Claire de lune by Christine Johnson (Review)

THE DETAILS:

Pages: 352

RRP: $16.99

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Recieved from Publisher

Release Date: July 2010

THE BLURB:

Hanover Falls hasn’t had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years. Seattle, Copenhagen, Osaka–they’ve had plenty of attacks. But when humans begin dying in Claire Benoit’s town, the panic spreads faster than a rumor at a pep rally. At Claire’s sixteenth birthday party, the gruesome killings are all anyone can talk about. But the big news in Claire’s mind is the fact that Matthew Engle–high-school soccer god and son of a world-renowned lycanthropy expert–notices her. And flirts with her. A lot.

That night, Claire learns that she is the latest in a long line of Benoit werewolves, and that contrary to popular belief, all werewolves are female. Killing humans is forbidden by the code of the pack, but a rogue werewolf has been breaking that law, threatening the existence of Claire’s new pack. As the pack struggles to find and fight the rogue werewolf and Claire struggles with her lupine identity, her heart and her loyalties are torn in two. Claire must keep her new life a secret from even her best friend–and especially from Matthew, whose father is leading the werewolf hunt…and with whom Claire is impossibly and undeniably falling head-over-paws in love.

THE REVIEW:

For me this book sits in the same boat as 'Evermore'. It was a brilliant paranormal romance and a quick fun read. It was like watching a teen movie. It wasn't as intelligent as some other YA stuff that i have read but for the time I spent reading it I think it was worth it.

The setting of this book is very interesting. The main character Claire lives in a town called Hanover Falls. So it's your typical Forks, Mystic Falls etc setting, but what gets interesting is that everyone knows about werewolves. In this town no one person doubts their existence. They even have a service called the FHPA that is in control of hunting the creatures and "curing" them. This was definitely different.

The characters in this novel were believable enough emotionally, but some of the relationships between them didn't feel like they were fully explained. Claire and Matthew's relationship for example seemed to be based on looks alone. It didn't seem like they had really known anything about each other otherwise, so that was a little bit superficial.

I think there were some great ideas and messages conveyed in 'Claire de lune'. A real monster isn't always what you expect it to be and I think the author showed that in more ways than one. Also sometimes secrets need to be kept. And you need to have proof before you accuse someone of being guilty. Among these ideologies, Johnson added a feminist edge to her story by creating strong female characters.

Overall, I think this book is worth 4 stars. It was really enjoyable and fun, but I think a little bit more expansion of detail and imagery would have done great things for this novel. If you are after a speedy entertaining read then this book is definitely for you.

NEXT IN THE SERIES:

2. Nocturne by Christine Johnson

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