Across the Sea: Wolf Girl 5

By Anh Do

Illustrated by Lachlan Creagh

Reviewed by Sarah Custance

Anh Do is a well-known Australian personality in comedy, T.V, art, and writing. He is the author of the much-loved children’s series WeirDo, Ninja Kid, and the HotDog books. His newer series, aimed at a middle-grade audience, include the Skydragon, Mythix, E-Boy, and Wolf Girl series. Across the Sea is the fifth instalment in the Wolf Girl series. This series, along with the other middle-grade Anh Do books are aimed at readers who have outgrown the younger readers such as the WeirDo books and are looking for something a bit more challenging.

After their close escape from enemy clutches and killer reptiles, Gwen and her pack are once again on the move to try and find her and Rupert’s parents. Their search leads them across frozen landscapes and onto an enemy boat as stowaways. In their fight for survival new friends are made, battles fought, and one pack member  makes the ultimate sacrifice for the group. Will Gwen and Rupert finally find their parents and even if they do, will this make up for the many losses that the pack has suffered?

Fans of the Wolf Girl series will be thrilled by this latest addition and delight in the new adventures. Across the Sea  is a relatively quick and easy read with  strong themes of family (both blood related and furry), resilience and survival and will captivate the attention of younger audiences.

For a more mature audience the reliance on lucky coincidences, impossible scenarios and  much used  common tropes may start to pall.  However, any book that engages young readers is a good book.

The illustrations by Lachlan Creagh plentifully  placed throughout the novel are a special bonus as they add a wonderful extra dimension and are almost a story on its own.

Note: These books should not be read out of order as little re-capping is given to the reader and they would easily become confused.

Allen & Unwin 2021