Children's Literature - Kathleen Karr
Cremer's first novel stretches the current vogue in high school teen romance from vampires to werewolves. Granted it is not that much of a stretch, but it feels somehow healthier. It also helps that Cremer has dispensed with any problems of disbelief by simply invoking the "magic" word. Thus the seventeen-year-old-on-the-cusp-of eighteen heroine, Calla Tor, can whisk from attractive, fully clothed female to luxuriously furred, alpha wolf and pack leader in the blink of an eye. Back again, too, with nary a fear of mussed hair. But there is trouble afoot in Calla's home territory—Vail, Colorado, and its surrounding forested mountains. The trouble begins with the arrival of Shay—a human—into Calla's private Mountain School and life. Suddenly the were-world unfolds into its levels: the Guardians (Calla and her wolves-in-disguise family and friends), and the Keepers (the masters of the Guardians—all with highly developed perverse tastes.) And maybe scarier levels waiting in the wings? When Calla learns she must combine her pack with her male alpha rival Ren's, the joyous hunting runs in wolfish form change their tenor. Other issues appear, too: Can Calla love a human and keep her pack safe? What has she actually been guarding all these years? And what really happens on Blood Moon Night when the cusp turns and she becomes eighteen? Suffice it to say that Calla's first-person tale is a page turner and should have adolescent girls flocking for it in droves. And when they have consumed it? Never fear. Andrea Cremer has a sequel waiting in the wings. Reviewer: Kathleen Karr
School Library Journal
Gr 7–11—Calla, an alpha werewolf, breaks the rules of the Keepers and saves a human hiker from a bear. She returns him to his truck and never expects to see him again. The next day at school, the teacher introduces a new student named Shay. He instantly recognizes Calla and tries to talk to her. Although she is strongly attracted to him, Calla tries to ignore him. Since childhood, Calla has known that she will mate with Ren, an alpha from a rival pack, and they will create a new pack. Although she's undeniably attracted to Ren, she's angry that she's not in control of her future. Shay causes Calla to question the world as she knows it. In the first book (Philomel, 2010) in a projected trilogy, Andrew Cremer has created the classic love triangle with a werewolf twist and a new paranormal mythology with Guardians, Keepers, and Searchers. Rebecca Lowman's narration keeps pace with the fast-moving plot that is sure to appeal to fans of the paranormal.—Samantha Larsen Hastings, Riverton Library, South Riverton, UT
Kirkus Reviews
Teenage werewolves dominate an exclusive high school in Vail, Colo., in this supernatural thriller. Something else dominates the werewolves. Calla, the alpha female of the Nightshade pack, is scheduled to mate with Ren, the alpha male of the Bane pack. She develops divided loyalties, however, when Shay, a human she's assigned to protect, begins to fascinate her... This may be sounding familiar, and also recognizable is the novel's sexual tension: The mere touch of either Ren or Shay can drive Calla to uncontrollable, ultimate bliss, to the extent that her urges sometimes overpower the plot. The portrayal of the animal instincts and behavior of the wolf-teens rings true, however, and Cremer builds a compelling world, moving her plot forward with well-paced drive that easily holds readers' interest. On the surface, this is not much more than an imaginative B-grade paranormal-suspense story. The book's underlying themes of individualism and freedom, however, lift it to a higher level, and they will probably have a chance to play out in a sequel--one readers won't have to feel too guilty about looking forward to. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)
