LitPick Review
Riley Callahan has always wanted to turn into a werewolf. Because Riley comes from a family of wolf magic, every kid turns into a wolf on the first full moon of summer between the ages of 9-12. Riley has always been eagerly waiting, but to her disappointment, at 12-years-old she still had not turned despite many of her friends (and her best friend Stacey) having already transitioned. However, since Riley is now 12, she knows she has to transition this year! Nothing can bring her down, even the possibility of transitioning the same year as her 9-year-old younger brother Milo. At the ceremony, the children began to hear the call of the wolves, but Riley doesn't. Four other 12-year-olds also don't turn, and they start to worry about what is happening. After all, 12 is the last year to turn! The adults of the community don't know what to do, especially as they have other problems to deal with. Two of the older wolf teens had their wolf stolen from them. Could the mythical Devouring Wolf be the one causing this? Or is there other black magic at play?
Opinion:
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. The author did a great job with the background of the "wolf community" explaining how they lived in Kansas and also sharing other facts about them. This made the wolf community seem more realistic, which in turn made the entire book seem more plausible. Another thing I enjoyed was how the author used the feelings and emotions of the characters to describe what was happening in specific scenes. For example, we saw a lot of fear-related emotions in Riley and her friends when they first didn't turn. This helped me understand what was going on in the story and overall made the story more meaningful. I also think the author did a great job with pacing in this story; no one part felt like it dragged on or was boring. Lastly, I liked the various representation in this book and how it included a lot of different types of people!
