"I, Innis Munro, a native of the island of Nin, do hereby proclaim and declare that I will endeavor to traverse the chasm known as Bonnie's Laddies Leap ... Upon successful execution of this challenge I will claim the rewards offered, to wit Lairdship of Nin and all accompanying lands and titles."
Why is Innis prepared to risk his life? He wants to stay on the island but his grandfather is unwell and if he is taken away Innis will have to move to Skye too. Innis also wants to preserve the wild areas of his island home and stop the building of a huge wind farm.
But there is something else going on here. Innis sees a wolf. Wolves have been extinct in Scotland for hundreds of years. And who is the mysterious boy who seems to be wandering around the island what is going on at this so-called wildlife sanctuary?
The setting for this book is the part that really appealed to me - a small Scottish island. I have visited a few of these and I do understand High School aged children do have to travel to larger islands for their education and they do stay in hostel style accommodation so it made sense when Innis and his friend Kat went to school during the week on the island of Skye. I also enjoyed exploring the wild areas of this island of Nin especially the cliffs, caves and barrens.
Innis hears it first – a bloodcurdling howl that stops him dead in his tracks. And then he sees it. Silhouetted against the sky, head raised: unmistakeably, a wolf. Living on a remote Scottish island, Innis is no stranger to nature in its rawest form. But a wolf? Wolves became extinct in Scotland centuries ago. And Innis has other, more pressing things to worry about: his grandfather’s failing health and the threat of his unspoilt island being desecrated by the construction of a wind farm. If Innis has the courage to rise to an ancient challenge, it might just solve all his problems at once but, if it all goes horribly wrong, he could be paying with his life. This tale of conflict between ancient traditions and contemporary technology features a gripping plot, stunning setting, great characters, and an underlying theme of loyalty to family and friends. A multi-layered mystery adventure. Book Trust
Here is a sample of the story.
About the author Kerr Thomson:
My first children's novel The Sound of Whales won the 2014 Times Children's Fiction Prize. My children's fiction, as well as being adventurous and relevant, has landscape and nature at its heart. My first novel was set on the fictitious Scottish island of Nin. It concerned the themes of place and identity and being different, as well as being a good old-fashioned adventure story with a big mystery and a hint of the supernatural. And there were whales! My second novel The Rise of Wolves is also set on Nin but with a different set of characters - other young islanders with their own adventures to be had and mysteries to solve. In this book it is wolves, long thought extinct from Scotland, that play an important role in the story. The Rise of Wolves was shortlisted for the Scottish Teen Book Award 2019.
Aspects of this story that are based on facts:
- Providing the space and conditions for dynamic natural processes to shape and govern Scotland’s land and seas.
- Recognising the critical role of all species – including missing native species – in sustaining functioning food webs and other ecological interactions.
- Nurturing nature recovery at different scales and accepting that approaches to rewilding can look and feel quite different and still offer valuable benefits.
- Improving connectivity across fragmented habitats to give species more freedom to roam, supporting biodiversity recovery and climate resilience.
- Helping communities to prosper in a diverse, nature-based economy that works in tandem with ecological recovery.
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