St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves

I really wanted to like this book ...:
Russell is a talented writer, whose stories are creative, imaginitive,and often times fun. However, as many reviewers have mentioned, frequently - all too frequently - there is no resolution, they simply end, as if to say,"well, that's it - time for another story." The setting of many of her tales - the woods of south Florida and the south in general - were vivid, and were an element that I particularly liked. I enjoyed her characters and the unpredictable and slighly supernatural events they found themselves in. But I could never get used to the abrupt ending of her stories. I really wanted to like this book, but I can only give it 3 stars.

Truly Creative Work:
Imaginative and entertainingly unconventional is how I would best describe this book. What's more, Karen Russell's command and use of language is poetic and amazing. At first, I too found the narratives of the children characters to be a stretch, seemingly too mature and emotionally articulate for their age. But later, I came to appreciate the insight it provided to the young characters' points of view. An open mind and enjoyment of truly, masterfully creative writing is all that are needed to enjoy Ms. Russell's work. I had no idea where each of her stories was going to lead me, but was very grateful to follow along. My favorite stories were the ones with the alligator theme park, the minotaur father, and the school after which the book is so cleverly named (the first reason why I read the book ... good titles are challenging to come up with!).

for those of us raised by wolves:
Ms. Russell offers the perfect view of reality as seen through a child's mask of fantasy -- or should I say, a view of how the world really is without an adult's blinders?

St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves: Stories:
Totally weird! My favorite is the title story, last in the book. I'm giving the book to one of my granddaughters for her 15th birthday, as her mom says she reads anything. For something different, I recommend this book.

Girls & Wolves:
With lines like "1 Mr. Goodbar = 187 sick children's wishes", Karen Russell's voice breaks out of the contemporary fiction pack with style and flair. St. Lucy's Home... a collection of short fiction brings us to exaggerated stages filled with unique characters. Every story was solid, well paced and thoughtful. I think this may be the perfect beach book. It's easy to dip in and out of and the story length makes each a delicious literary bite.