Photo Credit: Tower.com
Summary:
Calla is an alpha Guardian, a shape-shifting teenage girl who dutifully serves the Keepers, witches who rule her world. In her wolf form, she protects the area that belongs to her pack, the Nightshades. In her girl form, she’s a typical teenage student, except that she’s destined to marry another alpha at Samhain. One day, while on patrol, Calla witnesses a bear attack a human boy. She knows it’s forbidden, but she decides to save the boy, assuming she will never see him again and her secret will be safe. When the human boy shows up at her school with questioning eyes, Calla must figure out who he is and why he’s there. His presence causes her to question her sacred role as a Guardian and the truth of her pack’s past. As her relationship with the boy grows into something even she does not wholly comprehend, Samhain rapidly approaches, building tension as she prepares herself for her union and major changes within her pack. There is something dark that lies ahead for Calla, and regardless of where her romances lead her, she is about to uncover a truth that will change her life forever.
Comments:
This is pretty much what I thought it would be in regard to teen fiction. Calla is torn between two love interests, and of course there are extreme complications to each of them. The appeal of her alpha mate, Ren, is obvious, but I was less convinced by Shay, the human boy. I could not really understand why she liked him. He is kind, but that usually isn’t enough to get the attention of a female protagonist. The romance aspect of the novel is pretty weak. There’s next to no suspense and it’s difficult to relate to the characters. But I enjoyed the other concepts present in the book: the quest for truth, the self-discovery, the rebellion. Also, who doesn’t like a good wolf story? The scenes where Calla is a wolf are very well written, and I found myself waiting for her to shift just so I could be more interested in the story.
The Point:
The story seemed superficial in almost every aspect; there was no heart to it, no realism, but I liked some of the non-romantic concepts. I listened to an interview by Cremer where she hinted at the idea that Calla’s romance might be put on hold for a while, and this made me more interested in the next installment. Perhaps I’m a little jaded, but I think teen romances are over-rated (perhaps, too, I’m a bit biased since I’m not a teenager.) I did enjoy the pack dynamics and the magic involved in the story, though, so I’ll be checking out Wolfsbane when it comes out on July 26th!
UPDATE: Check out my review for the second book, Wolfsbane, here!
Tags: Andrea Cremer, Books, Fantasy, Fiction, Nightshade, Wolfsbane, Young Adult Fiction
Thank you for the well-written review!
I’m going to have to agree with you: all of the non-romantic aspects of the book sound like they make the book so much more enjoyable! I love a good story about shape-shifters too, and if they happen to transform into wolves? It just makes the story all the better! They give it potential; now if only the romantic triangles weren’t such a large part.. I feel like young adult fiction is becoming nothing more than lust-at-first sight, barely-fleshed-out romances with no real thought to make bringing the actual plot to the forefront. It’s very unfortunate that some teens are exposed nothing more than books like those.
I look forward to seeing what you think of the next book in the series though. I might read Nightshade when I get the chance. (: It sounds interesting!
I completely agree with your comment about barely-fleshed-out romances. Readers should feel engaged and intrigued, not bored and skeptical.
The last good romance I read was A Discovery of Witches. The romance developed at an extremely fast rate, but it was believable and I liked the dynamic between witch and vampire. My review is here if you’re interested: http://blackbirdbookreviews.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/a-discovery-of-witches-by-deborah-harkness/ (why haven’t I learned how to insert links in comments properly, you ask… Well, I am lazy.)
I will definitely review the next in the series; sometimes the second book is better and might add to the worth of the first book. (I feel this way about The Hunger Games… I’m infatuated with Catching Fire so far.)
Ohh… Thank you for the link to that review! I’ve added that to my list of books to keep an eye out for! Vampire and a witch… That sounds like a romance I’d love to read! As long as the romance is believable, I tend to enjoy it; if I can’t figure out why the romance happened (especially at a faste rate), that’s when I tend to put the book down and walk away.
I definitely think you’ll like A Discovery of Witches— and the best part is, it’s part of a trilogy. I just have no information on the second book except that it comes out in 2012.
I look forward to hearing what you think of it!
Oh, and the next book in the Nightshade series is out now, read, and reviewed: http://blackbirdbookreviews.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/wolfsbane-a-nightshade-novel-by-andrea-cremer/
I try very hard to avoid any spoilers in my reviews, but because this is the second book in a series, the review will give you a tiny, tiny bit of information about what happens in the first one. Just a heads-up.