I've just finished this book, and it's one of the most disturbing, and compelling that I've read for a very long time.
The story is set in contemporary Russia. Amidst crippling poverty and uncertainty, a four year old boy, Romotchka falls through the gaps in the system, and ends up being adopted by a dog and her pack. Over the three or four years that the book spans, Romotchka becomes as much dog as boy, and by human standards his life is utterly shocking. However, his love for his pack is total, as is theirs for him, their smelly lair is home, and he is happy, until he comes to the attention of the authorities, when it all gets a lot more complicated.
This book is haunting me. I wouldn't have been able to read it when I had very young children. It would just have been too upsetting.
I think it would equally appeal to a man as a woman, and might make a good Xmas present for DHs and older teens.