The Wolf Road

A publisher's blurb describes this as a cross between True Grit and The Road, and this makes a lot more sense now that I've read True Grit. The bad-ass female main character has a strong voice that pervades the book, despite her relatively young age. The plot line confronts the dark of her life, the evil that stains her soul.

From The Road comes the setting (post apocalyptic), but that isn't the main focus. It could be a standard western, if the powerful thunder storm described is actually a tornado of sorts that could happen in the mountains and forests of British Columbia. Sometimes it is easier to use the unknown effects of nuclear war as a writer's shortcut. I don't mean to quibble, here, and it really isn't the main focus of the plot - just the uprooting cause of events. A re-read may show nature to be an additional character in the novel.

In summary, I liked this book a lot, and all the more for it being the author's first novel. I look forward to reading her sophomore effort, Bitter Sun, published just last year.