Vesper
Jeff Sampson
Balzer + Bray
January 25th 2011
Young Adult | Paranormal
Werewolf
Official Blurb -
Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.
The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?
As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?
This is a very different take on the whole werewolf story. No typical full moon or savage bite. In fact we know only snippets of the origination of this particular bunch of werewolves. I suppose this story is more of a science fiction version of werewolves. Even the onset of the transformation is really strange. Not sure if that is because our main character has a split personality disorder or if it is something else. Even the "romantic interest" which is a term I use very lightly is not typical. He is short and a nerd. The best thing that can be said about him is he supposedly possesses a sense of humor.
Emily was an interesting character. She is so very quite and shy. Here view of herself and how others perceive her is extreme. I liked her lifestyle and her father. It is too bad they don't hang out like they used to. Nighttime Emily is highly unstable. There is a fine line between confidence and cocky stupidity. She is definitely on the latter. It is amazing she didn't get in more trouble than she did. Wolf Emily wasn't highly intelligent either. Driven by smell more than brain isn't always the best idea. So sometimes with all her changes is was really hard to get to like her.
In the beginning I was pleasantly surprised by this story. While it was different it was still entertaining. I really wanted to figure out just what was going on. But as the book began to close it seemed that there just wasn't enough character development. I didn't feel highly invested in the characters and their future. I ended up feeling a bit lost when the last chapter occurs. I think a sizable gap of time has passed between the last two chapters. So many things must have happened to form alliances and confidence. Perhaps much of this is explained or expounded in the second book.
I liked the book but just felt that a bit more explanation or insight would have helped it be a bit better.
Emily was an interesting character. She is so very quite and shy. Here view of herself and how others perceive her is extreme. I liked her lifestyle and her father. It is too bad they don't hang out like they used to. Nighttime Emily is highly unstable. There is a fine line between confidence and cocky stupidity. She is definitely on the latter. It is amazing she didn't get in more trouble than she did. Wolf Emily wasn't highly intelligent either. Driven by smell more than brain isn't always the best idea. So sometimes with all her changes is was really hard to get to like her.
In the beginning I was pleasantly surprised by this story. While it was different it was still entertaining. I really wanted to figure out just what was going on. But as the book began to close it seemed that there just wasn't enough character development. I didn't feel highly invested in the characters and their future. I ended up feeling a bit lost when the last chapter occurs. I think a sizable gap of time has passed between the last two chapters. So many things must have happened to form alliances and confidence. Perhaps much of this is explained or expounded in the second book.
I liked the book but just felt that a bit more explanation or insight would have helped it be a bit better.
Content:
Violence: Moderate
Violence: Moderate
