THE WOLF ROAD

Ross Dwyer's somber, rumbling tones are well suited to Lambert's coming-of-age story of grief, healing, and wilderness encounter. When his parents are killed in a car accident after swerving to avoid a wolf on the highway, Lucas is sent to live with his estranged grandmother in the Lake District. As he copes with an unfamiliar new home, a new school, and bullies, Lucas develops a growing obsession with the wolf. Dwyer delivers varied and intriguing characterizations of Lucas's strong-willed grandmother; his reclusive friend, Debs; a frustratingly inquisitive counselor; cruel classmates; and townsfolk who are hunting whatever has been killing livestock in the hills. Dwyer's performance embraces the raw honesty of Lucas's painful, complex journey as he struggles to navigate loss, mourn his family, and confront the wolf at last. K.S.B. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2022]