Monday, December 16, 2013

The Call of the Wild, by Jack London


In The Call of the Wild, by Jack London, a abnormally large and powerful dog named Buck lives happily with his owners in Santa Clara Valley in California. His whole life changes when he gets taken away to get sold at Canada. He gets trained as a sled dog, but the other dogs there aren't exactly friendly. He has learned that he has to fight for everything against other dogs. He has never even laid a single paw against any type of animal. But he soon finds out its fight or be killed. Will Buck answer to the Call of the Wild?

The book was FANTASTIC! It makes any book look like its been written by a amateur. The book explains the dogs mind so well. It can also be sad at some times and in a way, kind of dark. Well it is survival of the fittest after all. Its fun to watch something like Buck, a kind dog that would never hurt, into a fierce sled dog that must fight to survive. It was heavily detailed, and great in explaining the plot. I would recommend this to teens, because a child well won't understand what is going on in the plot, because of the way it was written. Read it. It is marvelous.

Reviewed by Ray B., grade 9
Montrose Library 

5 comments:

Teen Speak said...

The book Call of the Wild, by Jack London is about a dog named Buck. The story starts when Buck is stolen from his home in the Southlands and is taken to the North. Buck is sold from one dog owner to another. Throughout his time as a sled dog, Buck learns the Law of Club and Fang. He learns when to obey and when to fight back. He develops his natural and ancestral instincts as he fights countless times for his life. Buck starts to gain a sense of alertness and he adapts to whatever environment he's put into. Buck is constantly drawn to the Wild. It calls to him and he doesn't know whether or not he should follow it. These feelings allow the dog to finally become one with himself as he experiences things that teach him to live the life he didn't know he wanted.


I enjoyed this book very much. The author wrote a book that was descriptive and taught lessons that could be used in life. What I like about this book is that the reader is able to understand what the character is feeling and why the character is feeling it. The story talks about ones natural instincts so it allows the reader to feels these ancestral drives. It made me feel like I was living with the character and learning everything he was learning. I think someone who likes to think of the powers of the natural world and how they bring out the best/worst of a person would like this book. This book is for someone who understands the need and satisfaction of reverting back to ones primordial state.

Reviewed by Talin P., Grade 9
Montrose Library

Teen Speak said...

Call of Wild is a novel by Jack London a Klondike Gold rush member. The book starts with the main character/dog Buck who lives in sunny California. Buck lives with Judge Miller a rich man that has a big mansion and has plenty of land for Buck to play around in. One day Buck gets captured and sent to the Klondike river to be a sled dog. The book end with a major plot twist that will surprise everyone who reads it.

The call of the wild had a great start to it. The book however did lose it appeal half way through because it had no interesting moments. The story however has a great ending because it has a big plot twist. I would recommend this story to dog lovers and people who don't mind a boring middle section. I read this book bemuse it was an assignment from my 8th grade teacher. In conclusion I liked this book and I would read it again.

Reviewed by A., Grade 8
Grandview Library

Teen Speak said...

Jack London's "The Call of The Wild" is a book about a dog who tries to get used to the wildlife he gets taken into. A special dog by the name of Buck is secretly sold to a man as a sled dog. Buck used to live in a judge's house and used to have a civilized life, but as he gets taken into the forest he starts making wild decisions by instinct. While being sold from one person to another in Alaska, Buck gets stronger and stronger, getting more primitive. The call heard by him from his wild ancestors starts getting to him in a more capitalizing way as time passes by.

The book is very complex and uses high standard vocabulary words. It is not easy to understand each word separately but using context clues helps understand the overall plot. What I liked about the book is that each paragraph in the book has a special and deeper meaning to it, so scratching the surface won't do! I think this book is especially for people who are most interested in adventure since a lot of it is implied in this book. It made me get better at analyzing and made me feel incredibly interested in every sentence. I highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for an apealing book to read.

Reviewed by Anonymous, Grade 8
Casa Verdugo Library

Teen Speak said...

Call of the Wild written by Jack London starts off with the main character Buck who is a St. Bernard dog talking about the gold rush and how dogs are going off to Alaska to help with the gold rush. Buck was captured and sent off to the gold rush in Alaska by his gardener. Once Buck got to Alaska he notices the snow white ground because he has never seen the snow before. He gets put onto a pack of other dogs that also got captured and they are sled dogs trying to move their new owners.

Call of the Wild written by Jack London is a great book because of the character like Buck. Buck evolves throughout the book and changes his personality as time goes on. Buck also goes through many owners and they all treat Buck and the rest of his pack differently. I overall liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for ward to read a book that has a great story and good character to back it up.

Reviwed by AB, Grade 9
Grandview Library

Teen Speak said...

The novel follows a mix of St. Bernard and Scotch Shepherd dog named Buck. Buck was living a happy and quiet life in his owner’s huge home, but one day he gets abducted. Eventually Buck gets sold as a sled dog in Klondike. As a sled dog he suffers abuse from his new owners and endures painful days. But almost every day he hears the wild calling him. Buck ultimately has to decide whether he should live his life with the humans or in the wild.

I absolutely liked this book. I believe that majority of the people who loves animals will like this book. This book made me think of how dogs and other animals think of their lives. Do they like it or do they hate it?
It also made me feel the pain that the animals are feeling, but that helped me to learn more of them. I recommend this book to the people who wants to understand more about animals. After reading this book, I’m sure they’ll understand the problems that the animals are facing.

Reviewed by Jonah, Grade 9
Glendale Central Library