Ame Và Yuki - Những Đứa Con Của Sói

by Mamoru Hosoda

Câu chuyện này nghe qua như cổ tích, vì nó mở đầu thật đẹp, và cũng thật ly kỳ.
Người đẹp và quái vật, công chúa và con ếch… Tiếp nối bao nhiêu câu chuyện tình yêu nổi tiếng với mối duyên nhân - thú, Ame và Yuki - những đứa con của sói, cũng đã mở ra bằng tình cảm đẹp đẽ và bất chấp lẽ thường giữa hoa (Hana) và sói, để tạo ra tuyết (Yuki) và mưa (Ame). Nhưng câu chuyện này, nếu là cổ tích thì cũng chỉ có một nửa thôi, còn một nửa nữa lại hiện thực đến bùi ngùi. Chẳng bao lâu con sói vì lao lực nuôi gia đình, đã chết trôi dưới gầm cầu, phơi ra khung xương sườn gầy giơ dưới những con mắt bàng quan của người đời.
Hana từ đó một tay nuôi nấng hai đứa con lai giống khác thường với những vấn đề oái oăm. Chẳng hạn, khi chúng ốm thì nên đưa đi thú y hay đưa đi nhi khoa? Nên nuôi dạy chúng theo kiểu của sói hay như con người?
Cố gắng che giấu thân phận thật sự của các con, cũng như cho chúng có cơ hội tự tìm lấy đường đi của chính mình, cuối cùng Hana đã ôm chúng lên một ngôi nhà trên núi, sống ở ranh giới giữa xã hội và thiên nhiên.
Ame và Yuki - những đứa con của sói, là lăng kính về khó khăn của cha mẹ trong suốt quá trình sinh thành dưỡng dục cho đến khi gạt nước mắt thấu hiểu nhìn chúng lựa chọn đường đời của mình. Bởi thế, đây cũng là tụng ca đầy chất nhân văn về công lao và tấm lòng cha mẹ.

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Japanese Literature, Fiction, Manga, Novels, Young Adult

216 pages, Paperback

First published June 22, 2012

About the author

Mamoru Hosoda (細田 守 Hosoda Mamoru, born September 19, 1967) is a Japanese film director and animator.

Reviews

[Đào Kiên · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hơi buồn xíu với bản light novel của bộ phim mình yêu thích. Cứ nghĩ khi chuyển thể thành sách thì họ sẽ thêm thắt yếu tố gì đó thú vị hơn bản phim, nhưng cuối cùng chỉ là bê nguyên kịch bản phim vào sách, đâm ra sách không thể bộc tỏa cái chất riêng mà chỉ có văn chương làm được, ví dụ như đặc tả tâm lý nhân vật hoặc miêu tả thiên nhiên chẳng hạn.

[Ammar Naaimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely phenomenal. My heart's so full right now 🤩

[Huyền · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mình đã xem phim rồi mới đọc sách, thế nhưng cảm xúc vẫn còn nguyên. Cuốn sách nói lên tình yêu to lớn của cha mẹ đối với con cái. Đọc cuốn sách mình cũng thấy nhớ mẹ, mẹ đã vất vả bao nhiêu để nuôi nấng 2 chị em mình. Mình cũng nhớ thằng em mình nữa, mối quan hệ của mình với nó cũng giống với Yuki và Ame trong sách, lớn lên cùng nhau, đánh chửi nhau chí chóe, nhưng bây giờ lớn rồi, tự dưng lại ít nói chuyện với nhau hơn.
Về cái kết, mình thấy buồn, nhưng thấy đó là một cái kết hợp lý. Lúc xem phim, khi thấy Ame bắt đầu lên núi, và không chịu đến trường học, mình đã đoán trước cái kết này. Ame và Yuki mỗi người theo một con đường khác nhau, có cuộc sống riêng của mình. Yuki chọn làm người, Ame chọn trở thành sói. Đó là lựa chọn của mỗi người. Nhưng mình vẫn thấy buồn cho mẹ Hana. Đó chắc cũng là tâm trạng của mỗi người cha mẹ khi thấy con cái của mình dần trưởng thành và rời xa mình. :(

[Yuki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't think that there would be a day when I actually like a story about human and wolf falling in love. Well, guess there's a first time for everything.

The story revolves around Ame and Yuki - the children of a wolfman (?) and a girl named Hana. This books is an alluringly - written tale of the struggles that their family had to face, growing up without the present of their father and of the ways that both Ame and Yuki have chosen to follow, to step into adulthood.

I took a strange liking to Yuki. Maybe because we share the same reason behind our name?

Yes, it's a simple story, however a memorable one. Recommended to anyone who is a fan of Shinkai Makoto, Hosoda Mamoru, or even Ghibli films.

[Iryna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story always moves me to tears in the end. What makes it special to me though is that even my mother is very interested in reading the Light Novel after I showed her the first half of the movie years ago. And she's not interested in Anime or Manga.
I think to this story, even if it's about "wolf children", most parents can relate and enjoy it. And children, teenager, who are searching their way in life, or young adults, too, of course. I think everyone can relate to some of the characters or parts of the story in some way and that's why everyone is able to enjoy this story.

Still only 4/5★ because I wasn't quite fond with the writing itself, especially at the start. But it went better around the half.

[Rin Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một cuốn truyện ngắn thôi nhưng cảm xúc thì rất nhiều. Tình yêu, tình cảm gia đình, chị em,...mọi thứ đều chân thật và đáng quý trọng. Nhất là trong một xã hội ngày càng thiếu thốn thời gian như hiện tại.
“Nếu có nhà riêng thì thật là tốt. Sẽ được nói tôi về rồi đây, tháo giày, rửa mặt rửa tay rồi ngả người trên ghế. Cảm giác chắc hẳn rất dễ chịu. Tôi sẽ đóng một cái giá sách. Khi nó đầy tôi lại đóng giá mới. Làm gì cũng được vì nó là nhà của mình mà...”
Nên xem cả anime mọi người ạ, tôi đọc xong mới xem anime, cảm giác vẹn nguyên :3 Khóc chút rồi thấy yêu đời hơn hẳn.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really cute and sweet and yes odd given the premise. This is the first light novel that I've read, not sure if I'll read another one or not. There were moments, especially at the beginning when it felt like things were moving too fast and there were things missing. But then the story begins to be more consistent and has a rhythm. I don't know if that's the way light novels are in general but this one was like that. In the end, it really did feel like I read an anime in book form.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

-6.5/10
-I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style which made me skip entire paragraphs here and there
-Things were described in a bit TOO much detail to the point were it got boring
-I finished the whole book in about 3 hours
-The character building is done well and there are a few plot twists I did not anticipate
-Overall I think that if you want to experience this story you should watch the movie or read the manga instead

[Othy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the prime audience for this book, and so I gave it one more star than I might have done. I thought that the premise was interesting, but the story played out rather simply. I don't know what I expected, but nothing really surprised me - everything unfolded as it was set up to unfold. That may not be a good reason to dislike a book, but in this case, and for me, I was disappointed.

[Lara Vehar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I still enjoyed the characters and story but I like the manga just a little bit more. I really, really hated the parts where characters started laughing and there was just random ha ha ha or hee heee hee thrown in - it looked so awkward and it really took me out of the story.

[Ken Lê · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một quyển sách nhẹ nhàng dễ đọc.
Dù cái kết đối với mn có vẻ hơi buồn nhưng với mình nó lại giống Happy Ending hơn. Mỗi người cuối cùng đều tìm được con đường của riêng mình. Sống là chính mình, vậy chẳng phải đây là điều hạnh phúc nhất hay sao ?

[LJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crazy that she shags him the night she finds out that he’s half wolf but asides from that, extremely sweet book. Also it’s very pleasant how they portray how Hana grieves her husband’s death. She’s always smiling and grateful for the time that she did get to spend with him.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unconditional love into a book.


This book is about Hana, a young girl who meets a man at her university and falls in love. She usually doesnt do relationships or have little crushes. Before their life intertwined she had an odd dream about a wolf. The man tells Hana his secret, he's a wolfman. Regardless, I they continue their romantic relationship. As they continue on Hana has their daughter, YuKI. A year later she had their son, Ame. While hunting for their young ones. He dies. This causes a huge shift in Hana, Yuki, and Ame's life. This is where the main conflict of the book comes in: Hana has to continue on raising her children, who are half human and half wolf children with no help. She decides to move to the countryside, where her children can roam around more freely. As she raises her two children in the countryside, she gains more conflicts, but as the author wants to imphasize the main conflict which is how she's going to raise her kids. As Ame and Yuki grow up they are way different from one another. Yuki embraces more of her human side, while Ame embraces more of his wolf. The fate of the children are near the end just as the book comes to an end. Yuki lives life as a human, while Ame doesnt. Ame roams around in the countryside as a wolf. Regardless of their decision, Hana is glad she is their mother, and support and loves them unconditionally.

In my opinion this book did move quickly, this was soft and speaks to your heart. I dread how Wolfman dies, and leaves Hana to raise two children, with no experience on how to raise a wolf at all. The end was bittersweet, I loved how Ame embraces his father's side, while Yuki embraces her mother's side. It's great to see Hana still visiting Ame even though he doesn’t come around as often but knows that he will always be watching. The theme to me was how parents will do anything for their children.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The light novel didn't hit me much as the movie does, where I'd bawled and it had left me in a strucken; blank state of mind. The movie had left me with enormous hole in my heart. "He told me I should always smile, even when life was painful or hard- even when I didn't want to. If I could do that, I could get through just about anything." The fact that she has to bear losing her family at such young age, seeing her husband being thrown like a trash, can't hold a proper funeral for him, being eyed suspiciously by neighbours in the city, forced out due to lack of money, clean an unusable, broken state of a house by her ownself, planting vegetables by herself even when she doesn't know any basic of it, is poignantly everlasting. It’s also fascinating; and pretty queer to see the (un)usual tropes of parenting — the difficulty of letting go, the worry about whether your children will find their place in the world — transferred to a situation where your child’s wolf nature is part of the discussion. In this upbeat era, this practices have been largely abandoned. Hana manifested forbearance under every provocations and strains; by smiling. "phony smile" as Grandpa called it. and this feature of hers is the one we hardly ever can practice in the real life, for we are accustomed to control emotions, and be controlled by it.

[Jules · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of the animated movie, I went expecting a word-for-word movie to book adaptation. Although that was largely the case, I still found the book to be a new experience as if I was reading/hearing the story for the first time. Many more aspects of the plot are fleshed out, I resonated more with Hana as she struggled throughout life's unprecedented challenges (I had to say it), and the writing style was beautifully simplistic yet engaging. The only reason I'm giving it 4 stars is because I wish the book had more content and expanded more on the relationships between the rest of the villagers and the family. Particularly in Sohei's case.

(Spoilers)

When Sohei met Yuki, he could tell her scent was different than that of the other humans in their class. Does this mean that Sōhei is also a wolf-human hybrid - or a kitsune, tanuki? No clear reasoning was given, so my curiosity begs the question how and why was he relevant and I would have loved to see his friendship with Yuki develop more.

In summary, great read! I recommend.

[Chelsea Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars: ‘Wolf Children: Ame & Yuki’ by Mamoru Hosoda.
→ Age Range: Young Adult.
→ Genre: Fantasy, Light Novel.
→ Trigger Warnings: Death, Violence, Drowning.

In-depth Rating:
→ Plot: ★★★★
→ Character Development: ★★★
→ Setting: ★★★★
→ Entertainment Level: ★★★★
→ Writing: ★★★

General Comments: An odd story told in a one-of-a-kind style that feels equal parts sentimental, sombre and strange; addressing concerns with pressing social issues and the messy emotions of actual human-beings. Despite brief problematic content and an ambiguous climax, the plot is magic. A story of single Motherhood and children choosing their paths in life; versatile story-telling in a perfectly balanced way.

Favourite Quote: ‘I have lived knowing nothing of the forest so there is nothing I can teach you. Go into the wild. Know the world.’

Time Read: Five Days.
→ Audiobook: No.
→ Audiobook Narrator: -

[Pham Tung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Truyện có nội dung đơn giản và khá trẻ con; thiếu một chút chiều sâu, một chút thực tế và một chút điểm nhấn.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think the story is really beautifully portrayed as a movie, and maybe it's because the book came after the movie, but it lacks some of the power it did as an animation.

[Nghi Trương · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mình xem Anime rồi mới đọc tiểu thuyết, thấy bản Anime hay hơn.
Đây là Anime mà ai cũng phải xem một lần trong đời.

[Oskar Fabricius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good but it’s really too short and many of characters are underdeveloped except the main character

[Para · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never underestimate the love of a mother

[Han Tran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Một câu chuyện đầy tính nhân văn

[finley(toby) Pence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me cry

[lojeeez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this when i was a kid.
Even though my memories about details of the book could fade day by day, my feelings for it stays remained.

[Quynh Anh Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cốt truyện hay nhưng hành văn thì dở, cảm giác như tác giả chỉ đơn thuần tả lại từng cảnh trong phim và ghép lại thành sách, không có gì hơn.

[Haneru Hatsune · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

thú thực mình không nghĩ mình sẽ cho cuốn light novel này điểm cao đến thế.
ngôn từ giản đơn đến vụng về, diễn đạt đôi chỗ lủng củng, xây dựng các tình huống truyện khá hay nhưng cách triển khai còn rất non nớt và chưa phát huy hết tiềm năng của tình huống, các nhân vật cũng được phát triển khá cưỡng chế, cốt thuận theo ý đồ lớn lao của tác giả tuy nhiên làm chưa tới.

tuy nhiên, mình nghĩ mình nhìn và ngẫm được một số giá trị lớn và ảnh hưởng tích cực đến tâm trạng ủ dột thời gian gần đây thế nên mình nghĩ con điểm trên phần nào đấy là một lời cảm ơn bé mọn của mình đến với tác giả (ngoài số tiền bản quyền mà tác giả nhận được vì mình mua sách giấy :>). mình đã cảm nhận được sức mạnh vô biên của tình yêu thương và niềm tin vào một tương lai tươi sáng. mình quả thực cảm phục Hana vì sức mạnh nội tại căng tràn của cô, một cô gái trẻ thiếu vắng tình yêu thương từ bé đã quả cảm theo đuổi, nắm lấy cơ hội yêu và được yêu của đời mình, đặc biệt khi người đó là một con sói! người con gái trẻ tuổi đó còn đơn phương nuôi nấng hai đứa con, yêu thương chúng vô điều kiện và sẵn sàng hy sinh tất cả mọi thứ vì con, để con được tự do lựa chọn cách mà chúng được sống đúng với bản thể của mình. thú thực mình không có thứ dũng khí như thế. tình yêu không phân biệt, nhưng để thực yêu bền vững, lâu dài và mạnh mẽ thì cần nhiều điều kiện hơn hai trái tim vàng trong túp lều tranh, mình đã cay đắng nhận ra một sự thật như thế sau những lần yêu lỡ dỡ. nhưng rồi cuốn sách này lại thổi bừng lên trong mình một niềm tin đã nguội lạnh, tình yêu là tình yêu, là cảm xúc, sức mạnh của tình yêu rất lớn lao và hãy yêu để có thể trở nên tốt hơn, hãy yêu toàn tâm, yêu toàn trí, yêu toàn hồn, yêu toàn thân. có tình yêu, mới có sự sống. từ đó mới có hạnh phúc.

với giá trị to lớn như vậy về tình yêu thương và niềm tin, mình nghĩ mình vẫn sẽ cho bản thân thêm nhiều lần đọc cuốn sách này nữa mỗi khi lạc lõng.

[Raikeehime · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Hana worked up the courage to speak to the mysterious loner in her college class, she never expected it would blossom into true love—nor that he was secretly a wolf living in human form. Their relationship was far from ordinary, but she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Her happiness only grew with the births of Ame and Yuki, who inherited their father’s unique ability to transform. But life is full of both joy and hardship, and Hana is left to raise her little wolves on her own. Raising human children is already hard enough… but how do you handle their wild side too?

I watched the movie years ago and really loved it. Reading the novel now, after so much time has passed, was a beautiful way to experience the story again. I admire how strong Hana is—how she raised Ame and Yuki all on her own after their father’s death. I still feel sad that their love story was cut short; they cared for each other so deeply, both being so alone in the world. The wolf man would have been such a good, doting father. He seemed so kind and really loved Hana.

Most novelizations of movies aren’t written that well, but this one is one of the few that’s actually good—not amazing, but definitely good enough. I recommend it if you want a touching and heartwarming story.

[Hstwdthllczy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔

“𝐻𝑒 𝑡𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑚𝑒 𝐼 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒, 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑝𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 — 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑛 𝐼 𝑑𝑖𝑑𝑛'𝑡 𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑡𝑜. 𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑑𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡, 𝐼 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑗𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑦𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔.”

Moral of the story? Don't fall in love with a wolf guy, get pregnant and drop out of college. (jk)

I honestly feel bad for the MC, but she can only blame herself for the bad choices she makes throughout the book.

𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗿:
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How tf did the Hana last so long off the wolf husband guy's (I'm referring to him as that because I don't think they mentioned his name, if they did, I forgot it) money. I'm pretty sure he only had a blue collar job, right? And why did the wolf husband guy leave all his stuff in front of the door, like he knew he was going to die that day??

[S.Q. Eries · Rating 1 out of 5]

In Summary

Despite the title Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki, this novel is really about their mother Hana. It follows her as she goes from a lovestruck nineteen-year-old to a single mother of two, from struggling to raise her children in the city to toiling to carve a place for them in the country. While Hosoda-sensei romanticizes Hana’s love for her werewolf, the majority of the book is not the least bit romantic. Rather, it’s mostly difficult circumstances and a lot of hard work.

The Review

Please note, I am writing this novel review without having seen the movie it was based on.

Hana is a university sophomore when she encounters the mysterious loner in her college class. As it turns out, the standoffish young man is a werewolf. Even so, Hana embraces him and his secret and soon bears a daughter and son with their father’s ability to transform. But hardship strikes when the werewolf unexpectedly dies, and Hana’s left to raise their children on her own.

Hosoda-sensei tries to give this novel the aura of a fairytale. Aside from the existence of werewolves, Hana has a couple of dream encounters with her lover. The story also never gives his name, which might be some sort of Japanese literary device. (However, as a Western reader, I found it odd because Hana has his driver’s license so he clearly had a name.)

Despite these fantastical elements, the novel did not strike me as romantic or fairytale-like. Even the book’s opener, where Hana falls in love and is at her most carefree, is hardly swoon-worthy material. Hana takes the initiative in the courtship, and the werewolf never gives any professions of love or proposes marriage. He works a blue-collar job, is short on cash, and their dates consist of reading books and walks. Eventually, they move in together, he gets her pregnant so that she has to drop out of university, and shortly after their second child is born, he dies.

Thus, Hana’s true struggles begin in the latter half of Chapter 1. Yet the majority of her challenges have less to do with her children being werewolves and more to do with the fact that she’s an isolated single mother without many resources. Her money worries, her lack of sleep, her neighbor who’s angry about her baby’s crying, her older child’s accidents – those are common to many mothers, and not even just the single ones. Certainly, the need for secrecy is an additional burden, but it seems minor compared to the rest. Rather than a unique journey, Hana’s circumstances feel more like a cautionary tale about what happens when you have kids too early in life.

Continuing on to Chapter 2, Hana moves her family to the mountains. Partly because of the cheap rent, partly because it’s easier to hide her children’s secret where there are fewer people. Although there are moments where the children explore the wilderness, the focus remains on Hana–her efforts to make their rundown house livable, her city slicker struggle to grow vegetables, and her gradual acceptance by the country community.

It’s not until Chapter 3 that the focus really shifts to the children. With their mixed heritage, the identities they ultimately choose are anyone’s guess. As it turns out, those identities get chosen early and abruptly. After a taste of peer interaction with the students at her elementary school. Yuki immediately gives up her wild child behavior to be a girly girl so she can fit in with her friends. Ame’s change is more drastic. After meeting a wild fox who agrees to mentor him, Ame goes from a sickly crybaby who can’t fend off a house cat to a tough wolf disinterested in human society. And for Ame, the decision to ditch his mother’s home to live in the wild comes at the age of ten.

Chapter 4 has Hana confronted with her son’s decision to leave for good against the backdrop of a ferocious downpour. As the storm rages, the focus is not so much Ame’s escape into his new world but Hana’s maternal grief and ultimate acceptance to his departure. After that, the story abruptly comes to a tidy end. Despite all the child protective services activities in Chapter 1, Ame’s disappearance doesn’t raise any questions from neighbors, Hana’ coworkers, or Ame’s school. And Yuki goes with her classmates to live in the junior high dorm, leaving Hana smiling happily alone in her remote home with her lover’s driver’s license.

The story only follows the children until Yuki turns twelve, which doesn’t allow much space for character development. Though brief, Yuki does have a reasonably interesting character arc, mainly because hers includes her relationships at school. Ame’s is less so. Although he clearly becomes enamored of the wilderness, his only relationship is with a fox, and we aren’t privy to those interactions.

Thus, it is predominantly Hana’s journey that takes up the narrative. Although Hosoda-sensei tries to portray her as heroic, I can’t help but see Hana as simply reaping the consequences of poor decision-making. Granted, her lover didn’t abandon her, but he was awfully careless to get himself killed (and not even for anything meaningful). And even if their first pregnancy was an accident, they should’ve known better than to get pregnant again so quickly if money was truly tight. Finally, her smile-through-everything attitude is unrelatable and unrealistic. When Grandpa Nirasaki snaps at her, “Why do you always have that phony smile on your face?” I wholeheartedly agree.

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[Birgit Koopman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet. A story of a mother trying to raise her unusual children who do not make it easy. It does jump around in time a lot, to cover their whole youth. Which comes at the cost of some development. You don't always have to rush a story to make it impactfull. In the end she did a good enough job, but I don't think she was made to be a mother. She makes some discissions that even at that moment I could tell would turn out bad. And voila, it did.
Not bad, but good be better.