Claire De Lune

Author: Christine Johnson
Publication Date: May 18, 2010
Genre: YA Paranormal
Copy provided by: Around the World Tours
Summary (via Goodreads):

Torn between two destinies?

Claire is having the perfect sixteenth birthday. Her pool party is a big success, and gorgeous Matthew keeps chatting and flirting with her as if she's the only girl there. But that night, she discovers something that takes away all sense of normalcy: she's a werewolf.

As Claire is initiated into the pack of female werewolves, she must deal not only with her changing identity, but also with a rogue werewolf who is putting everyone she knows in danger. Claire's new life threatens her blossoming romance with Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. Now burdened with a dark secret and pushing the boundaries of forbidden love, Claire is struggling to feel comfortable in either skin. With her lupine loyalty at odds with her human heart, she will make a choice that will change her forever?

Why I read this: The cover was eye catching and it was about werewolves.. need I say more? :)

Plot: Claire starts to have some weird changes on her 16th birthday. She's getting rashes and having all sorts of weird cravings... and her mom drops the bomb - they're both werewolves. Unfortunately, her new crush has a father who is trying to find the cure for werewolves and will stop at nothing to try and capture the lone werewolf who has been murdering humans near where Claire lives.

I like the idea of only women being werewolves - as we often see the opposite. The plot moved forward and there's a bit of mystery as to which werewolf is the one who is going around murdering these people. There's glimpses into the werewolf as she goes to slaughter the next person and that really set the mood of the book into a darker tone - which I really liked.

Characters: Claire doesn't really react well to being a werewolf. She hates the thought that people would think badly of her if they found out her secret. Claire starts to experiment behind her mother's back and also refuses to stop seeing Matthew. She consistently sneaks out when her mother is not around and tries to hone her changing to and from werewolf form. I really liked Claire - she seemed very much the modern teenager who wasn't used to her mother being around and from that she really showed some independent thought and action.

Matthew is not drool worthy, but he's a nice guy - cute and fun for Claire to be with. He can almost distract her from all of her problems when she's with him.

Claire's mother is very aloof, as are a lot of the werewolves - but they survive on instinct and are not reliant on human relationships. Thus the lack of a father figure in Claire's life.

Relatability: I definitely cannot see much of me in Claire, but I do know a lot of teenagers like her. She's very realistic and I appreciated that.

Cover commentary: Love it. It's so pretty. Definitely one I want on my shelf.

Rating: 5/5 Roses

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