Luza: The Fox and the Girl, Book 1 is a young adult coming of age fantasy novel written by Frankie Yandow. Keira is a fourteen-year-old girl who lives with her Uncle Lane in a remote wilderness in New Hampshire. He took her to stay with him after her mother had died six years earlier, and Keira had been subjected to rather brutal bullying by the other kids in school. The bullying had started long before her mom died, however. Her amber-golden eyes had earned her the name Tigress, and her classmates took every opportunity to make her feel different and unwanted. When she and Lane moved away from the house she had grown up in, Lane understood and agreed to her desire to be home schooled. Keira's friends in the woods were a pack of dogs who came each day for the canned stew and green beans she'd give each of them, as well as her attention and company. Three of the dogs were Tornjaks, Croatian mountain dogs, but it was Crowley, the largest of the three, who was closest to the girl and guarded her. Uncle Lane, a New Hampshire Park Ranger, would be away for the opening of hunting season, and Keira had plans to visit her mother's grave, an annual pilgrimage that meant a lot to her. This time, however, it would be very different.

Frankie Yandow's young adult coming of age fantasy, Luza: The Fox and the Girl, Book 1 is a haunting and lyrical tale set in the natural wilderness of New Hampshire. I enjoyed every moment I spent reading this absorbing tale. Keira, the Carolina dog, Portia, and Crowley's friendships are marvelous, and their adventures in the woods had me seriously thinking of moving to New Hampshire, until I remembered the long hard winters one would have to endure there. Yandow's story is beautifully plotted and experienced through the eyes of Keira, whose life forever changes starting on that fateful morning when her uncle wakes her up way too early as he's getting ready to leave for work. I loved reading this book and am looking forward to the next volume in the series. Luza: The Fox and the Girl, Book 1 is most highly recommended.

Luza by Frankie Yandow is Book One in The Fox and the Girl series, a heartwarming story that will have a strong appeal for young readers. Luza is an Arctic fox with a mission to locate the princess of the forest, so now she must travel the countryside and face untold challenges to accomplish this task. This isn’t a thrilling adventure because a skilled hunter is determined to kill Luza, and his companion, a Croatian Sheepdog, may be as ruthless as his master. Things change when Luza meets Keira, a teenage girl with her own woes. The encounter seems to tie the destinies of the two together. Can Keira muster the courage to help her new friend accomplish an impossible mission? Two creatures on two separate missions meet and a new journey begins.

Luza showcases the beauty of friendship and mirrors the fears and hopes of teenagers in very powerful ways. This story can be read as a tale of adventure or a coming of age story. Readers will love the way the characters are developed. At the start of the story, Keira seems withdrawn and lonely, but as the story moves on, she starts taking risks, she begins to go beyond her comfort zone, exploring the world beyond what she has known until this moment. The author captures her feelings in very beautiful prose: the dialogue and descriptions of the scenery, the fauna, and the forest will arrest the attention of readers. This book can make a great motion picture for children. Besides being highly entertaining, it teaches lessons of trust and friendship.