Review – Unleashed (Wolf Spring Chronicles) by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

CONFUSED AND BEMUSED!

Title: Wolf Spring Chronicles- Unleashed (Book One)
Authors: Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie 
Genre: Young Adult – Paranormal
Publication: Corgi Books
Release Date: 2011
Pages: 383
Reviewer: Kelly

Blurb:

Who do you run with?

 It’s always tough being the new kid in town.

And even worse when you have to live with your grandfather in the middle of the forest. 

 But when Katelyn starts Wolf Springs High she realises that her new life might not be so bad.

There’s the enigmatic Trick, who is always there to protect her.

And Cordelia Fenner and her irresistible cousin seem extra friendly.

 Katelyn suspects that there is more to the Fenner family than meets the eye.

But why is she so drawn to them?

And in a town full of secrets, who can she trust?

Explanation:

Unleashed begins in Los Angeles where aspiring ballerina Katelyn is left orphaned after she loses her mother, her last remaining parent, in a tragic house fire. She is then shipped off to live with her grandfather Mordecai McBride in the tiny town of Wolf Springs in rural Arkansas. Her grandfather lives in an isolated cabin the woods, about thirty minutes from the centre of town. 

Katelyn begins at Wolf Springs High as the outsider, as this is a town where everyone knows everyone. Thankfully, her grandfather arranged for their neighbour, mysterious local boy Trick, to drive her to school each day. Trick helps to ease Katelyn’s first day jitters as he is in the same year as her at school.  She also makes a friend in Cordelia Fenner, who although is sometimes aloof, seems genuinely happy to have her for a friend.

As the weeks wear on Katelyn begins to notice that some things in town just don’t add up. Her grandfather is always out hunting at night. A new- age health retreat, focusing on unleashing your inner wolf, starts to get more popular in the woods outside of town. Then teenagers begin to go missing. Katelyn is oh-so-curious to find out what is going on, but she has been warned by her grandfather, Trick and Cordelia to stay inside after dark.

Opinion:

The book began slowly. The first half centred a lot on Katelyn’s inner turmoil regarding her mother’s death and moving to such an isolated town.  Though it did effectively use foreshadowing techniques to cover the secrets of the town and keep the reader wanting more!

Emotions were an important focus of this book. The main character’s feelings were made evident through the descriptive writing used, making the reader feel as if they were experiencing these same emotions. Certain events were so well written that it left me feeling emotions of despair, happiness and confusion all at the same time, along with the characters. 

In the centre of the book, a life changing event helped to develop momentum in the storyline and answered a lot of questions for the reader.  It also created a lot more questions as the story became rather convoluted. There were multiple plots with many hidden secrets.  The book concluded leaving me as reader feeling confused, bemused and frustrated! There wasn’t a lot of clarity about what exactly was going on. 

Summary:

The book was overall a frustrating read!  I would only read the sequel to hopefully help answer all the questions that left me puzzled at the end of the book.

Check out my review on Hot Blooded, Book #2 Wolf Chronicles by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie