Booktopia Synopsis :
Every night Ulv is cloaked in total Darkness. Twelve hours ruled by the ravenous, clawing Shadow Creatures, beasts made of shadow and evil.Young Bo is charged with a monumental task: freeing the land of its curse by returning the Stars to the sky. He must find three magical keys spread across the land – keys that will unlock the cage holding the wolf who ate the Stars. But there’s another motive, beyond saving Ulv. If Bo releases the Stars, he can make a wish of his own and maybe find the mother who left him behind . . .

My review: One for Grades 6-7. Interspersed with excerpts from the "True Histories of ULV" which provide the reader with little Background clues as to what is going on. This book is interesting enough in that it is a quintessential QUEST novel where the boy Bo must unlock clues in a fantasy land to lead him to the keys. These keys will eventually help him to release a Wolf that has taken all the stars from the night sky. For students who like fantasy and quest novels. ( )

Why is it that middle-grade books have the best ability to nearly reduce me to tears? A story about a boy who makes a mistake and puts in a phenomenal effort to put it right with the help of his newfound friends who become more of a family. You can’t help but feel for Bo – even though he technically has the most basic needs met, he lacks a home. Without Nix, I have a feeling the Bo we go on an adventure within The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars would not be the same boy. The story behind the Un-King and his mentality reminds me of a character that you would find in Wonderland. Tam was by far my favorite character (besides Nix), and seeing her dedication to Bo was heart-warming.

The land of Ulv is beautifully described – even right down to the gloomy and haunting forests, the names of which have more meaning than Bo thought they did. The finished book will feature a map, and I can’t wait to see it – I LOVE book maps. My favorite area was the Forest of Tid, and I would be just as enchanted with it as Bo was. Tam’s home with the Korahku, while interesting, would be downright creepy – I’m not entirely sure I would be willing to enter that area of Ulv. I will admit I wish the story covered the weird beasties that often get mentioned throughout the story better. Are they real? I know at least some of them turned out to be.

“Doesn’t mean I’ll forget what they did and it doesn’t excuse it,” he said. “It means I won’t give them power over me anymore. Because that’s what hate does. It gets me all tangled up with people who don’t even care about me — trying to figure out why they treat me bad, what I did wrong, how I can get my revenge on them. But their hate isn’t my responsibility. I’ll do what I can to put things right but I won’t hate them; I won’t punish them like for like. I’ll fight back. I’ll make a difference. I might even forgive them one day, if they earn it. But I won’t let hate win.”

The Boy, the Wolf, and the Stars was such a beautiful, mesmerizing book sprinkled with tough subjects for middle-grade readers. To name a few – the death of a loved one, abandonment, anger/hatred, mob mentality, and last but not least, warped opinions. It also has its fair share of positive things for kids to learn – the beauty of found family, defying ignorance, hate, and tradition, standing up for yourself and others, and believing in yourself. I would highly recommend this book to readers who enjoy magic, found family, middle-grade, and fantasy. If there ever happens to be a continuation of this story I will 100% read it. A huge thank you to TBR & Beyond, HMH Books for Young Readers, and Shivaun Plozza for the opportunity to read this beautiful adventure of a boy, his fox, and his chosen family – all opinions are my own. ( )

One of the things I love most about middle grade is the characters’ sense of wonder and can-do spirit, which this book has plenty of. The author’s lyrical prose adds to the beauty of the book.

Imagine a night sky with no stars or moon. A pitch black night with monsters who hunt and kill.

Abandoned at birth, twelve-year-old Bo has only a cranky guardian and a pet fox. Until the day he forgets to perform a crucial spell, letting magic back into the world.

When his guardian is killed and shadow creatures begin attacking the villages, Bo must solve the clues his guardian left behind to free the stars the wolf swallowed.

One thing is clear: whoever controls the stars gains great power. Bo and his band of unexpected allies must make sure they don’t fall into the wrong hands.

Bo struggles with feelings of abandonment, but along the way, he builds his own family. Middle school (and adult!) readers will enjoy watching Bo make his first friends.

Dispersed throughout the chapters are a few pages of stories written by The Scribe, who’s tasked with recording everything that happens in this world. Her bird’s eye (quite literally! She gets reports from owls!) perspective adds richness to the characters’ experiences. I began to look forward to her pages. I had to laugh at how every forest in this world is haunted!

This ending rips your heart out, then heals it again. I felt the magic of the characters’ journey. ( )