Friday 28 January 2011

Claire De Lune by Christine Johnson


(If you came here looking for Friday's Tale of Mystery, I didn't get to read it this week. I feel like I have been a chauffeur all week, so apologies. It will be back next Friday)


Pages – 336
Published in 2010 by Simon &Schuster
She killed him in the darkest part of the night, before the dew had settled on the grass.
It was easy. He came to the window when she'd tapped her claws against it. It was exactly what she'd hoped he would do. Sliding up the square of the glass. Sticking his head out to investigate. Like an idiot. Like prey.

Claire Benoit is about to get the biggest birthday surprise ever. All she wants to do is get to know the gorgeous Matthew Engle at her party, but with everyone talking about the gruesome murders and mass hysteria rippling through the town, it doesn't look like that is going to happen. She tries to enjoy her sixteenth birthday party, but that is brought to an abrupt end by a werewolf sighting in the woods surrounding her house. You would think that that would be enough for one evening, but then her mother tells her she is a wolf.

Before I start, I have to mention the cover of this book. It is just gorgeous, don't you think,  I can almost imagine the cover pumping like a real heart.

To begin with I did have issues with the storyline. I struggled with it mainly because of my dislike of Claire's mother. However, I found this book improved for me the further I read on. To begin with I couldn't understand how anyone could just drop a life changing secret on a hormonal girl's shoulders and just expect her to get on with it. On reflection now, I can see that she struggled with her relationship with her daughter and needed to work on it as part of the plot development. I couldn't see how Christine Johnson could have written the character any other way. In other words, I got over my personal issues.

I found the book quite fast paced, where other reviewers didn't. The identity of the killer wolf was not obvious to me at all, until she was revealed at the end and what an ending it was.Well done to Christine Johnson for hiding the killer's identity within the plot until the last minute.

I loved the fact that the wolf role was in reversal in this book. All the other books dealing with wolves that I have read have dealt with the wolves being male, where as in this book they are all female. They are shown to exhibit their strength of character as well as their vulnerability.

I loved the way Claire developed through the book. She became really gutsy by the end and was willing to risk what her elders wouldn't. She showed real strength of character.

I loved the relationship between Matthew and Claire. Matthew's reaction was spot one when he discovered Claire's real identity. He had been brought up to hate wolves by his father, yet he had seen the captured wolf's vulnerability. I would say that this book gives us a more in depth look at the lifestyle of a wolf, than we haven't seen previously and I found that interesting too.

On the whole, an enjoyable read giving this genre a fresh outlook with the female wolves.

9 comments:

  1. Not a book I can see myself reading any time soon but I agree with you about the cover, it is so simple and yet so beautiful.

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  2. The cover really is stunning! And I'm glad the book turned out to be a good read despite the problems it gave you at first.

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  3. Wow this sounds really interesting and I agree, really cool cover!

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  4. Wolves, wow! I've never read anything like this book. Glad you enjoyed it, Vivienne. Happy weekend!

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  5. Probably not a book for me, but wow!!! that cover is soooo freakin' cool! And I do think I'll mention this one to my daughter--sounds like something she would probably love!

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  6. Such a simple yet beautiful cover :) I like that some things are a bit new in this one

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  7. It does sound like an interesting take on werewolves. and the cover is really nice.
    Great review ;)

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  8. I love a good werewolf story ... much more than I do a vampire one. I absolutely adore the cover - it's gorgeous. This'll be another one to add to the wishlist. :D

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  9. There've been so many mixed reviews of this one, but I still really want to read it! It sounds interesting and I do like that cover.

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