Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Book Review: Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Claire de Lune (Claire de Lune, #1)Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


All Claire wants for her sixteenth birthday is a car, but what she gets is something she didn’t count on. In a world where werewolves are being hunted by the government and the communities, Claire finds out that she is a werewolf, destined to change at every full moon. Torn between the joy of discovering who she is as a wolf, and the struggle to be a normal teenage girl, Claire must find a way to keep her secret and her life. Meanwhile a rogue wolf makes that all the more difficult for her to do by killing local residents and creating a panic.

There have been a lot of werewolf, vampire, and other types of paranormal novels lately, and after a while they begin to blur into each other. While Claire de Lune is a werewolf story, there was much more to it. Unlike other novels with shapeshifters/werewolves, this novel focuses on Claire’s internal struggle to accept who she is. She longs to be a normal girl, and fall in love, but she doesn’t dare let down her guard for fear her secret will be revealed. I felt like she was constantly walking a tight rope, and found myself wondering when she was going to make a mistake that would give away her secret, a mistake that would be fatal. I loved how Johnson built tension this way and for me this kept the pages turning.


In addition to Claire having to deal with her new identity, we also have a community that is hunting for the wolves. After a series of brutal werewolf attacks, the tension mounts as everyone in the community hunts the werewolves. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, there is a werewolf predator with an agenda all her own.


Overall I would say I enjoyed this book, but have to admit that it might not be for everyone. There isn’t a lot of action until the end, and it is strikingly different than many of the werewolf novels out there right now in that particular aspect. It was a fun light read though, and I do enjoy Johnson’s writing. I look forward to reading what she writes in the future.


Cautions for Sensitive Readers: No sex, no foul language, some violence.





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