Unleashed
by Kristopher Reisz
by Kristopher Reisz
UNLEASHED by Kristopher Reisz Category: Paranormal Age Recommendation: Grades 9+ Release Date: 2/19/08 Publisher: Simon Pulse Reviewed by: Lynn Crow Rating: 5 Stars Daniel Morning has a beautiful girlfriend, an early acceptance to Cornell, and the world at his fingertips. So why does he feel so trapped? When he gets to know Misty and her friends, he realizes how much freedom lies beyond the rules and restrictions set down by his parents and teachers. Misty's group is a pack in the most literal sense of the word. At night they eat a mushroom sacred to the god of decay, and shape-shift into wolves to prowl the streets and mark their territory. At first disturbed and disbelieving, Daniel finds himself sucked into this shadow world of magic and defiance. His grades slip and his girlfriend ditches him for another guy, but with Misty, he doesn't care. Still, he can't bring himself to tell her the truth--that despite their connection, he's planning on leaving come fall. But then the pack's activities cross over the line between conscious rebellion and wild destructive abandon, and Daniel realizes he has to make a choice: between Cornell and Misty, between safety and freedom, and between the perfect life he used to have and all the lives that now stand to be lost. Kristopher Reisz's UNLEASHED has one of the most unique takes on an established mythology that I've ever seen. Its twist on the werewolf tales will keep readers guessing right until the end. Daniel is not always likable, but his motivations are easy to understand, and his growth throughout the story is well-developed. The descriptions of shape-shifting and being wolves are so vivid readers will wish they could experience it for themselves. It's an intense, can't-put-it-down read that will have readers turning pages long after they should be asleep. Highly recommended to all fans of urban fantasy and the supernatural. |