Werewolf Rising

This is probably Ms. La Fevers best book to date! "Werewolf Rising" is the story of Luc, a young boy who is being raised by an uncle and aunt after the tragic death of his parents when he was quite small. Luc is on the verge of his 13th birthday, and suddenly his whole life starts to get weird! First he notices that his sense of smell is sharper and he is stronger. He punches out the school bully who has picked on him forever, and doesn't even realize he's hit him until the kid is on the ground! And he can run--fast! He even wins a race at school, something he has never done before! Luc's best friend can't figure it out, and neither can Luc. Instead of being happy for him his uncle, who has never been very kind in the first place, now begins to act extremely hostile towards Luc, who is confused and angered by it. Luc is also being haunted by a nightmare of a hideous monster that, when he confronts it in his dreams, turns out to be himself. Enter Ranger, a tall, dark, mysterious man who appears at their front door and literally swoops Luc up and takes him away to go live with his "pack". Luc discovers that he is actually a lycanthian, or werewolf, and that Ranger is his father's brother. He is shocked to discover that his father was a full-blooded shape-shifter and that Luc himself will take wolf-form for the first time on his 13th birthday. There is much to learn before he can do it successfully! Meanwhile, there are those who are afraid of his pack and want to destroy them because they think they are monsters. Luc must come to grips with not only a complete life-style change but also with the revelation that the death of his parents may not have been an accident after all. How he chooses to deal with this information will prove who is master, boy or beast... I was sucked into this book from the first page. Luc is a great hero--very real, "I can relate to this guy" sort of character. When he finally gets to be a wolf I wanted to be one too!! Unlike other werewolf stories, these werewolves aren't monsters--they are a community that is held together by their traditions and honor. Luc must learn about submission, loyalty, and truth if he is going to fit in with his new family. Definitely a "must own" book! You will want to read this one again and again!