Abused Werewolf Rescue Group [Paperback]

I pre-ordered this book back in November, 2010, immedietly after reading The Reformed Vampire Support Group. And when it finally came I was ecstatic! Good werewolf stories are so hard to come by without them being either shape-shifters or totally obsessed with packs or mating, and when I heard that a story like this was coming my way I couldn't get to the first page fast enough.

The first thing I loved was Toby's personality. It fit his age, yet gave him that 'Main Character' feel along with it. He is only thirteen, and actually ACTS his age rather than these other books that portray their teens and children as if they'd experienced everything and more. He loved make-shift bombs and bottle-rockets and playing pranks on the neighbors like any normal thirteen year old would. He was loveable, all the way up to being kidnapped, then he reacted the way a normal kid would: Panic and wanting to call his mother. Which, really, is kind of whimpish, but really what thirteen year old isn't? When you're thirteen, you don't adapt and then adjust to stay calm. You lose your mind and beg for a way out. And the way Toby handled everything fit just right.

What I didn't really like was the lack of explanation for the werewolf condition. We learn that the hair grows faster, your reflexes and sense of smell is heightened, and that you Change once a month. But what exactly happens during the Change? Do they feel pain during the transformation? Do they really experience it, or completely block out every second once it starts? Toby in his ending monologue only suggests that he's done it, and doesn't explain the experience, leaving us to wonder how it goes. Neither of the books explain the transformation very well, and I long to have my transformation- the kind with snapping bones and blood curdling screams as every cell in their body morphs, not the instant switch between man and wolf. I bought this book hoping to catch a glimpse of what it was like for these people to become the beasts that lurked inside, but only heard mentions that it happens and nothing more. That disappointed me, but this book still kept me latched on even though. The dialogue was witty and funny, the characters were brilliantly portrayed, and everything felt so natural you would actually guess that it wasn't really Fiction and was truly the re-telling of a young man's struggle.

I loved this book, despite its hastened ending that leaves so much open, and would recommend it to just about everyone I know as a great summer read.

Definitely not the werewolves your used to reading about..

The story starts with Toby waking up in a dingo pen with no clue of how he got there. When he discovers he is a werewolf, Toby goes into full denial mode as does his mother (she thinks he is on drugs!).

Toby is kidnapped and taken to a sort of werewolf "fight club" complex where he is rescued and helped by vampires. A little strange, but it works.

Toby starts out as a typical 13-yr old boy. Easily succumbing to peer pressure and doing dangerous things. As the story matures so does Toby.

Toby's mother's lack of trust in him; wrapped with her denial was a bit hard to stomach at times.

I enjoyed the first  of this book The last  seem a little rushed. All in all it was a good read and one I will recommend to middle school readers.

This was a very different take on werewolves. Toby wakes up in a dingo pen and has no memory of how he got there. When he was first approached by Father Ramon Alvarez and Reuben Schneider and told he was a werewolf, his first reaction was disbelief and denial. He wallows in denial. His mother is convinced that he was doing drugs or something like that or that he has a medical condition like epilepsy. She is in even deeper denial than Toby.

But when he is kidnapped and taken to the same fighting complex that Reuben escaped from, he has to believe that he is a werewolf. Of course, he still has to convince his mother that not only is he a werewolf but that he is being helped, rescued and supported by vampires. That's a lot for one mother to believe.

At first I didn't care much for Toby. I thought he was a rather careless 13-year-old who was too easily led by his friend Fergus into doing thoughtless things. But I never doubted that he loved and respected his mother. As the story continued, Toby did mature and change. It took lots of very scary and dangerous activities to do it though.

I was also unhappy with Toby's mother. I think she carried her denial too far into the story. Her lack of trust in Toby was also a little grating. Her continual searching for a more rational explanation was probably very realistic though. And her love and support did work out in the end.

I think that this would appeal to adventure loving middle graders who want to read about a different kind of werewolf. Twilight fans wouldn't recognize these werewolves and vampires though.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 26 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars