HOLLOW CHEST

A boy bargains with menacing wolves so that his soldier brother can heal from the effects of World War II.

Eleven-year-old Charlie is thrilled when his older brother, Theo, comes home to London in February 1945. Drafted when he turned 18, Theo’s only been gone 18 months, but he returns wounded in body and mind. Their father died in the Blitz, and Charlie’s been counting on Theo to lift some of his feelings of responsibility and anxiety. But Theo can’t, and Charlie begins to see mysterious wolves everywhere he goes—war wolves with names like Dishonor, Wrath, and Remorse. They tell Charlie they’ve eaten Theo’s heart—and that Theo will never recover. Charlie embarks on a quest to prove them wrong, picking up unexpected sidekicks in his battle-scarred grandfather, an eccentric neighbor woman who feeds pigeons, and another convalescent soldier. Two parts history, one part allegory, and one part fabulism, Sandstrom’s debut impresses with its sympathetic characters and smooth, evocative writing. In parts, the pacing slows under the weight of the rhetoric, but patient readers will be well satisfied with the realistic and thoughtful ending. Occasional full-page illustrations show a city damaged by war and add to the somber, haunting mood. All characters read as White.

A worthwhile exploration of the emotional costs of war.