Pseudonymous Bosch is the author of multiple books, two of which I’ve read, and really enjoyed. These two books are, ‘ the name of this book is secret ’ and ‘ if you’re reading this it’s too late ’ , which are part of the ‘ secret ’ series. These books follow the story of Cass and Max-Ernest ( which are code names given by the author ) as they learn of two secret societies. 

However, what makes the book intriguing and enjoyable to read, isn’t the colorful cast, miraculous happenings or fantastical plot ( which are also part of the books charm ) but the narrator's commentary. His style isn’t dissimilar to that of Lemony Snicket, author of famed ‘ a series of unfortunate events ’ as they both crack jokes and places themselves into the stories as well, which provides some mystery. The narrators are also humorous in that they both are somewhat snarky or sarcastic, and seem to offer commentary to the plot. I’m conclusion, Pseudonymous Bosch is an incredible narrator who uses the medium of writing to an incredible degree, which creates a rich story to delve into. 

I noticed that one of the things I noted about the movie was that Draco and Harry didn’t meet in the robes shops, nor on the train. I think the directors probably cut this out, as it seems unnecessary to include in the movie. I also noted that Dudley is eating Harry’s cake in the background of the shack scene. In the movie the hat also speaks aloud its thoughts, and they don’t use the subway to travel. 

My notes on the book mainly included small details that were cut for time. Like that Neville finds his toad near Hagrid, and that the hat goes over the eyes. One bigger thing was that they cut peeves character entirely. Dumbledore was also funnier in the book. 

The next chapter takes place in fall of the same year, and it begins with Bass going into town with his master to buy things, and the beginning mostly has Bass learning about his place in the world as a slave. However on the way back from Paris, Texas Bass sees some Native Americans starving on the side of the road, and his Master tells him that they’re walking north from Florida. This confuses Bass a lot, as he doesn’t have any education. This also shows us how much Bass will learn by the end of the story. 

Fall 1840 is when the next chapter takes place, and it starts with Bass taking over the farm as his master has surrendered to alcoholism. Then Bass’s master, for lack of better things to do, teaches Bass to play poker with him, and Bass is a natural at this at well. This escalates from playing with cigarettes to playing with dollars, and now the money matters as his master will let Bass buy things with the money he earns. He also sees more of the starving Indians he has seen in the last chapter, and we also find out the man whose family were killed in the three shot himself in the head and is now paralyzed. Bass also learns about the Indian Territory, which he lives in later in the book. However things begin to change when Bass’s Master bets Bass and his Mothers freedom in a game of poker. The game starts off well, until Bass notices that his master is cheating, but when Bass points this out his master throws a fit. The master grabs his gun to shoot Bass but Bass throws a jug at the man's head, which knocks him unconscious. Bass then runs from the ranch with his mothers and Flowers ( another slave ) help. 

After this chapter the structure of the story changes, rather than just being a account of events that happened to Bass at different periods of time, the story shifts into a state in which it follows Bass at all times, more like a story. The atmosphere of the story shifts a bit as well because of Bass maturing with the events of the story. 

‘Killing men’ is what the next chapter is called, and it takes place in 1841. It starts with Bass in the forest preparing to go into a store to buy some supplies. Inside the store he then gets a real taste of the danger of the Indian Territory, because as he picks out things from the store, a gun is pointed at his head the entire time. The Indian men running the shop being very wary of shopkeepers stealing sets a mood that is carried through the second act and establishes a grizzly tone. We then go to Bass in the canyon where his ‘camp’ is and start to see him being pursued by two men on horses. Bass kills the first, then shoots the others horse, which makes the second twist his neck and die. Bass takes a saddle and a pair of boots from them and is then struck by the realization. Because this is the first time Bass has ever killed a man, it becomes a point in the story’s structure and plot. 

The next chapter is set in the Fall of 1841, and it’s called ‘Wolves’. We learn that Bass has been wandering around, and eventually he runs into Comanche Territory, and there he sees some Indians torturing a man, and at this time Bass thinks about how unnecessary it is. We also begin to see another side of Bass, the one with a  phenomenal memory. Bass’s inability to read made it so Bass has successfully memorized the bluffs and canyons where he travelled, he knew every gang hideout and ranch, which helps him later when he becomes a Marshall. At this time Bass also sees some wolves attacking a little girl, and he steps in to protect her. Both her and him get injured after the skirmish, and Bass then tries to take the girl somewhere else. They walk until things begin to blur and it’s then that the girls family find them. Bass actually tries to fight the family off, thinking that they’re going to harm him, which provides a contrast to when -in the future- the family ‘adopts’ Bass and they become more familial. 

‘A family’ is the next chapter, it takes place from 1841 to 1863. Bass has been drifting in and out of consciousness and the Indian family has been tending to his injury. Bass is introduced to the family, and we also see him monologue about how much he misses his mother. We see these two coincide when Bass almost calls a member of the family ‘Mammy’ instead of ‘Martha’. I personally feel as if this provides a lot of subtext on how Bass feels on leaving his family, and finding a new one, and how he corrects himself mid-word shows that he’s ready to accept having a new family. We see this confirmed when he accepts the family’s offer to have him stay with them. 

The first chapter starts in 1875 - 1909 and the first incident of the chapter details Bass tailing Bob Dozier, and we also get a flashback of another mission Bass had gotten. This incident ends with Bass shooting Dozier in the head and Bass reminiscing about how useless it is to kill people. The next situation Bass is in is when he’s trying to catch Tom Story, he catches Tom very quickly, only taking a second to shoot him. Jim Webb was , by far, the hardest for Bass to find. It took him more than two years to find him and when he did it ended in a high speed chase. Bass caught Webb of course, but it was difficult, though certainly there were harder things for Bass to accomplish. One of the hardest arrests Bass had to do was that of his son. This section is very detailed, and we get vivid flashbacks from Bass about Bennie ( his son ) a lot. The detailed section , however, ends with the epilogue.

The epilogue is based more like a summary and we see more about how he put his son on trial and how he become a Marshall for a smaller town after the US decided that crime could be turned to individual communities. This also talks about Bass’s death in 1910. However the book ends with a note from the author talking about how Bass was forgotten from history, and how worse cowboys are mourned and cried over. This is the most powerful section of the book, as we see how phenomenal Bass is. 

The themes of Wolf Hollow revolve around the injustice and cruelty of Betty and how Annabelle decides to bring justice to Toby, a person who has no one to stand up for him and his rights. Unlike many other books this book takes a lot of bold and risky decisions when talking about this and a lot of thought is put into talking about the issues and themes. The story and plot is a page turner as well, and the characterization, though simple, shows a deep understanding of fleshing out characters. There isn’t a lot to say about the writing style of the book, though it does include a lot of inner monologue from the main character. I would especially recommend this book for a book club or class discussion because it invokes a lot of thought.