Elementals: Ice Wolves
Written by Amie Kaufman
Narrated by Johnathan McClain
4/5
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About this audiobook
From New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman comes the first book in an electrifying series about a brother and sister who must harness their powers and find their place in a sharply divided world.
Everyone in Vallen knows that ice wolves and scorch dragons are sworn enemies who live deeply separate lives.
So when twelve-year-old orphan Anders takes one elemental form and his twin sister, Rayna, takes another, he wonders whether they are even related. Family or not, Rayna is Anders’s only true friend. She’s nothing like the brutal, cruel dragons who claimed her as one of their own and stole her away.
To rescue her, Anders must enlist at the foreboding Ulfar Academy, a school for young wolves that values loyalty to the pack above all else. But for Anders, loyalty is more complicated than obedience, and friendship is the most powerful shapeshifting force of all.
“If you’ve ever wanted to go on an adventure, read this book.” — Marie Lu, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Young Elites
Anders’s and Rayna’s adventures continue in Elementals: Scorch Dragons, and the dramatic conclusion to the trilogy, Elementals: Battle Born!
Amie Kaufman
Amie Kaufman is a New York Times and internationally bestselling author of young adult and middle grade fiction, and the host of the podcast Amie Kaufman on Writing. Her multi-award winning work is slated for publication in over 30 countries, and has been described as “a game-changer” (Shelf Awareness), “stylistically mesmerising” (Publishers Weekly) and “out-of-this-world awesome” (Kirkus). Her series include The Illuminae Files, The Aurora Cycle, The Other Side of the Sky duology, the Starbound trilogy, the Unearthed duology, the Elementals trilogy, and The World Between Blinks. Her work is in development for film and TV, and has taken home multiple Aurealis Awards, an ABIA, a Gold Inky, made multiple best-of lists and been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Raised in Australia and occasionally Ireland, Amie has degrees in history, literature, law and conflict resolution, and is currently undertaking a PhD in Creative Writing. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, daughter, and rescue dog, and an extremely large personal library. Learn more about her and subscribe to her newsletter at www.amiekaufman.com
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Reviews for Elementals
68 ratings12 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It was a really good book. However, the end leaves you with a lot of questions. You would have to listen to this book in order to understand what I'm talking about. When I started hearing about the writer in I was shocked because I was expecting there to be at least another chapter. It's feels unresolved. I mean, the dragons & the ice wolves get into a fight. The main character throws never seen before fire ice, & next thing you know, the book is over. There should have been another chapter where the dragons & the ice wolves come together & and come up with a truce or something. Instead, the ending makes you feel like they just left your hangin with with a neon red question mark flashing above your head. Leaves you wondering what's gonna happen next.
It was an extremely bad ending, that's all I'm gonna say. And it's not like there's another book that you can pick up to continue where it left off.. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved it because it's a book that takes you to a magical place that I think most kids would like.
Caleb 10yrs old - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This was such a good book. The whole premise of ice wolves and scorch is just awesome. Anders and Rayna are such likable characters. I highly recommend this and cannot wait to read the next book.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anders and Rayna are street kids in Vallen and have been since they left an orphanage when they were six and the carers wanted to separate them. Life is hard. They make their way by stealing and picking pockets. But they have each other. The think of themselves as twins though their personalities are much different. Rayna is the leader because she is quicker with a story and more of a planner than Anders. The city is guarded by ice wolves who are protecting them from the scorch dragons that caused the war that made them orphans. One day, while picking pockets at a monthly trial to find more ice wolves, they need to be tested to get away from one of their victims. Rayna touches the magic staff and turns into a scorch dragon which puts her in immediate danger from the ice wolves doing the testing. When Anders touches the staff, he becomes an ice wolf but his main concern is saving his twin. When Rayna is forced to leave the city in the company of other scorch dragons, Anders is determined to find and rescue her. His best course of action is to join the Ulfar academy which trains the ice wolves to protect the city. His only intention when joining is to learn enough about the dragons to find his sister. He doesn't expect to make friends including his roommates Lisabet, Viktoria, and Sakarias. Lisabeth questions the wolves policies toward the dragons and helps Anders learn to read and find out more about the magical objects held by the wolves which might help him locate his sister. While Lisabet wants to find some way for the dragons and the wolves to talk and to forge some kind of peace, most of the adult wolves don't think that is possible and may, in fact, be creating incidents to make the dragons look bad in order to secure the wolves' power in the city. There is a magical object that will locate the dragons which Anders wants to steal in order to find his sister and the wolves want to use to carry their war to the dragons' home. He steals it and has many adventures on his way to the home of the dragons where he learns that all is not as he thought.The story is filled with adventure. I liked Anders who had great love and loyalty to his sister. I liked that he made friends in his new school and that he learned that it was all right to step out of his sister's shadow and make his own decisions. This is the first book in a trilogy. I am eager to know what happens next for Anders, Lisabet, and Rayna.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a really great story--my only disappointment was how abrupt the ending felt. Make sure you have book two within easy reach!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For a fairly young audience
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not a big fan of Rayna, but I adore Anders and Lisabet. It's definitely an interesting premise with the promise of more to come. I'm especially interested to see how things play out for Anders, and I'm curious to know more about the other elementals in the world. Good world building so far although it's small due to being seen from Anders' perspective, and he doesn't know anything beyond this one town really.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This year I’ve read all of Kaufman’s co-authored books. Her debut solo novel is a children’s/middle-grade fantasy set in a land where people with the ability to transform into dragons are seen as the enemy of those who transform into wolves. Twelve year old Anders and his twin sister Rayna are war-orphans who survive on the city streets and rooftops as thieves. One of their favourite crowds to pickpocket is at the monthly Ulfar Trials, when the Wolf Guard test young candidates for their academy. But this time, things go wrong.This story isn’t as intense and twisty as Kaufman’s YA science-fiction, but it isn’t trying to be. And it has shapeshifters, dragons, a magic boarding school and sibling relationships, a combination I like a lot. (I would have liked it even more when I was twelve.) Anders has always relied on Rayna to get them out of trouble, but when the twins are separated, he has to come up with a plan to reunite them. “Maybe the guards think the dragon from last night could still be spying in the city, hiding in human form,” Anders said. “Or planning to start a fire.”Rayna snorted. “What, and they think if they ask people, they’re just going to admit they knew where a dragon was but decided not to tell anyone?”He nodded, lowering his voice to do his best impression of an upstanding citizen. “Yes, Guard, in fact I hide scorch dragons on my roof, because I want to be roasted alive and I don’t believe in public safety. I feel a little bit guilty about it, and I’ve been meaning to confess to somebody, but I wasn’t sure who would want to know.”
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I have read many young adult books but this one does not excite me. Orphaned twins one boy (Anders) and one girl (Rayna) are living as street thieves in a town where young people may change into ice wolves who guard the city from scorch dragons with whom they have had past wars. Long story short, Anders turns into a ice wolf and Rayna turns into a scorch dragon (Why?) There are items called artifacts that have special powers. (Why?) After Rayna becomes a dragon and is living with them we don't see her for two hundred pages. (Why don't we see any of her experiences/) Plot is generally about Anders trying to find his sister.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I almost didn't read this when I saw it was middle school level. It's hard, I'm a well aged adult, yes well aged. I like to think I'm mature and need adult level book to be entertained. But, I really loved the Illuminae Files she wrote so I dove in. I am not not mature or this was really good writing. I loved it.The story follows two orphans, twins as they struggle to live free in a world separated by war and hate. There are humans who need protection, wolves who provide it and dragons who cause all the trouble. When one twin changes and the other goes another way the questions start forming and the truth slowly starts to unfold. One goes to be sacrificed one goes to a magical military school. There are a lot of unknowns, lies, hidden secrets and magic all new to them. One of the twins struggles with the need to save the other twin and new friendships who to trust. Meanwhile something is not adding up, and the teachers know more.I got Harry Potter like vibes from this. Young magical child who never knew he held magic, finds he is so much more and attends a school for other like him, where a smart loner type girl befriends him. That is were the likeness ends. I think fans of Harry Potter might really enjoy this. There is no sex, no romance.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Although a fantasy adventure for younger readers, I found "Ice Wolves" to be a very entertaining read. Anders was a loveable protagonist. He was shy and didn't always understand what was happening, but he was continually developing and learning throughout the story which made him very appealing. The fact he could transform himself into a wolf, added to his appeal. His twin sister, Rayna, wasn't in the story much once she turned into a dragon but I hope she has a bigger role in coming sequels as I liked her feistiness and strength of character.However, Lisabeth, a fellow ice wolf, whom Anders meets at the Ulfar Academy was probably my favourite character. She was a keen reader (yes!!!), and avid learner and strongly determined. I loved her fierce loyalty and dedication to change things for the better.Despite some slow parts in the plot, overall, "Ice Wolves" was very enjoyable with strong friendships, danger, magic and shapeshifters. A charming read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Well, I certainly hope there is more where that came from. A well-constructed tale with interesting and engaging characters. I really like the way it fearlessly tackles questions of belinging and identity - when to run with the pack, when to assert individual identity; when to follow the leader, when to call time out and steer by your own moral compass.
Much to ponder.
A wonderful ending, which is also a beginning. Clever.