Friday, August 28, 2009

Never Cry Werewolf (MG, YA)


Davis, Heather. 2009. Never Cry Werewolf. HarperCollins. 216 pages. (September 2009)

Moonlight has special powers. Even in Beverly Hills, where everything sparkles whether it's real or fake, there's something magic about that big full moon. It can make you act crazy, take a risk you'd never consider in the daylight, or even fall completely head over heels. Moonlight can totally change your life. And it all starts so simply.
You. Him. The moon. You're toast.


If you can't get enough of werewolves, then you'll probably enjoy this fun romance. (Or if you've finished all of the vampire books at your local library and now want to try your hand at werewolves.) Shelby's parents don't trust her. (Whether this is because her new step-mother just doesn't like her and is trying to turn her father against her or if Shelby really, truly isn't worthy of such trust, I can't say.) When her stepmother catches her almost kissing a boy, her parents decide she needs to go to a summer camp where she'll learn to be good and obedient and trustworthy. (In her stepmom's defense, the boy is at least several years older than Shelby. And as innocent as a goodnight kiss could be, it could also lead to trouble down the way.)

Who does she meet at camp? The son of a famous rock star, that's who (Austin Bridges III). And what's his secret? His big secret? You guessed it, he's a werewolf. Shelby's in on his secret--he confides in her because he needs her help. And then some. You see, the camp has confiscated his super-secret serum that prevents him from transforming into a wolf, and it's almost time for the full moon. Can Shelby save her new boyfriend in time? Will helping him cost her more than she's willing to give? How can Shelby be "new-and-improved-and-oh-so-obedient" if she's seen breaking all the rules?

It's not the most sophisticated of reads. It's light enough, fun enough, tame enough. The ending did leave me curious. Is there a sequel in the works? Was the author hinting about something-more*?

I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either. I'm curious to see what the response will be from younger readers--eleven, twelve, thirteen--if this book is satisfying for them.

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*Did anyone else find the ending suspicious when Austin finds puncture marks on Shelby? What exactly does that mean? What is the reader to think?

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

5 comments:

Aubrey said...

I may have to give this one a try. I often really like books geared towards younger readers just so I can have some fun with the story, and I love paranormal stuff. Thanks for the review!

Ceri said...

This sounds like a good light read. :-) I'm prefering werewolf books to vampire ones lately - probably because you can't seem to escape vamp books these days.

Suko said...

Becky, when I was a kid I went to see a couple of Werewolf movies and they were wonderfully frightening. To this day, I think of these movies-- especially when there's a full moon out.

kay - Infinite Shelf said...

I'm thinking of giving this one a try, I love werewolves! It looks fun, and it has a pretty cover.

Anonymous said...

I know you didn't love this but I still want to read it. I love werewolves and I love the cover and am interested to give it a go.