to jump into the book and defend her myself! But she took it in stride and knew that there were others that cared about her.

Toki was defiant and stubborn but good-natured with an insatiable sense of curiosity. He loved his sister dearly and stuck up for her when her father wasn’t kind to her. The love between him and Freydis was incredibly touching. They would do anything for each other, including crossing the frigid seas and fighting pirates to save each other.

However, although I care about Freydis and Toki, I loved Enno! His personality and actions definitely made this book for me. Stubborn, bold, intelligent, yet kind and philosophical. A slave who doesn’t act like a slave. And his love for Freydis? Incredibly sweet. No one can control him yet he has a soft spot for Freydis. He knows what its like to be treated badly and so he feels for her when her father treats her that way. This is a level that they connect on and this makes their love for each other blossom.

Their journey is a hard one but one they get through together. There is action and adventure and pirates (something that always makes a book better)! While nothing incredibly new, I liked the journey. I liked going on this adventure with them, if not for the adventure itself, then for watching the characters devotion for each other.

I also liked that this story is realistic. That ending?! I almost cried….I don’t cry during books. However, I loved the ending. Of course I want a happy ending, but I also love realistic endings. They make the book more, well….real. There was something beautiful about the book, especially the characters attitudes toward it. Yes it was heartbreaking, but beautiful.

The Silver Sea is a beautiful story about friendship, heartbreak and family. Their journey isn’t easy, but not impossible so long as they work together. This is a great piece of historical fiction with characters that you can’t help but admire.

[Leeanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on my blog, Leeanna.me.

==

THE SILVER SEA is a book I enjoyed while reading. It’s a story of Viking adventure, featuring a sister and brother who overcome different challenges.

Freydis is the unwanted daughter of Ohthere, one of the king’s men. He believes his daughter is illegitimate, and puts her down at every turn. The apple of Ohthere’s eye is his son, Toki. Toki doesn’t share his father’s dislike of Freydis; when pirates attack their village, he hides Freydis.

And that’s where their stories separate. Captured by the leader of the pirate’s, and his father’s sworn enemy, Toki grows from a boy to a man while he tries to escape. Freydis, gifted with an unusual slave, is left with vassals of her father’s while Ohthere hunts for Toki. Their stories eventually merge, concluding in a sad ending.

As I said above, I liked THE SILVER SEA while I was reading. I barely put it down, and it reads quickly. But once I finished, I found it difficult to say a lot about it. The book was just missing something for me, something I unfortunately can’t put my finger on.

It’s a good book about Vikings and strong characters, but one I think falls into the Middle Grade realm. Although older readers like myself might enjoy it, just for the Viking culture.

The romantic relationships in THE SILVER SEA bugged me the most. Both Freydis and Toki find partners, with Toki getting married a few pages after he meets his wife. If there’s going to be romance in a book, I want to see it developed, not just slapped in.

I also said the ending was sad, and it is. Probably not for everyone, but I personally appreciated that the author went there. No, I’m not going to say what happened because that would spoil the whole book, but I think it was the right ending, rather than some untrue happily ever after.

==

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.

See more of my reviews:

[Varsha Seshan · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.varshaseshan.com/catching...

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The world is filled with unlikely heroes.”

Norway, 880 A.D.
Sixteen-year-old Freydis and her older brother, Toki are awaiting the arrival of their Viking leader father, Ohthere after being away for almost a year. Unbeknownst to them, he will be leaving immediately to hunt down Sulke the Pirate, with whom he holds a blood grudge against. But before Ohthere’s arrival home, Sulke attacks the stronghold. After being wounded in the upper leg, Freydis is hidden by Toki in the new privy hole during the raid. When she crawls out of the hole when all is cleared, she sees nothing but complete devastation and soon realizes that Toki is now Sulke’s prisoner.

Before Ohthere goes home, he stops to make a trade with a silversmith. At the shop he sees Blue Man, aka Enno, a man from the North African coast who has lived as a slave in the north most of his life. Enno refuses to act like a slave since he was a prince in Africa. Ohthere decides to purchase Blue Man as Freydis’ first slave and bodyguard. Upon his arrival home, he is stunned to see only Freydis remaining. Ohthere is a cruel father who values his son and doesn’t believe Freydis is his daughter. In her weakened state, she is carried aboard the ship and sets sail in an attempt to rescue Toki. As the voyage continues, Enno and the crew begin to feel pity for the girl over her father’s outright rejection.

The story is told in alternating perspectives of Freydis and her journey of self worth and Toki’s imprisonment with Sulke and leads up to the epic battle with a surprising ending.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Freydis's father has never warmed to her. Still, his anger shocks her when he returns home to find their village destroyed and his daughter the only survivor. Never mind that Freydis is badly hurt. She takes her father's words bravely, but it breaks her heart.

She doesn't know what happened to her brother. Her father will take to the seas searching for him. At first, he wants to leave her behind, but Blue Man, the slave he bought her, convinces him to take her along.

They head North. Blue Man and Freydis forge a strange friendship. Blue Man's pride makes him refuse to believe he's less of a man because he's a slave. Freydis doesn't push the issue; in fact, she enjoys their discussions.

When the two are left together with another Viking tribe, they realize their fates are entwined. They also begin to unravel a prophecy of two wolves who will engage in a great battle between her father's enemy and those loyal to him.

THE SILVER SEA has a similar feel to Golding's previous novel, DRAGONFLY. This historical fiction portrays the Vikings in an engrossing manner, complete with raids, small tribes defending themselves, and pirates searching for revenge. The chapters alternate perspectives between Freydis, Enno (Blue Man), and Toki (Freydis's brother). All three must overcome danger and betrayal. They forge deep friendships, and they must find their inner strength and stand firmly for their beliefs.

[Lia Marcoux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three cheers for Julia Golding! I don't pick up Golding expecting my world to be turned upside down, but I know I'll enjoy it, and have a solid read with an interesting setting and good humor. And so far I always do. Wolf Cry has some of the same foibles as her other books - some weirdness around race (why do the saviors of the Sami both come from other races?), a passive female lead (though to be fair the character has a crippling leg wound, and I'm bringing my own issues and dislike for "delicate flower" woman characters to the table, so that's really on me), and a somewhat naive point of view (basically around violence, and that's not necessarily bad. I'd much rather she leave too much out than put too much in, even in the historical context).

But she handles romance so sensibly and refreshingly - two characters realize their growing feelings and act on them. Often they get together mid-story. The payoff isn't about kissin', but personal growth through the main action.

And - and here's the main spoiler - Freydis actually dies! Good gravy! No naivete there!

I like you, Golding.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

(1 spoiler) So I liked this book up until the very end. I planed on giving it a great review, but when a book leaves me sad and disappointed, I just can't. But hey I Love happy endings and this just didn't give me that and you might like this book for that. I won't give away anything else but the sad ending. But overall the book was great. The plot was well driven and kept me turning the pages. The characters were substantial and I just loved them all and had so much hope that everything would turn out well. This is not an angsty teen read but more a learn and deal with life book. I enjoyed her other book dragonfly more and will keep looking for more from this author.
Sex- None. very clean 12 and up
Language- Bastard I think was in there but other than that nothing.
Violence- There was lots of implied violence that was not too detailed. You are dealing with a people at war and take captives. Are main characters do get knocked about alot. There is some sword fights. And I have to put this in here cause it is the most violent, but not too detailed, a main character dies:{

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whoa, I was not expecting that ending! Way to surprise me, Golding! I'm not totally sure that I like it, but it definitely caught me unawares!

Interesting story, but as with Dragonfly, I had trouble with the way the relationships progress, and none of the characters felt quite filled out enough for my liking. And I couldn't help but compare it with Matthew J. Kirby's Icefall, which just seemed so much more elegant and well developed and real than this one.

Still, I read it pretty quickly and mostly enjoyed it. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it after all these years!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this book is aimed at young teenagers I was hooked from the start. The characters are so strong and she introduces a side to the Viking's I've never seen before in historical fiction and that is the many feuds they have between each other as individual raiders and leaders, the cost of family blood feuds over generations and also the little known impact Norse raiders had on the natives of Africa and the beginnings of the slave trade in black people.
The over all tale is truly captivating and thrilling, you fall in love with the good people and grow to hate the bad ones. The ending is a bit of a shock and to be honest very sad but it is a good climax to the themes of belonging, family love and fate woven throughout.
I would definitely recommend it to any young teenager to read to get a good first taste of the life of vikings without too much gore and violence.

[Andrea Tuan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This authors writing style was beautiful. I loved it so much. She brought out the strength of the characters in their own ways and wove it perfectly with all of the characters' vulnerabilities. This was a book where I didn't have to push myself to finish, I just couldn't stop. It was really good :) The characters were also all amazing characters, especially the female characters. It was made quite realistically, for the two major female characters weren't completely swayed one way or the other, they still had the air of being a female (if that makes sense) but they had the strength and courage that made them such strong characters. And the male characters were also very well written, they are shown to be vulnerable in many circumstances, and not afraid to love and fight for the ones they love.

[ephrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was very engaging. I loved that it was about Vikings. This doesn't area of the world doesn't seem to have been milked dry yet. There was so much diversity in cultures. Enno was a great character. He was trying to learn to live with his lot in life yet not accepting it at all. Then he meets Freydis and things begin to get interesting. Now Freydis is quite the frail little thing. Or perhaps we shouldn't judge someone by what is on the outside. In the end she proved that it is the strength of your heart that makes the most difference in the world. The ending was rather tragic for my taste but still a good fit for the story. Definitely, far more of a unique read than others on the market now.

[Ariana]

What would happen if some one came and attacked your home, would you fight or flee? Freydis the main character in The Silver sea has been fleeing for most of her life. How long has destruction been there in the past? This fiction character has to face the destruction of many things before she finds peace. People dislike people but to they hate them. The reader finds in the beginning / middle of a hate relationship in between her father and raiders? This relationship is a major part of the storyline. Love comes to everyone some time. Freydis and Blue man don't love each other but in the middle of the book they click. Like history and fiction this book is a historical fiction.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a big Golding fan, and while this wasn't one of my favorites of hers, I still really enjoyed it. The combination of Freydis' issues as a girl struggling in male-dominated Viking society, and Enno's search for independence despite his enslavement added new, but not unbelievable elements to a period that I'm always surprised doesn't receive more attention in juvenile fiction. Maybe with the popularity of the Cressida books, we'll get more. In the meantime, this title, US-version, "The Silver Sea" is a worthy Viking read.

[Naomi Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julia Golding has quite respectable range, and I found this historical Viking novel just as engrossing as her Companions Quartet and Cat Royal mysteries. I did find some of the descriptions a tad bit over the top and adjective-heavy, but overall a very enjoyable read, with strong characterization, suspense, and a bit of sword fighting. (I wouldn't have minded a bit more detail on that front, but I suppose that would have been just too much to hope for.) I even cried at the end (but I won't say whether that were happy or sad tears).

[Alexa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was intriguing, with a strong storyline to grab my attention and lovely writing to hold it, allowing me to lose myself in the storyworld.
Unfortunately, I didn't love all the characters. But I didn't hate any of them either, and there were enough that I loved to keep me invested in the story.
If you'd like to hear more of what I thought about this book, you can find the full review at Verbosity Book Reviews.

[Sarah Tilatitsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel really sad and happy in this book. Really, it talks about denial and how women are worthless (women are NOT worthless!) in the eyes of some men. Yet, it talks about a famous theme: don't judge a book by its cover. Yeah, yeah, but it's told in such a better way that it makes you feel that yiou should go do it, and that sacrificing is for the sake of others and other things. But, all's well ends well. You should go read this book.

[Jeanie555 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really great book. Julia Golding really is a great author. I love this book, and I cried at the end. I had to read the ending twice, and though it's sad, it's a great book worthy of reading. Even though when Freydis dies it's really sad, my favorite part is when she does, though not because I hated her. Enno, Freydis, and Toki are great characters. I repeat, it is a great book worthy of reading.