Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Blood and Chocolate
Fiction
For ages 16 to 18
Laurel Leaf, 1999 ISBN: 978-0440226680
Vivian is still trying to come to terms with her father's death. He was killed when some humans burned down the inn Vivian and her people ran in West Virginia. One of her werewolf pack members killed a human and the whole pack paid a terrible price for this act of violence.
Now the pack is living in a Maryland suburb, and life in the city is causing problems. A group of five young males are out of control, and even Vivian's own mother is behaving in a way that makes Vivian feel embarrassed and angry. To try to hold their 'family' together the pack decides to have a contest of strength to pick a new leader. The trial is a bloody one and two of the pack die. However, and what is most startling of all, Vivian ends up becoming the highest ranking female in the group. This means that she will be expected to form a union with the male who won the trial, something that Vivian has no interest in doing.
Instead Vivian is in love with a human "meat-boy" called Aiden who writes powerful poetry and who is attracted to all things magical. Wanting to solidify her relationship with Aiden Vivian decides to do the one thing that all werewolves are not supposed to do – she decides to tell him about her dual life – with disastrous results.
This gritty story is sure to thrill readers who have an interest in stories about werewolves and other supernatural creatures. The author gets inside the mind of this girl who is both proud and unsure about her metamorph heritage. She is torn between the love that she feels for a human, and the fierce loyalty that she has for her pack. Because this story has a certain amount of mature language and scenes that are violent or sexual in nature, this book is best suited for older readers.
