Chandler, Kristen.
WOLVES, BOYS & OTHER THINGS THAT MIGHT KILL ME
New York : Viking, 2010
IL YA
ISBN  0670011428

It is set in a ranch town just outside of Yellowstone National Park, and the issue is how or even whether wolves should be protected. KJ, our heroine, is 16, a bit of a spitfire, who lives with her widowed father who is a hunting and fishing guide. She thinks her town is Redneck City USA. When Virgil and his mother arrive for a year while she researches the wolf pack in the park, KJ and Virgil quickly become friends. As they are both on the school newspaper, they decide to start a column on the wolves of Yellowstone.

Very soon their articles stir up a mess of controversy in town. The ranching families experience  wolves as menacing predators of their livestock; but as KJ and Virgil observe the wolf pack and their young, their articles increasingly seek to show how they are a crucial part of the local food chain.

This starts to look like an "us against them" story, especially when there are a couple nasty incidents in town. But then Virgil reaches out to help a rancher's family and through his experiences we begin to understand their concerns. This is a thoughtful story that not only offers romance and action, but also seeks to consider the complexities of our environmental concerns.  (NH Isinglass Teen Award nominee, 2013)