In the simplest sense, Rage is a Wolf portrays one young woman’s quest to make a difference in the world and to find meaning in her life, outside of the boundaries of high school. But much to this credit of this imaginative and inspiring novel, her quest is nothing but simple, and it leads to transformative discoveries about herself and the world.
At the start of the novel, sixteen-year-old Elaine Archer is feeling overcome by the problems of the world–especially, by how humans are destroying the environment. Yet she observes, “I had no idea how to be the change I wanted to see,” and she doubts that the education she’s getting at her high school will be of much help:
Elaine has made it clear to her moms, Mama Helen and Mama Jane, that she isn’t exactly thriving in the restrictive environment of her high school, and eventually, she persuades them to let her “unschool,” with the condition that she repeat her junior year if things don’t work out. When Mama Jane asks Elaine what she’s going to do all day, Elaine, who’s had a longtime habit of putting her thoughts to paper, announces that she’s going to write a book, even though she has no idea what the subject might be, or how to turn it into a finished manuscript.
At first, circumstances seem to thwart Elaine. Ironically, one major setback is her stint at a writers’ conference, where a star of the event, a young man who’s earned high praise as a novelist, proves to be the opposite of a mentor to Elaine. This misfortune becomes a turning point in the novel, making it clear to Elaine that she’s on her own creatively and unleashing new possibilities for her and her writing. For one thing, she gives free rein to her anxieties about the fate of the planet, putting her on a path to discovering a story she feels driven to write: a dystopian tale set 250 years after a mass-extinction event, in which a few members of a (literally) underground community decide to venture into the dangers of the wider world.
For another thing, freedom from the strictures of school allows Elaine to pursue knowledge with agency and purpose–for example, to research environmental and other issues that are relevant to her book. This freedom also lets her reach out to experts or other individuals who can help her figure out various aspects of her novel, or who can serve as role models or sources of support in ways that go beyond her writing.
Javier, a fellow teen and talented artist Elaine meets at the ill-fated writer’s conference, proves to be a creative inspiration for her, and more. When she feels blocked while trying to write her book, Javier suggests that telling the story in screenplay form might free her up. This choice works for Elaine, and it also works for how the story plays out in Rage Is a Wolf, which presents extracts from it in screenplay form, with the typical screenplay descriptions of scenes, characters, and actions. This format offers a fast-paced, visual way to convey the narrative, which proves to be a riveting and suspenseful story-within-a-story.
An additional pleasure of Rage Is a Wolf is how it immerses us in Elaine’s creative process, showing us how she figures out her characters’ motivations and actions. Along the way, Elaine, like most writers slogging through a work in progress, is forced to venture into the unknown, echoing her characters’ voyage into the wider, potentially dangerous world beyond their underground community.
In a larger sense, although writing her book might not save the planet from ruin, it reveals to Elaine the powers of following her curiosity to wherever it might lead her, connecting with others, and being open to new ideas. At one point, she observes: “What if life isn’t a plan? What if it’s a discovery?”
Beyond the challenges and rewards related to writing, mather vividly portrays how Elaine, like so many other young women, treads sometimes uncertain, other times perilous ground when interacting with–or forming potential friendships or romantic connections–with young men. These men might be heartlessly opportunistic misogynists (like the anti-mentor Elaine encounters at the conference where she meets Javier) or garden-variety misogynists. Or they might be decent individuals who truly want to make a meaningful, respectful connection. With feeling, insight, and humor, mather shows us how Elaine navigates this landscape and, through hard-earned experience and the help of certain new friends, grows more confident in holding her ground and pushing back when men step over the line. At the same time, mather shows us how Elaine finds her way toward being open to potentially promising relationships with men, on her terms.
How might things have been different for Elaine if her moms had forbidden her from leaving school to pursue her dream, or if they’d been less supportive of her in general? We get a sense of this through the experiences of Elaine’s high school friend, Jenn: a bright, promising young woman who has the privileges of wealth but a considerable disadvantage in the parenting department. Unlike Elaine’s moms, Jenn’s parents seem more concerned about status and appearances than about wanting what’s best for their daughter, whom they try to rein in with their judgments and expectations. The contrasts in the young women’s home lives add up to a thoughtful critique of parenting, and an exploration of what might be lost or gained if a young person’s interests or potentials are ignored or restricted, or allowed to bloom.
Although Rage Is a Wolf can be described as a young-adult novel, it should appeal to anyone who has ever searched for meaning or purpose in a troubled world. On this front, the novel is inspiring and enlightening, and perhaps an invitation to be open to the desire to discover and create for as long as that desire exists in us, regardless of our age. As Elaine wisely observes, “the world is what we’re brave enough to make it.”
Would My Pick be Your Pick?
If you're interested in ________, the answer may be "Yes":￭ Coming-of-age stories
￭ Dystopian fiction
￭ Writing about environmental issues
￭ Explorations of parenting
