Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis

Summary:

Moonlight can totally change your life.

And it all starts so simply.

You. Him.

The moon.

You're toast.

Okay, so maybe Shelby has made a few mistakes with boys lately (how was she supposed to know Wes had "borrowed" that Porsche?). But her stepmother totally overreacts when she catches Shelby in a post-curfew kiss with a hot senior: Suddenly Shelby's summer plans are on the shelf, and she's being packed off to brat camp. It's good-bye, prom dress; hello, hiking boots.

Things start looking up, though, when Shelby meets fellow camper (and son of a rock star) Austin Bridges III. But soon she realizes there's more to Austin than crush material—his family has a dark secret, and he wants Shelby's help guarding it. Shelby knows that she really shouldn't be getting tangled up with another bad boy . . . but who is she to turn her back on a guy in need, especially such a good-looking one? One thing's for sure: That pesky full moon is about to get her into trouble all over again.

Review:

When I received this in the mail a couple of weeks ago, I was so excited. Since, I'm loving the whole uprising of "werewolves" in YA. Plus, I adored the cover and I still do, it's just that classic pretty. Sadly enough, Never Cry Werewolf, wasn't as fantastic as I expected it to be.

First off, the characters for the most part were not fully developed and semi bland. Shelby was the classic "my mom died and I can't stand my new step-mom, so I'm going to do everything to annoy the crap out of her" girl which got on my nerves at times. Also, I couldn't stand how she constantly got herself in huge trouble for Austin, especially in the situation that happens in the first couple of chapters. Seriously, for most of the book, she didn't even know him that well and to top things off she had a feeling there was something not right about him. But, yet, she always came to his beck and call when he needed her help. Though, during the end of the book, I came to a good place with her, were I didn't quite love her but at the same time didn't full out hate Shelby. Since, I began to take in her reasoning for acting the way she does and I started to understand her love for Austin even if he wasn't the most normal guy out there. Austin though was a character that I did enjoy reading about even with his faults. I felt mostly sorry for him, because of how he had to always keep part of himself hidden from the real world. Also, towards, the end I really liked how he began to come up with ideas that would effect Shelby in a good way, instead of a bad one. The other characters, such as Ariel and Prince, were ones I liked but didn't always have enough appearances as I wanted them too.

The plot was interesting, but there wasn't enough build-up, suspense, or mystery until the end. For instance, you basically knew that Austin was a werewolf from the start. Leaving no suspense to when you officially knew yes, he was a werewolf. Plus, for most of the book, some of the situations were drawn out in a unnecessary way, which left them to be boring, not exciting as they should have been. Lastly, the whole story didn't begin to get the feeling of excitement until the end and when you finally were happy to find out what happened next, the story just ended.

Overall, while Never Cry Werewolf has an interesting premise, it wasn't executed in a way that brought excitement or mystery. Leaving me to suggest that you pick this up at the library when it's released or what for the paperback. Since, it's not fully worth the $16.99 price tag.

Though, I would like to say, that even with the problems this novel had, I still will continue to read Heather's books. Since, I have a feeling that she has talent that will better as time goes on and more books are written.

Grade: C

Never Cry Werewolf will be released September 1st, 2009.

*Much thanks to MB at Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book! :)