Cry Wolf!

Cry Wolf!
by Sienna Mercer
Recommended Ages: !2+

Justin Packer has a secret kept so well, even his identical twin brother, Daniel, doesn't know about it. As a naturally athletic kid with a human mom and a werewolf dad, he's expected to wolf out on the first moon on or after his 13th birthday. He's looking forward to it, really. After all, the next day he's starting school at Pine Wood Junior High, and the football tryouts are right after school, and all the other boys on the offensive line are werewolves, too. It's part of what makes them hard to beat. Only ... when the moon rises that night, it isn't Justin who turns. And Daniel has no idea what's happening to him.

It's hard enough to be going through puberty, but "hair growth in unexpected places" isn't the half of it. Though one brother is into football and the other is trying to start a rock band, they have this much in common: when the girl they like is looking at them, they get tongue-tied. Only, in Daniel's case, his teeth and fingernails start to grow, his hands get hairy, and sometimes an uncontrollable howl escapes from his throat. He feels like a freak. Maybe you can relate.

The imagination that brought you "My Sister the Vampire" is at work again. In fact, there's even a character who moved from the town where all that middle school weirdness went down. And there's another gang of boys called the Beasts, only instead of lame-brained teenage Vampires, they're lupine (that means wolfen) jocks who hit hard on the field, munch extremely rare burgers and hear a lot of "Get a grip, cub" from their coach. So, while Daniel worries about whether his band's lead singer will figure out his secret, Justin just has to survive practices where his own teammates are scarier than the other side.

It's a cute, teen romance slash coping-with-the-changes-of-adolescence melodrama, with a strong dash of laughter and a goofy take on the paranormal. You'll probably roll your eyes a bit at the twins' cluelessness when it comes to talking to the opposite sex, but then reflect, how much better at it were you at their age? And as so often happens, you'll also wonder why everbody doesn't just tell the truth (for example, Justin to his teammates, Daniel to his bandmates, to say nothing of "louping" Daniel in on the family secret) but, I guess, things like being a werewolf probably are the sort of thing you'd keep under as tight a lid as possible.

It's book 1 of a quartet, which continues in Puppy Love!, Howl-oween! and Tail Spin. Don't forget to check out Sienna Mercer's sister/vampire series, which runs for 18 books and includes such titles as Stake Out! and Spooktacular!. And watch where you sling that garlic, or that silver necklace, or whatever. Some people might be allergic!