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Echo Mountain
SHORTLISTED FOR THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2021
'Harper Lee has a worthy successor. Wolk is a big new talent' The Times
'Lyrical, timeless . . . A luscious, shivery delight' Kirkus starred review
1933. When Ellie and her family lose everything, they flee to Echo Mountain. Ellie runs wild, exploring the mountain's mysteries. But the one she can't solve is who's leaving the gifts for tiny wooden carvings of animals and flowers, dotted around the mountain for her to find.
Then Ellie's father has a terrible accident. When she sets out to find a cure for him, she discovers Cate, the outcast witch, and Larkin, a wild mountain boy. From them she learns about being a healer, being brave - and how there can be more to a person than first meets the eye.
An unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea .
'It is a magical thing to step into a world created by Wolk . . . Captivating' Booklist starred review
'Historical fiction at its finest' The Horn Book starred review
'Harper Lee has a worthy successor. Wolk is a big new talent' The Times
'Lyrical, timeless . . . A luscious, shivery delight' Kirkus starred review
1933. When Ellie and her family lose everything, they flee to Echo Mountain. Ellie runs wild, exploring the mountain's mysteries. But the one she can't solve is who's leaving the gifts for tiny wooden carvings of animals and flowers, dotted around the mountain for her to find.
Then Ellie's father has a terrible accident. When she sets out to find a cure for him, she discovers Cate, the outcast witch, and Larkin, a wild mountain boy. From them she learns about being a healer, being brave - and how there can be more to a person than first meets the eye.
An unforgettable novel from the award-winning author of Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea .
'It is a magical thing to step into a world created by Wolk . . . Captivating' Booklist starred review
'Historical fiction at its finest' The Horn Book starred review
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 21, 2020
578 people are currently reading
12461 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Wolk
10 books837 followersLauren Wolk is an award-winning poet and author of the bestselling Newbery Honor–winning Wolf Hollow, described by the New York Times Book Review as "full of grace and stark, brutal beauty." She was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,638 reviews
January 31, 2020
Sometimes we reviewers talk about "nostalgia". How it plays a role in the books we review and the way we interpret those titles. I've been thinking a lot about that word lately. Seems it only really comes up in conversation when you're talking about works of fiction set in the past. Sometimes such books romanticize history or historical moments. They may have different reasons for doing so, but in the end there’s a kind of yearning worked into the fabric of the novel for a time that is not the present. With author Lauren Wolk, it's different. It's not that her books aren’t beautiful and it's not that they don't bring a specific historical moment in the past to life. More, when I read a book by Wolk, what I yearn for isn't history. I yearn for nature. Nobody conjures up the feeling of pine needles under your bare feet or that wind that seeps into your bones quite like she does. In the past I've approached her books the same way you'd approach a sleeping panther. You have no idea what to expect when you pick one up. But her latest Echo Mountain trades in that sense of anxiety, exchanging it for mere high tension. Set in a Depression-era Maine, it's about the stories other people tell us about ourselves, the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves, and why sometimes kids are the ones that have all the answers.
"I had work to do. Honey to harvest. A hag to save. A father to save. And more besides." Maine. 1934. Ellie was just a young child when the stock market crashed. Next thing she knew, her family was pulling up roots and headed to Echo Mountain. With hardly anything more than the shirts on their backs, the family of five settles into the wilderness where Ellie finds a true home. Of course, that was before the accident that put her father in a coma, unable to provide for his family, and the blame for it at her feet. Since that time Ellie has been content to sit back and let her mother and older sister tend to him. That is, until takes it into her head that enough is enough. There's a father to wake, there are mysterious tiny wooden carvings cropping up everywhere Ellie looks, there's a hag on the mountain that needs help, and it’s all so much more than just one girl can handle. Still, handle it, she will, because nobody knows the mountain, its secrets and its cures, better than Ellie.
You do not pick up a Lauren Wolk book, looking for fluff. This is the woman that scared the socks off of me with her pretty blonde psychopath in Wolf Hollow, to say nothing of the villain of Beyond the Bright Sea. In sharp contrast, Echo Mountain is strangely bereft of its own baddie. Nature is both friend and foe. Circumstances, bad luck, and life itself get their kicks in, but a good old-fashioned human antagonist isn't waiting in the wings. What does that leave us? Wolk's beautiful writing. Not merely words and sentences (those are consistently surprising, and I'll say more about them in a moment) but smaller details, like how the book plays with foreshadowing. I get a bit tired of books that end chapters with sentences like, "It would be the last time I'd ever see him again." How much more interesting to have lines like, "The morning began as any morning might - a matter of yawns, squinting at the weather, wobbling on the tightrope between yesterday and tomorrow - but the day to come would be the longest and most interesting of my life." I think this is a good example of the type of foreshadowing that comes at the beginning of a paragraph rather than the end. Wolk applies it periodically and with such a light hand that it feels novel every time.
Wolk’s first book, Wolf Hollow was an adult novel adapted for a child audience. As such, when I read her, I find myself reading not with a child’s eye but a librarian’s. In this particular book I've encountered something that happens only because I'm an adult reader of children's books and not a child reader of them. Early in Echo Mountain Ellie decides that her father, in his coma, will never wake up if people just treat him sweet and sing him lullabies. Surely he'll respond to a sharper stimulus, like the fear of his eldest daughter in peril or drinks made of the mountain's bounty. Essentially, Ellie is still a child and these are the kind of experiments to which children are rather prone. Just a half a step away from mud pies, really. As an adult, I was terrified, not sure how far she'd go. After all, children's conjurings can be mighty and terrible, particularly when they're carrying a burden they cannot name. Had I read this book as a kid, I think I would have been completely on board with Ellie's internal logic. That's the problem with growing up. Threats loom larger, particularly when concerning children.
Of course, Ellie's wild plan eventually made me wonder how reliable she is as the book's narrator. Could Wolk be playing with the reader, causing them to doubt her intentions? She says she only puts a snake in the bedroom with her comatose father because she thinks her sister's true scream will wake him up, but this is the sister that's been taking little stabs and jabs at Ellie all book. Sometimes it seems Ellie's cures serve doubly as revenge. Is she even being honest with herself about the reasons she does what she does?
Sometimes I wonder whom Wolk reads. What are her primary influences? I only wonder because sometimes in her writing there are echoes (forgive the pun) of other titles. There is a moment in the book when you've the distinct feeling that everything is getting very Boo Radley-ish. Mysterious carvings from a shy carver? That's straight up Harper Lee, that is. I feel like Wolk's doing that on purpose, to a certain extent. The carver isn't a Boo, but there are echoes of Boo in there. Wolk doesn't really owe her tone or feel to anyone specific, though. Oh! That reminds me! Remember when I mentioned how brilliant individual lines of this book sometimes sound? Well get a load of these little gems I plucked out of the narrative:
- "And every long, gray rain that found its way into our sad tent reminded them of how we had lost our house. Sold nearly everything we owned. Took what little was left. And went looking for a way to survive until the world tipped back to well."
- "Before I left the room, I kissed my father on his head. One the scar there. It felt like a map against my lips. So I followed it."
- "Then I left the shed and walked up the path and, after a bit, into the woods, through a hemlock grove so full of shadows that almost nothing grew between the trunks of the old trees, the deep layer of dead needles underfoot like the soft coat of a great, sprawling animal that didn't mind the weight of me."
- "My mother looked at me over her shoulder. I could see her regret, but something else, too. The same thing I saw on her face when any wild thing came too close to the cabin."
- "For a long time, I'd thought that people simply were who they were and became who they became. But I didn't think that anymore."
- "She was a small woman, which should have made me feel better, but she was like the centipedes that sometimes raced in a frenzy across the cabin floor, their legs like brittle hair, so fast and shivery that I'd leap in terror at the sight of them."
- "I turned back to my father. I hated the way his skin pulled hard across the bones of his face, as if someone were making him into a drum. As if he were hollow. As if someone was supposed to hit him to make any music at all."
Okay okay. So it's beautiful, sure. Extremely well written and heartfelt. Lots of good moments. So here's the million-dollar question, sweetheart. How you gonna sell this to the average kid? For the historical fiction lovers, the ones that like The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, they'll probably take one glance at the cover and whip it out of your hands, leaving a little poofy cloud like you’d see in Warner Brothers cartoon. But the rest of them? How you gonna sell it? After all, it's clocking in at a hefty 368 pages and it is NOT a verse novel. The answer may come thanks to good old-fashioned gross out tactics. Because lying in wait in this story is some seriously icky stuff. You're gonna see honey used in ways you've never seen honey used before. Got a problem with maggots? Well get used to them, babykins, because they've got a job to do and by gum they're gonna do it. As I see it, this doesn't look on its outside like a book where a kid comes THIS close to branding an old lady with a heated iron, so make it clear that sleepy and nappy this book is not.
There's a safety to Echo Mountain that was missing from Wolk's previous books. I'm still making up my mind about whether or not that's a good or bad thing. It’s more than just the lack of a human villain. Reading this book felt so easy and natural. The drive to continue wasn’t based on anything but pleasure in the writing itself. There’s pleasure too to be found in finding yourself in the head of a uniquely capable young woman. The kind unafraid to provide for not just her own family but other people who need her as well. There’s a loneliness to the kind of life Ellie leads, but the trade off is that she feels truly free. Hand this to the kid that yearns for that freedom. For wide-open spaces and mysterious figures hiding in the shadows and snot nosed brothers and lots and lots of puppies. Hand it to someone who needs their own mountain. Even if it’s just a literary one.
For ages 9-12.
"I had work to do. Honey to harvest. A hag to save. A father to save. And more besides." Maine. 1934. Ellie was just a young child when the stock market crashed. Next thing she knew, her family was pulling up roots and headed to Echo Mountain. With hardly anything more than the shirts on their backs, the family of five settles into the wilderness where Ellie finds a true home. Of course, that was before the accident that put her father in a coma, unable to provide for his family, and the blame for it at her feet. Since that time Ellie has been content to sit back and let her mother and older sister tend to him. That is, until takes it into her head that enough is enough. There's a father to wake, there are mysterious tiny wooden carvings cropping up everywhere Ellie looks, there's a hag on the mountain that needs help, and it’s all so much more than just one girl can handle. Still, handle it, she will, because nobody knows the mountain, its secrets and its cures, better than Ellie.
You do not pick up a Lauren Wolk book, looking for fluff. This is the woman that scared the socks off of me with her pretty blonde psychopath in Wolf Hollow, to say nothing of the villain of Beyond the Bright Sea. In sharp contrast, Echo Mountain is strangely bereft of its own baddie. Nature is both friend and foe. Circumstances, bad luck, and life itself get their kicks in, but a good old-fashioned human antagonist isn't waiting in the wings. What does that leave us? Wolk's beautiful writing. Not merely words and sentences (those are consistently surprising, and I'll say more about them in a moment) but smaller details, like how the book plays with foreshadowing. I get a bit tired of books that end chapters with sentences like, "It would be the last time I'd ever see him again." How much more interesting to have lines like, "The morning began as any morning might - a matter of yawns, squinting at the weather, wobbling on the tightrope between yesterday and tomorrow - but the day to come would be the longest and most interesting of my life." I think this is a good example of the type of foreshadowing that comes at the beginning of a paragraph rather than the end. Wolk applies it periodically and with such a light hand that it feels novel every time.
Wolk’s first book, Wolf Hollow was an adult novel adapted for a child audience. As such, when I read her, I find myself reading not with a child’s eye but a librarian’s. In this particular book I've encountered something that happens only because I'm an adult reader of children's books and not a child reader of them. Early in Echo Mountain Ellie decides that her father, in his coma, will never wake up if people just treat him sweet and sing him lullabies. Surely he'll respond to a sharper stimulus, like the fear of his eldest daughter in peril or drinks made of the mountain's bounty. Essentially, Ellie is still a child and these are the kind of experiments to which children are rather prone. Just a half a step away from mud pies, really. As an adult, I was terrified, not sure how far she'd go. After all, children's conjurings can be mighty and terrible, particularly when they're carrying a burden they cannot name. Had I read this book as a kid, I think I would have been completely on board with Ellie's internal logic. That's the problem with growing up. Threats loom larger, particularly when concerning children.
Of course, Ellie's wild plan eventually made me wonder how reliable she is as the book's narrator. Could Wolk be playing with the reader, causing them to doubt her intentions? She says she only puts a snake in the bedroom with her comatose father because she thinks her sister's true scream will wake him up, but this is the sister that's been taking little stabs and jabs at Ellie all book. Sometimes it seems Ellie's cures serve doubly as revenge. Is she even being honest with herself about the reasons she does what she does?
Sometimes I wonder whom Wolk reads. What are her primary influences? I only wonder because sometimes in her writing there are echoes (forgive the pun) of other titles. There is a moment in the book when you've the distinct feeling that everything is getting very Boo Radley-ish. Mysterious carvings from a shy carver? That's straight up Harper Lee, that is. I feel like Wolk's doing that on purpose, to a certain extent. The carver isn't a Boo, but there are echoes of Boo in there. Wolk doesn't really owe her tone or feel to anyone specific, though. Oh! That reminds me! Remember when I mentioned how brilliant individual lines of this book sometimes sound? Well get a load of these little gems I plucked out of the narrative:
- "And every long, gray rain that found its way into our sad tent reminded them of how we had lost our house. Sold nearly everything we owned. Took what little was left. And went looking for a way to survive until the world tipped back to well."
- "Before I left the room, I kissed my father on his head. One the scar there. It felt like a map against my lips. So I followed it."
- "Then I left the shed and walked up the path and, after a bit, into the woods, through a hemlock grove so full of shadows that almost nothing grew between the trunks of the old trees, the deep layer of dead needles underfoot like the soft coat of a great, sprawling animal that didn't mind the weight of me."
- "My mother looked at me over her shoulder. I could see her regret, but something else, too. The same thing I saw on her face when any wild thing came too close to the cabin."
- "For a long time, I'd thought that people simply were who they were and became who they became. But I didn't think that anymore."
- "She was a small woman, which should have made me feel better, but she was like the centipedes that sometimes raced in a frenzy across the cabin floor, their legs like brittle hair, so fast and shivery that I'd leap in terror at the sight of them."
- "I turned back to my father. I hated the way his skin pulled hard across the bones of his face, as if someone were making him into a drum. As if he were hollow. As if someone was supposed to hit him to make any music at all."
Okay okay. So it's beautiful, sure. Extremely well written and heartfelt. Lots of good moments. So here's the million-dollar question, sweetheart. How you gonna sell this to the average kid? For the historical fiction lovers, the ones that like The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, they'll probably take one glance at the cover and whip it out of your hands, leaving a little poofy cloud like you’d see in Warner Brothers cartoon. But the rest of them? How you gonna sell it? After all, it's clocking in at a hefty 368 pages and it is NOT a verse novel. The answer may come thanks to good old-fashioned gross out tactics. Because lying in wait in this story is some seriously icky stuff. You're gonna see honey used in ways you've never seen honey used before. Got a problem with maggots? Well get used to them, babykins, because they've got a job to do and by gum they're gonna do it. As I see it, this doesn't look on its outside like a book where a kid comes THIS close to branding an old lady with a heated iron, so make it clear that sleepy and nappy this book is not.
There's a safety to Echo Mountain that was missing from Wolk's previous books. I'm still making up my mind about whether or not that's a good or bad thing. It’s more than just the lack of a human villain. Reading this book felt so easy and natural. The drive to continue wasn’t based on anything but pleasure in the writing itself. There’s pleasure too to be found in finding yourself in the head of a uniquely capable young woman. The kind unafraid to provide for not just her own family but other people who need her as well. There’s a loneliness to the kind of life Ellie leads, but the trade off is that she feels truly free. Hand this to the kid that yearns for that freedom. For wide-open spaces and mysterious figures hiding in the shadows and snot nosed brothers and lots and lots of puppies. Hand it to someone who needs their own mountain. Even if it’s just a literary one.
For ages 9-12.
February 19, 2021
2.5 stars
The start of this book was wonderful, we read this as a read aloud and both agreed we thought it would be one one those rare recently written books that have rated 5 stars for us. The first quarter of the book was wonderful, we couldn’t wait to read more, it was a story that we were instantly involved in, the characters, storyline and the situation were absorbing and it was well written. About a quarter of the way into the book a new character is introduced and although we enjoyed the character of Cate and her dog Captan the story became focused almost entirely an injury that wouldn’t heal which became repetitive and didn’t add anything to the story. We found that that last three quarters of the book became rather tedious, really lengthy wound cleaning descriptions, gathering honey for the wound (many times) changing bandages, washing bandages, cleaning out pus, using maggots, finding natural cures... This story line ran alongside the main characters father’s storyline of being in a coma so there were plenty of home cures and bedsore descriptions there too. The culmination seemed to be tying lots of parts of the story together and seemed to fit all too neatly with the theme of healing.
We also found the main Character who was meant to be 12 years old unrealistic, too saintly and her voice was way too old for a child. So much conversation about her feelings and emotions, her perceptions of other’s feelings and emotions, it seemed totally unrealistic for a 12 year old and it was boring too, having found the start 5 stars we ended up skimming whole conversations and hoping for the book to end.
The author also makes the mistake of calling a snake non poisonous, no snakes are poisonous, you can eat any of them if you eat snake. What she should have said was that the snake was not venomous.
Despite the tragic ending, this author’s book Wolf Hollow was excellent and I would highly recommend reading that one (but be warned, the ending is really depressing for a children’s book) I don’t know who would enjoy this one, I can’t imagine who would want to read a story this long that concentrates on festering wound descriptions.
I virtually never have bad dreams but 2 days after finishing this I had vivid and awful dreams about festering leg wounds, the endless descriptions had obviously filtered in on a subconscious level, very nasty dreams indeed.
The start of this book was wonderful, we read this as a read aloud and both agreed we thought it would be one one those rare recently written books that have rated 5 stars for us. The first quarter of the book was wonderful, we couldn’t wait to read more, it was a story that we were instantly involved in, the characters, storyline and the situation were absorbing and it was well written. About a quarter of the way into the book a new character is introduced and although we enjoyed the character of Cate and her dog Captan the story became focused almost entirely an injury that wouldn’t heal which became repetitive and didn’t add anything to the story. We found that that last three quarters of the book became rather tedious, really lengthy wound cleaning descriptions, gathering honey for the wound (many times) changing bandages, washing bandages, cleaning out pus, using maggots, finding natural cures... This story line ran alongside the main characters father’s storyline of being in a coma so there were plenty of home cures and bedsore descriptions there too. The culmination seemed to be tying lots of parts of the story together and seemed to fit all too neatly with the theme of healing.
We also found the main Character who was meant to be 12 years old unrealistic, too saintly and her voice was way too old for a child. So much conversation about her feelings and emotions, her perceptions of other’s feelings and emotions, it seemed totally unrealistic for a 12 year old and it was boring too, having found the start 5 stars we ended up skimming whole conversations and hoping for the book to end.
The author also makes the mistake of calling a snake non poisonous, no snakes are poisonous, you can eat any of them if you eat snake. What she should have said was that the snake was not venomous.
Despite the tragic ending, this author’s book Wolf Hollow was excellent and I would highly recommend reading that one (but be warned, the ending is really depressing for a children’s book) I don’t know who would enjoy this one, I can’t imagine who would want to read a story this long that concentrates on festering wound descriptions.
I virtually never have bad dreams but 2 days after finishing this I had vivid and awful dreams about festering leg wounds, the endless descriptions had obviously filtered in on a subconscious level, very nasty dreams indeed.
September 14, 2024
This was my first book by Lauren Wolk and I highly enjoyed it! A depression-era historical YA set in 1934 Maine, it centers around Ellie, a young girl who is struggling to help hold her family together after they’ve moved to the mountains after having lived in town all their lives and recently having lost their home like many others. Ellie and her father are adapting fairly well. Ellie’s sister and mother—not so much.
When her father is in a terrible accident, the family struggles even more to survive. This was a lovely book, full of small, tender moments of herbalism, families isolated back in the 1930’s, a girl who loves dogs, music and woodcarving, poverty, sisters and brothers who don’t always get along, and a heroine I quite enjoyed. I rather loved in and would eagerly read another book by this author.
When her father is in a terrible accident, the family struggles even more to survive. This was a lovely book, full of small, tender moments of herbalism, families isolated back in the 1930’s, a girl who loves dogs, music and woodcarving, poverty, sisters and brothers who don’t always get along, and a heroine I quite enjoyed. I rather loved in and would eagerly read another book by this author.
June 4, 2021
My kids were familiar with this author after reading Wolf Hollow. They enjoyed this book too. Because I only listened to this partially, my rating reflects their thoughts on the book.
4****
4****
August 8, 2022
This is my third book by Lauren Wolk and the third book of hers I've given five stars. I love her writing, the themes and how she presents her characters and stories.
Ellie is 12, living up on a mountain away from civilisation in Maine during the Great Depression with her parents and brother and sister. When a terrible tragedy happens to her father, Ellie needs to raise her game and do what she needs to in order to make things better. There's others around, including a boy leaving her beautiful carved tokens and of course the hag up the mountain, and of course the dogs, but mostly it's Ellie trying to work it all out.
I loved the story, the family, the dogs and everything about this book. Great stuff.
Ellie is 12, living up on a mountain away from civilisation in Maine during the Great Depression with her parents and brother and sister. When a terrible tragedy happens to her father, Ellie needs to raise her game and do what she needs to in order to make things better. There's others around, including a boy leaving her beautiful carved tokens and of course the hag up the mountain, and of course the dogs, but mostly it's Ellie trying to work it all out.
I loved the story, the family, the dogs and everything about this book. Great stuff.
January 20, 2021
"Yet. Another word I'd hold on to. And I promised myself, right then and there, in that moment that will always be, for me, an else worth trying, that I would never again make up my mind about anything too quickly. Not ever again."
Ellie's story begins with saving a puppy. A puppy she names Quiet. There is more for Ellie to do and learn on the mountainside where she lives with her family during the Great Depression. Her father has been injured and is in a coma. The day of the accident haunts the entire family in different ways as they each hold their breath waiting for him to wake up. Moving from town up into the mountains has affected them all differently. Lauren Wolk show us how they learn and grow together and apart. Each day and experience adds to who they are. There are others on the mountain who need help and understanding. Together they will accomplish much. I loved Ellie and her fierce determination to move things forward, her profound empathy for the animals around her, and the ways she adapted to her new environment. This book would be a wonderful choice for a read aloud in a classroom studying the Great Depression.
Ellie's story begins with saving a puppy. A puppy she names Quiet. There is more for Ellie to do and learn on the mountainside where she lives with her family during the Great Depression. Her father has been injured and is in a coma. The day of the accident haunts the entire family in different ways as they each hold their breath waiting for him to wake up. Moving from town up into the mountains has affected them all differently. Lauren Wolk show us how they learn and grow together and apart. Each day and experience adds to who they are. There are others on the mountain who need help and understanding. Together they will accomplish much. I loved Ellie and her fierce determination to move things forward, her profound empathy for the animals around her, and the ways she adapted to her new environment. This book would be a wonderful choice for a read aloud in a classroom studying the Great Depression.
May 30, 2020
/1.5 stars/
DNF
To sum up this book:
Girl lives in a mountain
Random dog(?) has babies or something
She wants the puppy
Dad goes into a coma
Girl does stupid things to try and get him out of coma
Wanders up a random hill and runs into a healer’s house (oh, ya don’t say?)
Heals the healer (cause something’s wrong with her dang leg duhhh)
Finds another boy
I DNF
Yeah, if you want to read some boring crap where nothing important happens with little children who have irresponsible parents, this may just be the book for you.
Sheeeesh I’m out of here.
At least it was clean 😏
Happy reading peeps!
DNF
To sum up this book:
Girl lives in a mountain
Random dog(?) has babies or something
She wants the puppy
Dad goes into a coma
Girl does stupid things to try and get him out of coma
Wanders up a random hill and runs into a healer’s house (oh, ya don’t say?)
Heals the healer (cause something’s wrong with her dang leg duhhh)
Finds another boy
I DNF
Yeah, if you want to read some boring crap where nothing important happens with little children who have irresponsible parents, this may just be the book for you.
Sheeeesh I’m out of here.
At least it was clean 😏
Happy reading peeps!
June 8, 2025
Like 1993 Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant, Lauren Wolk excels at writing about life in rural and mountainous areas. Maine, 1934: the U.S. Great Depression has caused crippling financial woes statewide, and twelve-year-old Ellie's family is suffering for it. After her father lost his tailor shop and her mother was laid off from her teaching job, the family packed up and moved to isolated Echo Mountain. Ellie and her father loved the mountain from day one, but Ellie's fifteen-year-old sister Esther and their mother want nothing more than to resume their former life in town. Samuel, Ellie's six-year-old brother, doesn't mind the mountain, but it is he who unwittingly sets into motion a chain of events that permanently alters Ellie's family.
Life is different these days, ever since Ellie's father's accident. Chopping down tall, thick trees for lumber is a dangerous job, and he got the worst of it one day when Samuel drifted into the path of a tumbling tree. There was a desperate lunge to shove the boy out of the tree's path...and here we are months later, Ellie's father still comatose in bed. The doctor could do nothing but take most of the family's money and tell them the man of the house might never awaken; it depends how much damage the tree did to him. Since then, every day revolves around caring for Ellie's father: cleaning and shaving him, turning his body on a regular basis so he won't develop bed sores, talking and reading to him so he knows his family is near. Ellie's mother and Esther believe it was she who wandered into the tree's path so her father had to save her, and Ellie doesn't challenge their assumption. Better to bear the blame herself than let Samuel take it, a boy who could not bear the guilt if he thought himself responsible for his father's condition. Without asking permission, Ellie secretly tries crazy things to wake her father up, but will he ever return, or is he doomed to a perpetual living death?
"The things we need to learn to do, we learn to do by doing."
—Echo Mountain, P. 342
When the family dog, Maisie, has puppies, Ellie saves the life of an apparently stillborn one by dunking it in brisk water. She soon falls in love with Quiet, the name she gives the pup, and Ellie can't help wondering: would a similar shock rouse her father? But Ellie has another mystery to solve. An anonymous someone is carving lovely wooden figurines and leaving them outdoors for her to find, intricate little gifts in a world of economic despair where no one gives away anything for free. Could the woodcarver be from the "wild" side of Echo Mountain, the populace that lived here before the Great Depression, who don't mingle with the newcomers from town? There are rumors of a "hag" near the mountaintop, an old woman who dabbles in black magic and other taboos. As Ellie ventures closer to this side of the mountain against her mother's expressed wishes, she finds herself in a dramatic story involving a badly injured old lady, a boy Ellie's age with a passion for creating art, and social biases that rage against each other from both sides of the mountain. Are the original mountain folk nothing but superstitious, backward no-accounts? Are the townsfolk who moved here after losing their homes in the Great Depression destined to poison the natural, contented living on Echo Mountain? Ellie may have saved Quiet by submerging him in water the day he was born, but it will be harder to save Cate—better known as the "hag"—and her own father, whose life is passing him by as he lies unconscious in bed. The world is forcing Ellie to grow up extra fast, but can she and her family find a happy ending in the woods of Echo Mountain?
Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk's middle-grade debut, was a 2017 Newbery Honoree. It's a deep, fast-moving, powerful novel, and Echo Mountain isn't nearly on that level. It moves slowly, and in the end doesn't go much of anywhere; even the "plot surprises," if you can call them that, don't have much impact. The writing could be clearer and more concise, but at least the simplicity of Ellie's mountain life conveys basic truths about the human condition. Every human begins life an utter novice; you have to figure out what you're doing as you go along and hope to make something of yourself before your years are used up. This is the challenge of life in all its mystery and glory. I suppose I might consider rating Echo Mountain two and a half stars; it falls well short of its potential, but doesn't deter me from reading more by Lauren Wolk in the future. As Wolf Hollow proved, she is capable of exceptional things.
Life is different these days, ever since Ellie's father's accident. Chopping down tall, thick trees for lumber is a dangerous job, and he got the worst of it one day when Samuel drifted into the path of a tumbling tree. There was a desperate lunge to shove the boy out of the tree's path...and here we are months later, Ellie's father still comatose in bed. The doctor could do nothing but take most of the family's money and tell them the man of the house might never awaken; it depends how much damage the tree did to him. Since then, every day revolves around caring for Ellie's father: cleaning and shaving him, turning his body on a regular basis so he won't develop bed sores, talking and reading to him so he knows his family is near. Ellie's mother and Esther believe it was she who wandered into the tree's path so her father had to save her, and Ellie doesn't challenge their assumption. Better to bear the blame herself than let Samuel take it, a boy who could not bear the guilt if he thought himself responsible for his father's condition. Without asking permission, Ellie secretly tries crazy things to wake her father up, but will he ever return, or is he doomed to a perpetual living death?
"The things we need to learn to do, we learn to do by doing."
—Echo Mountain, P. 342
When the family dog, Maisie, has puppies, Ellie saves the life of an apparently stillborn one by dunking it in brisk water. She soon falls in love with Quiet, the name she gives the pup, and Ellie can't help wondering: would a similar shock rouse her father? But Ellie has another mystery to solve. An anonymous someone is carving lovely wooden figurines and leaving them outdoors for her to find, intricate little gifts in a world of economic despair where no one gives away anything for free. Could the woodcarver be from the "wild" side of Echo Mountain, the populace that lived here before the Great Depression, who don't mingle with the newcomers from town? There are rumors of a "hag" near the mountaintop, an old woman who dabbles in black magic and other taboos. As Ellie ventures closer to this side of the mountain against her mother's expressed wishes, she finds herself in a dramatic story involving a badly injured old lady, a boy Ellie's age with a passion for creating art, and social biases that rage against each other from both sides of the mountain. Are the original mountain folk nothing but superstitious, backward no-accounts? Are the townsfolk who moved here after losing their homes in the Great Depression destined to poison the natural, contented living on Echo Mountain? Ellie may have saved Quiet by submerging him in water the day he was born, but it will be harder to save Cate—better known as the "hag"—and her own father, whose life is passing him by as he lies unconscious in bed. The world is forcing Ellie to grow up extra fast, but can she and her family find a happy ending in the woods of Echo Mountain?
Wolf Hollow, Lauren Wolk's middle-grade debut, was a 2017 Newbery Honoree. It's a deep, fast-moving, powerful novel, and Echo Mountain isn't nearly on that level. It moves slowly, and in the end doesn't go much of anywhere; even the "plot surprises," if you can call them that, don't have much impact. The writing could be clearer and more concise, but at least the simplicity of Ellie's mountain life conveys basic truths about the human condition. Every human begins life an utter novice; you have to figure out what you're doing as you go along and hope to make something of yourself before your years are used up. This is the challenge of life in all its mystery and glory. I suppose I might consider rating Echo Mountain two and a half stars; it falls well short of its potential, but doesn't deter me from reading more by Lauren Wolk in the future. As Wolf Hollow proved, she is capable of exceptional things.
April 18, 2020
Wow! I loved this book and the main character, Ellie. Her family is torn from their life in town at the onset of the Great Depression. Her father is a tailor and her mother a music teacher, but now they are recreating their life on Echo Mountain in rural Maine.
Ellie, along with her brother Samuel and her sister Esther, adapt to a life they have never known; one that requires resilience and hard work. Ellie takes to life on the mountain and learns valuable lessons from her father.
A tragic accident challenges Ellie to learn who she is and who she must be for her family.
This story focuses on Ellie and she is a great character; a girl full of moxie and grace. Her insights are clever. Wolk has created another great story about finding your voice. I loved this book as much as Wolf Hollow.
Thanks to Penguin/Random House for the ARC.
Ellie, along with her brother Samuel and her sister Esther, adapt to a life they have never known; one that requires resilience and hard work. Ellie takes to life on the mountain and learns valuable lessons from her father.
A tragic accident challenges Ellie to learn who she is and who she must be for her family.
This story focuses on Ellie and she is a great character; a girl full of moxie and grace. Her insights are clever. Wolk has created another great story about finding your voice. I loved this book as much as Wolf Hollow.
Thanks to Penguin/Random House for the ARC.
May 27, 2022
I can think of only one word to describe this book: Breathtaking!!! Another beautiful and heartfelt story from Lauren Wolk! She never disappoints!
April 20, 2020
in my Owlcrate jr April box:)
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I already miss these people.
On a roll with historical fiction lately :)
Well done characters and stories, with a few surprises along the way and unexpected things that have people doing what they wouldn't expect and learning about themselves along the way.
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I already miss these people.
On a roll with historical fiction lately :)
Well done characters and stories, with a few surprises along the way and unexpected things that have people doing what they wouldn't expect and learning about themselves along the way.
March 2, 2021
Ooof! Good. So good. I seriously basked in the glow of this book, refusing to start something new at the end. You know the kind of book I’m talking about, right? Set in Depression-era Maine, this is such a beautiful story of starting over, of tragedy, community, courage, and sisterhood.
Blame comes from the Greek for curse. That’s the root of it. A curse against the sacred. Which is what sisters are, or should be, to each other.
I love it when a story is more than a story — when we learn more about our own lives as we watch a family fight for survival. From the detailed imagery of every day life on Echo Mountain to the surprising reveals about each individual, I was moved. We have little room for judging, yet we continue to simplify one another — box one another into something smaller than what we are.
We are all more than one thing.
It’s not surprising that this one has made many “must read” lists. I’m sure it will be a reread for me, at some point. Happy to recommend!!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
Blame comes from the Greek for curse. That’s the root of it. A curse against the sacred. Which is what sisters are, or should be, to each other.
I love it when a story is more than a story — when we learn more about our own lives as we watch a family fight for survival. From the detailed imagery of every day life on Echo Mountain to the surprising reveals about each individual, I was moved. We have little room for judging, yet we continue to simplify one another — box one another into something smaller than what we are.
We are all more than one thing.
It’s not surprising that this one has made many “must read” lists. I’m sure it will be a reread for me, at some point. Happy to recommend!!
For more children's literature, middle grade literature, and YA literature reviews, feel free to visit my personal blog at The Miller Memo!
August 2, 2020
Set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, this is a coming of age story about Ellie, her older sister Esther, and younger brother Samuel who all learn more about who they are; their talents and gifts, after their father is an accident. An accident that they may never have happened if the family hadn't lost their home in town and moved to the wild mountains of Maine.
If you like stories about overcoming hardship, grit, growth mindset, and resiliency, you'll love the latest chapter book by Lauren Wolk.
If you like stories about overcoming hardship, grit, growth mindset, and resiliency, you'll love the latest chapter book by Lauren Wolk.
August 2, 2020
Ellie and her parents and sister and brother have left the town to live on Echo Mountain. It's the time of the Great Depression and everyone is struggling. Ellie and her father adapt well to life on the mountain but Ellie's mother and sister long for their old lives back in town. A terrible accident happens and everything changes again, and now Ellie must learn by doing how to put her healing gifts to work to help others.
This is a beautiful story of growth and change, of love and caring, of hurt and healing. The writing is poetical and fresh. I feel oddly reenergized after reading this story.
Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The things we need to learn to do, we learn to do by doing.”
“There aren’t many hurts that a sky meadow full of clean white blossoms can’t make at least a little better.”
“Maybe she’ll wake up soon and come back to what she used to be...or what she’ll be next.”
"I wish you could have been with me these past weeks,"I whispered."To watch what happened."Though much of it would have been different, had he been well.
My father smiled at me, his eyes full of sun in the shadowy room. "I see it all very clearly," he said. "I see it in every bit of the girl you've become."
This is a beautiful story of growth and change, of love and caring, of hurt and healing. The writing is poetical and fresh. I feel oddly reenergized after reading this story.
Some of my favorite quotes from the book:
“The things we need to learn to do, we learn to do by doing.”
“There aren’t many hurts that a sky meadow full of clean white blossoms can’t make at least a little better.”
“Maybe she’ll wake up soon and come back to what she used to be...or what she’ll be next.”
"I wish you could have been with me these past weeks,"I whispered."To watch what happened."Though much of it would have been different, had he been well.
My father smiled at me, his eyes full of sun in the shadowy room. "I see it all very clearly," he said. "I see it in every bit of the girl you've become."
January 26, 2020
“Loneliness shared is loneliness halved.” As her family struggles with the aftermath of an accident that has left her father in a coma, Ellie is determined to help him wake up. I laughed at the innocent antics she tried and marveled at Ellie’s tenaciousness. Ellie is determined to help her father and decides to make her way to the top of Echo Mountain in search of healing secrets from “the hag.” But the hag and the mountain have secrets and untold stories and maybe a chance for happiness. “I am stronger now because I have to be.”
The writing throughout this story is poetic and heartfelt.
“The sun was slipping down the far side of the day, and the shadows were slowly unspooling like black ribbons across the yard.”
“Step by step. That’s the way out of something hard.” “The things we need to do, we learn by doing.”
Make time for this beautiful book. It will remain with your being for quite some time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The writing throughout this story is poetic and heartfelt.
“The sun was slipping down the far side of the day, and the shadows were slowly unspooling like black ribbons across the yard.”
“Step by step. That’s the way out of something hard.” “The things we need to do, we learn by doing.”
Make time for this beautiful book. It will remain with your being for quite some time. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 1, 2020
I took much longer with this book than planned, mostly because I just wanted to savour every single minute with it. I loved it so very much, it was the perfect calm and gentle tale that I didn't know I needed. I had never heard of Lauren Wolk before this book arrived in my Owlcrate Jr box, but I'll definitely be checking out her other books.
Ellie was full of intelligence, tenacity and a real thirst to learn about the mountain around her. I enjoyed every minute I spent with her, and her special passion for nature was simply beautiful to read. The balanced and careful way in which she took what she needed from the woods around her is such an important lesson for children to learn, the way it was handled was perfect. I also admired her love for her family, and how she kept battling them to do what she believed right for her father.
There were moments that made me laugh, especially Ellie's attempts to wake her father, and moments that made me cry. There was also so much to learn from the pages, about various plants and substances, and their properties that I'd wager the majority had no idea about. I could talk for hours about the elements of the book, but I'll just say read it instead. It's too beautiful to miss!
Ellie was full of intelligence, tenacity and a real thirst to learn about the mountain around her. I enjoyed every minute I spent with her, and her special passion for nature was simply beautiful to read. The balanced and careful way in which she took what she needed from the woods around her is such an important lesson for children to learn, the way it was handled was perfect. I also admired her love for her family, and how she kept battling them to do what she believed right for her father.
There were moments that made me laugh, especially Ellie's attempts to wake her father, and moments that made me cry. There was also so much to learn from the pages, about various plants and substances, and their properties that I'd wager the majority had no idea about. I could talk for hours about the elements of the book, but I'll just say read it instead. It's too beautiful to miss!
December 8, 2020
Great for readers who enjoy the possibly-tedious details of old-timey life! (I am one of those readers!) Some of the medical details might be a bit much for the squeamish! (I am the squeamish!) For a book that started with such big thorny feelings I did feel like it resolved a bit too neatly but EH we all could use more happy endings.
October 1, 2020
Ellie’s family lives in a small cabin on Echo Mountain in 1934 Maine making, harvesting, and gathering all they need to survive. Her parents and two siblings moved to their small plot of land after the Great Depression began and living in town didn’t make sense anymore. Ellie loves the outdoors and loves learning new things, mostly by teaching herself. It is hard to be too happy, however, because Ellie’s father is stuck in a coma after an accident that her family blames on her. Her mother won’t play her mandolin anymore and Ellie’s big sister Esther hates that they had to leave town. Everyone treats her father with great care, but after reviving a newborn puppy in a bucket of cold water, Ellie decides maybe her father needs more of a jump start to find his way back to his family, as well. She tries various things: cold water splashed on his face, a snake left behind to make her sister scream, and more. When Ellie meets two other people who live on the mountain, Cate (a healer called a “hag” or a witch by others) and Larkin, she threatens to upset the fragile ecosystem of their interconnected mountain community.
There’s so much to love here: Wolk’s gorgeous writing, the interweaving plot points, a richly drawn setting, and one of my favorite characters of 2020. Ellie is resilient, brave, and resourceful. Best of all, Ellie lives in harmony with her surroundings, fully aware of her impact on the world around her. She may have been born in town, but the woods are where she belongs.
Students who love Wolk’s other historical fiction should definitely pick up this book. HIghly recommended for aspiring writers, as well. Reading Lauren Wolk is like taking a master class in how to write descriptive historical fiction.
There’s so much to love here: Wolk’s gorgeous writing, the interweaving plot points, a richly drawn setting, and one of my favorite characters of 2020. Ellie is resilient, brave, and resourceful. Best of all, Ellie lives in harmony with her surroundings, fully aware of her impact on the world around her. She may have been born in town, but the woods are where she belongs.
Students who love Wolk’s other historical fiction should definitely pick up this book. HIghly recommended for aspiring writers, as well. Reading Lauren Wolk is like taking a master class in how to write descriptive historical fiction.
January 2, 2021
If I made a list of my top five middle grade authors, ones who for me can do no wrong, and whose every word, every sentence, every book is absolute perfection, Lauren Wolk would definitely be on that list, and most likely right at the top.
Echo Mountain is just as heart wrenching and complex as Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea, and the writing is just as gorgeous. I found this story of a family in crisis and living on the edge during very difficult times really hit home with what we're all experiencing right now during the Covid pandemic. Twelve-year-old Ellie with her pure and tender heart, never gives up, and never stops learning and searching for all the ways to help her family and heal her father. She and this story are an absolute treasure.
Echo Mountain is just as heart wrenching and complex as Wolf Hollow and Beyond the Bright Sea, and the writing is just as gorgeous. I found this story of a family in crisis and living on the edge during very difficult times really hit home with what we're all experiencing right now during the Covid pandemic. Twelve-year-old Ellie with her pure and tender heart, never gives up, and never stops learning and searching for all the ways to help her family and heal her father. She and this story are an absolute treasure.
December 4, 2020
This book takes place during the Great Depression when a family is forced to sell their house and move to the side of the mountain. Ellie, the younger daughter, thrives on the mountain. She is an adventure-seeker and takes on the role of provider when her father ends up in a coma. As her family struggles to survive, Ellie tries to think of unconventional ways to wake her father. Her wild ideas take her up the mountain to the house of a hag. Despite her mother's warnings to stay away, Ellie befriends the old woman, and learns from her what it takes to heal others and oneself.
Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...
Ashley C. / Milton Public Library
Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...
Ashley C. / Milton Public Library
October 8, 2020
What a beautiful escape Lauren Wolk has created; her latest Echo Mountain transports readers into a wondrous world. But it is not an escape from the hardships of the virus with which we are currently dealing. The hardship on Echo Mountain that Ellie and her family are dealing with in this historical read is the great depression. Some characters cope better than others and the way forward is a challenge but there is an optimism and hope, that is a salve for our current suffering. That this book is inspirational for our times is a lagniappe, for of course it was written prior to our current struggle. The tone is pitch perfect, the characters well developed, the setting evocatively drawn and the plot has enough urgency to keep you reading. The research serves well to illustrate the time period as well as the flora and fauna of the Oxford Hills in Maine. Her use of the research is well placed and not overdone as is sometimes the case with historical fiction. But the real star, as in all three of Ms Wolk's middle grade books, is the lyrical prose, especially the similes and metaphors that ring as true as a fairy circle. Don't let the middle grade tag mislead you, this book is for adults too.
May 13, 2020
Oh, the beauty of this book! With her fine eye, Wolk captures the wonder, the beauty, the pain of everything: birth; loss; friendship; fear; helplessness; guilt; gratitude. This is a well-worthy successor to Rachel Field's Depression novel Calico Bush, another historical novel set in Maine. Highly recommended!
May 4, 2020
My love affair with Lauren Wolk’s writing continues. If you haven’t read her yet, you are missing out. Plain and simple.
July 7, 2025
What a great story. Highly recommend. Newbery contender.
July 5, 2023
This was a surprising book - surprising in its depth and insight. Ellie's family has lost everything in the big financial crash. Abandoning their house in town, they journey up the mountain and carve out a little homestead among the trees. Life is so different now; so much hard work, so much doing without or doing things differently. But Ellie is up for the challenge - she is learning to love their woodsy home and life on the mountain - until her father is hurt in an accident and ends up in a coma. Suddenly life is not just hard, it is scary. Ellie understands that unless you change something, nothing changes. She looks for new things to try, and in the process discovers a whole new world up the mountain.
January 30, 2021
What a beautiful story that takes place in Maine in 1934. Ellie and her family moved from the city to Echo Mountain after the Great Depression caused her father (a tailor) and her mother (a music teacher) to lose their jobs. The book starts out after they had been on Echo Mountain for three years. Ellie has learned many lessons from her father and has acclimated to the wilderness. Her mother and elder sister have not. After a tragic accident, Ellie has taken the reigns of being the one to glue the family together remembering the words of wisdom from her father. She is a character that many students may learn valuable traits from: tenacity, resiliency, dedication, loyalty, bravery, sensibility, selfless caring. Ellie takes on the tasks that others around her are not able to deal with in their environment. She has the intuition and ability to accept others strengths and weaknesses without long lasting resentment. The story has many rich themes that are woven together beautifully. Wolk has a way to describe relationships, setting, and epiphanies in a meaningful way that stays with the reader. There are may quotes that may pulled from the story. This was one of my favorites: "...that life is a matter of moments, strung together like rain. To try to touch just one drop at a time, to try to count them or order them or reckon their worth- each by each- was impossible." I think this is a title to watch for some Newbery recognition this year.
August 19, 2020
"...life is a matter of moments, strung together like rain. To try to touch just one drop at a time, to try to count them or order them or reckon their worth - each by each - was impossible."
This middle grade read was so so so good. Set in depression-era Maine, 12 year old Ellie is smart, courageous and kind. She understands animals and humans in a way that others just don't. I loved this story of healing and caring, heartbreak and redemption. The pharmacist in me loved the remedies described throughout the book: using honey and vinegar and willow bark and balsam. The hopeful ending made me tear up and smile. This author never disappoints and this book is a treasure.
This middle grade read was so so so good. Set in depression-era Maine, 12 year old Ellie is smart, courageous and kind. She understands animals and humans in a way that others just don't. I loved this story of healing and caring, heartbreak and redemption. The pharmacist in me loved the remedies described throughout the book: using honey and vinegar and willow bark and balsam. The hopeful ending made me tear up and smile. This author never disappoints and this book is a treasure.
August 5, 2020
I don't usually track the books I read to or listen to with my kids. Maybe because I am picking them based on what I think they will like or by their request. But I just loved this story. We've read all of Lauren Wolk's other books too and I respect how tuned into nature she is. In this book in particular, I wish I knew Ellie or was Ellie. I don't know, this book was just a comfort during these difficult days. (Except for the parts about the maggots which made me squirm.)
January 20, 2021
This is the 3rd book I have read by Lauren Wolk and she has become an auto read for me now. I will read whatever she writes without knowing anything about it. Wonderful story! I have a new favorite character now. I love Ellie.
February 10, 2021
way too long and no plot.
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