Book Jacket:
At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack. Now fifteen, Bryn’s been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her. But the pack’s been keeping a secret, and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum’s direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no long matter. It’s Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.
Review:
I admit I’ve reached a saturation point with the werewolf/vampire genre – it takes a lot these days to keep me interested. I picked up Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes expecting, frankly, yet another mediocre attempt to cash in on the young adult post-Twilight supernatural romance craze. Happily this book proved me wrong, drawing me in from the first – but I still couldn’t help cynically noting that the first few chapters seemed to be regurgitating Patricia Briggs, especially in terms of the pack connections and rules. Still, I kept reading.
The main character, Brynn, is just too much fun – scrappy, snarky, and willing to stand up for what she believes in, despite being surrounded by people more powerful than she is. No helpless angsty protaganist here! And then I blinked and it was four hours later and the book was done, and I realized I was already looking forward to the sequel (Trial by Fire, coming summer 2011 ). The action is there, the characters breathe, the relationships ring true, and the emotional consequences of Bryn’s actions hit hard. As Brynn fights so hard to remain true to herself, you can’t help but love her.
Bottom line – this book is a find. Definitely pick this one up.
Byrt Grade: A
As Levar Burton used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it…
Raised by Wolves will go down a treat for those wanting a paranormal read with character depth and evolution. Bryn is a character to whom nothing comes easy and who chooses to fight in many ways throughout the story. She’s a protagonist that I really responded to and I feel in some respect this was Barnes’ rebuttal to Bella (if I may be so bold). A rip roaring read.
Werewolves may be the in thing right now, but not all supernatural teen novels are created equal. This is one of the good ones… I just really dig Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s writing style. It’s snappy and pithy. Bryn is so scrappy and snarky, I couldn’t help but like her from the very beginning.
Bookworming in the 21st Century says:
Bryn is one of those kick butt type of characters that really lives up to your expectations. She has a personality, an insane amount of resilience and the type of motivation and gumption that makes you go “WOW”. Take her, add a werewolf best friend who takes to breaking out in random showtunes (male mind you), a gun-toting werewolf girl friend who is up for all adventure, and of course, Chase – the werewolf Bryn connects with beyond anything you can imagine – and you’ve got some great character interactions…I liked this more than Shiver even – don’t kill me Shiver-lovers – but this had all the extra action I needed. Yes, the romance was a little set aside, but trust me – if it was unleashed it would definitely be in the adult section – you can just feel the passion between Bryn and Chase and it’s so animalistic and magical, but there’s more to their bond and it works. I won’t say much more than that. Read. This. Book.
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