A review by ahinds
Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury
4.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
In Night of The Howling Dogs,14 year old Dylan is on a camping trip with his scout troop. They are camping on Halape, a beautiful remote shore located right under a volcano. Dylan would be excited, but Louie is coming along. Louie is a trash talking seventeen year old with a huge ego. He and Dylan don't get along. As they start on their hike Dylan sees a big black dog and a small white one, but in an instant they are gone. Once they reached Halape Dylan forgets all about the mysterious dogs. Later, in the dead of night, Dylan wakes up to a feeling that something is not right. Venturing out of his tent he sees the silhouettes of two dogs on the cliff face. The next day a band of cowboys venture into Halape. The leader of the cowboys introduces himself as Masa. Masa is a native Hawaiian who grew up on a ranch. He knows everything about the local legends, and when Dylan tells him about the two dogs, Masa becomes worried. He explains to Dylan that the goddess Pele can take the form of a small white dog. Legend says that when you see a small white dog in a desolate place it means that a volcanic eruption is going to take place. Even though the troop doesn't believe Masa's story, Dylan can't help but wonder if there is any truth in the legend.
Night of the Howling Dogs is a fiction story based on actual events. Characters in Night of the Howling Dogs are based on real people from Troop 77, but liberties were taken. On November 29, 1975 a 7.2 earthquake hit Halape and the ensuing tsunami was over three hundred feet. Amazingly Troop 77 only lost one person.
The first part of the story moves at a slow place as you just wait for the natural disaster to take place. For me it was really hard to get through the first part of the story for it was just so boring. The minor characters were forgettable and they just faded into the background. This was a disservice to them because I found myself not feeling the level of panic Dylan had when he was wondering if his friends were still alive.
Once the earthquake hits, the plot speeds up and I could not put the book down until the end. The author's real talent shines in his ability to write so descriptively that you feel like you have been to Hawaii. This helps the reader get through the slow part of the book. The main characters are people you can relate to. All of us, like Dylan, have had the one kid who we can't get along with. Masa was my favorite character in the book and he brought more depth to the story. The other talent the author possesses is that he writes his characters in a believable manner. I don't know if the author has had teenage boys, but he writes Dylan and Louie exceptionally realistically. Overall, I would say if it wasn't for the first part of the book the rating would be higher.
In Night of The Howling Dogs,14 year old Dylan is on a camping trip with his scout troop. They are camping on Halape, a beautiful remote shore located right under a volcano. Dylan would be excited, but Louie is coming along. Louie is a trash talking seventeen year old with a huge ego. He and Dylan don't get along. As they start on their hike Dylan sees a big black dog and a small white one, but in an instant they are gone. Once they reached Halape Dylan forgets all about the mysterious dogs. Later, in the dead of night, Dylan wakes up to a feeling that something is not right. Venturing out of his tent he sees the silhouettes of two dogs on the cliff face. The next day a band of cowboys venture into Halape. The leader of the cowboys introduces himself as Masa. Masa is a native Hawaiian who grew up on a ranch. He knows everything about the local legends, and when Dylan tells him about the two dogs, Masa becomes worried. He explains to Dylan that the goddess Pele can take the form of a small white dog. Legend says that when you see a small white dog in a desolate place it means that a volcanic eruption is going to take place. Even though the troop doesn't believe Masa's story, Dylan can't help but wonder if there is any truth in the legend.
Night of the Howling Dogs is a fiction story based on actual events. Characters in Night of the Howling Dogs are based on real people from Troop 77, but liberties were taken. On November 29, 1975 a 7.2 earthquake hit Halape and the ensuing tsunami was over three hundred feet. Amazingly Troop 77 only lost one person.
The first part of the story moves at a slow place as you just wait for the natural disaster to take place. For me it was really hard to get through the first part of the story for it was just so boring. The minor characters were forgettable and they just faded into the background. This was a disservice to them because I found myself not feeling the level of panic Dylan had when he was wondering if his friends were still alive.
Once the earthquake hits, the plot speeds up and I could not put the book down until the end. The author's real talent shines in his ability to write so descriptively that you feel like you have been to Hawaii. This helps the reader get through the slow part of the book. The main characters are people you can relate to. All of us, like Dylan, have had the one kid who we can't get along with. Masa was my favorite character in the book and he brought more depth to the story. The other talent the author possesses is that he writes his characters in a believable manner. I don't know if the author has had teenage boys, but he writes Dylan and Louie exceptionally realistically. Overall, I would say if it wasn't for the first part of the book the rating would be higher.