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From School Library Journal

December 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-In 1943 rural Pennsylvania, Annabelle is plagued by intense and violent bullying by new girl Betty-until Betty goes missing. The prime suspect is a local World War I vet and resident oddball, Toby. Annabelle knows Toby is innocent and sets out to prove it. Prejudice is not sugarcoated; Wolk displays deep respect for readers and trusts them to grapple with complex moral themes. A middle grade novel distinguished for its stark honesty and unflinching exploration of injustice.

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2016
In 1940s Pennsylvania, vagabond WWI vet Toby is falsely accused of attacks carried out by new-girl Betty. As the crimes become more serious, tension builds. The storytelling is dignified; the tone is memoir-ish, as narrator Annabelle (another of Betty's victims) remembers the story in the past. The portrait of sociopath Betty pulls no punches; unlikely hero Toby is a nuanced, poignant character.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

Starred review from April 1, 2016

Gr 5-8-Eleven-year-old Annabelle lives in a rural Pennsylvania community in 1943. The continued fighting of World War II haunts everyone, but life is mostly peaceful-until Betty Glengarry's arrival. Betty is cruel and threatening and thrives on inflicting pain. At first, Annabelle is slightly comforted to know that Toby is watching out for her. Toby is a local vagabond, a World War I veteran of few words who has become something like a friend of Annabelle's family. Meanwhile, Betty's violent malice only grows, until one day she goes missing. Toby immediately becomes the prime suspect in Betty's disappearance. Annabelle is sure of Toby's innocence and is determined to prove it. Readers are alerted from the outset that this is the story of how the narrator loses her childish naivete in a life-altering way. The narrative is powerful, complex, and lifelike. There are pointlessly cruel people, courageously kind people, and those who simply pass the gossip. Despite the jaded feelings that come with witnessing unjust persecution, the heart of this story is ultimately one of hope and empathy. Thematically, this book raises some of the same issues as To Kill a Mockingbird, but with social status rather than racism as the basis for injustice. Vicious bullying is also a highly relevant topic, and this aspect is sure to spark important conversations. VERDICT Highly recommended for purchase; a truly moving debut.-Sara White, Seminole County Public Library, Casselberry, FL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from March 15, 2016
Grades 5-8 *Starred Review* Eleven-year-old Annabelle is living a relatively idyllic life on her family's Pennsylvania farm, until its normalcy is interrupted by Betty Glengarry, who has been sent to live with her grandparents because she is incorrigible. Betty's sullen presence quickly upsets the one-room school's traditional pecking order, and Annabelle and her younger brothers are Betty's favorite targetsuntil Annabelle stands up to her. Not to be outdone, Betty shifts her attention to Toby, a strange WWI veteran already saddled with a dubious reputation within the community. Wolk conjures an aura of unease and dread from the first chapter, even as her pastoral setting and Annabelle's sunny family life seem to suggest that a happy ending is possible. The spare but hauntingly beautiful language paints every early morning walk to school, household chore, emotion, and rational and irrational thought in exquisite detail, while remaining true to Annabelle's early-adolescent voice. Her craft notwithstanding, Wolk is relentless in her message: lies and secrets, even for the most noble of reasons, have unintended consequences, as Annabelle's poignant dilemma reminds us long after the last page is turned. Perfectly pitched to be used in classrooms in conjunction with To Kill a Mockingbird.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from March 14, 2016
Echoing the tone and themes found in To Kill a Mockingbird and Summer of My German Soldier, this WWII story traces the unlikely friendship between a country girl and a shell-shocked veteran. Most people in Wolf Hollow, Pa., don't know what to make of Toby and his habit of circling the hills with "three long guns slung across his back." But he has always been kind to Annabelle, now 12, and he comes to her rescue when a bully torments her. After Toby is accused of a crime he didn't commit, Annabelle knows she has to take action, but her attempt to hide him from authorities spurs a chain of events that could lead to disaster. In her first book for children, Wolk (Those Who Favor Fire) movingly expresses Annabelle's loss of innocence through the honest, clear voice of her protagonist. Annabelle's astute observations of the Pennsylvania woods and the people who populate Wolf Hollow will resonate with many readers as they present a profound view of a complex era tinged by prejudice and fear. Ages 10—up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

From Kirkus

Starred review from February 15, 2016
Evil comes to rural Pennsylvania in an unlikely guise in this novel of the American homefront during World War II. Twelve-year-old Annabelle's coming-of-age begins when newcomer Betty Glengarry, newly arrived from the city to stay with her grandparents "because she was incorrigible," shakes her down for spare change in Wolf Hollow on the way to school. Betty's crimes quickly escalate into shocking violence, but the adults won't believe the sweet-looking blonde girl could be responsible and settle their suspicions on Toby, an unkempt World War I veteran who stalks the hills carrying not one, but three guns. Annabelle's strategies for managing a situation she can't fully understand are thoroughly, believably childlike, as is her single-minded faith in Betty's guilt and Toby's innocence. But her childlike faith implicates her in a dark and dangerous mystery that propels her into the adult world of moral gray spaces. Wolk builds her story deliberately through Annabelle's past-tense narration in language that makes no compromises but is yet perfectly simple: "Back then, I didn't know a word to describe Betty properly or what to call the thing that set her apart from the other children in that school." She realizes her setting with gorgeous immediacy, introducing the culture of this all-white world of hollows, hills, and neighbors with confidence and cleareyed affection. Trusting its readers implicitly with its moral complexity, Wolk's novel stuns. (Historical fiction. 9-13)

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From AudioFile Magazine

Narrator Emily Rankin brings us into the world of 11-year-old Annabelle. Her voice is soft and gentle, reflecting Annabelle's tranquil life on a quiet Pennsylvania farm during WWII--that is, until Rankin contrasts Annabelle's thoughtful tone with the menace in the voice of Betty Glengarry, a bully. Rankin registers Annabelle's fear of Betty's increasing mockery, lies, and threats. Annabelle's reactions to Betty echo her discomfort with the larger world, which seems to be dissolving her innocence as prejudice and cruelty overtake her rural town. Rankin's precise tone also gives a sense of the calmness of Annabelle's mother, the narrow-mindedness of Annabelle's snippy aunt, and the reticence of a kindly WWI veteran. Rankin's shifting voice captures the growing ugliness in Annabelle's formerly idyllic town and her determination to take a stand against it. S.W. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine