SPOIL-FREE SUMMARY
Nat wants a dog more than anything, but he gets Woody, an awkward, silver dog of mixed heritage. And it turns out that he's not a dog after all but a Wolven.
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Nat is rather unsure of himself, but he slowly learns to care about Woody and risk his life for him. He pretty much keeps his head down earlier on, just trying to avoid trouble like bullies.
Woody is sometimes goofy and naive but he learns to trust Nat pretty fast. He is also rather brave. His arc mainly involves learning to go from boy to wolf in one smooth transition. As well as revealing another ability he has. He also has a crucial role in the climax.
Jude is Nat's mother. She is raising him alone while his father is gone. She is much more practical than her husband.
Mick is Nat's grandfather. He is rather blunt and has no trouble standing up for his grandson.
The Spaghetti brothers are a pair of brothers that are introduced more than halfway through the book. They were both turned into werewolves against their will.
Lucas Scale is the main antagonist of the story. He is hunting down Woody throughout the story.
Teddy is a bully that decides not to like Nat the moment he meets him. The reason isn't clear.
Iona serves as a teacher to Woody and Nat. She reveals Woody's origins and also seems fascinated with Nat's gift of dreaming.
Ophelia Tate is the wife of Alec Tate, the man who sold Woody to Nat. He knows more than he let on but Ophelia is the one who takes charge.
PACING
The pacing is fine. We start off right when we meet Woody the dog and not long after we meet the boy. And before that, there is a hint that Alec Tate knows more than he reveals.
We mostly stick to one story, Nat's, but we do get some scenes of action regarding who is after Woody.
Also, while a good portion of the story is spent learning about Woody and researching, there is a good amount of action in the story. Woody and Nat get attacked twice by two different groups of people. And the climax has a lot of action.
ALEC THE WIMP
I found it kind of annoying that Alec is rather selfish and wimpy. The fact that his wife has to bully him and protect him would be fine, if he developed. But other than making an important phone call, he doesn't do much of anything.
NAT'S DAD
We learn early on that Nat's dad has fled to France from the authorities. Turns out he always gets into trouble because he is too trusting or something. I didn't get the purpose of this whole story. At first, I thought it would add depth to Nat, but he dwells on his anger for only a moment before he forgets about it.
When we learn that Woody's clan might be in France, it made sense. That was where Woody and Nat would have to end up, in the sequel.
But I thought it was a wasted opportunity to create depth in Nat.
LATE IN THE GAME
Near the end of the book, we get introduced to new characters, and they play a key role in helping Nat and Woody. But I felt like I barely knew them. And I certainly didn't know them long enough to see any arc from helping the bad guys to helping the good guys. Also, they help another character in the epilogue but I was surprised that they were so kind. Again, I didn't feel like I knew them well.
TEDDY THE BULLY-SPOILERS
Turns out that Teddy gets turned into a werewolf. He isn't in the story too much after that, it just shows him apologize to Nat.
I wanted to know more about him, but perhaps that is saved for the sequel? It didn't seem that way, since it said he was going into hiding.
I think it would have been easy to insert a paragraph about his home life, perhaps hinting to his unhappy state and what led to his bad behavior.
USE OF HUMOR
There are some comedic elements, mostly from Woody. His lack of knowledge of anything other than from what he sees on television can make him entertaining at time. I thought the joke that Nat told him and he didn't get until later was sweet.
MEETING CRESCENT
While out with Woody, there is a concert going on and it turns out the singer can tell that Woody is special. She says its because she is too. She invites him to come with her but doesn't really have a big part in the story.
Although she says people are going to find out that Woody's not dead, and she thought he had been to Iona. So perhaps without her, Nat would never have remembered the sign he saw that had Iona's name and address on it.
NAT'S GIFT
Throughout the story, Nat has bad dreams and thanks to Iona, learns that they are more than dreams. They are partly real. We don't learn that much about him, but perhaps in the sequel we will. There is also an idea that Woody can give Nat energy that is hinted at, but not explained.
SPEECH MANNERS
Woody sometimes has an annoying way of talking. Often times he will pause when he speaks...and then add extra 'o's to certain words. I found it kind of distracting. But he doesn't do it all of the time. Just sometimes.
A FAMILY THAT FIGHTS TOGETHER-SPOILERS
Although Nat tries to share his suspicions about Woody with his family, he I shut down by his mother. This is a common occurrence in children's and YA fiction so I wasn't surprised.
Usually the parents are stupid or evil and the main character has to go it alone. But I was pleasantly surprised, not only did Nat's family discover that he was telling the truth, they took action and played a key part in the climax.
SCALE'S POINT OF VIEW
There is a scene where we get an explanation of what the villains of the story thought of what they were doing. It was actually interesting. A claim is made that they are creators, not destroyers. And that was their aim, even if lives were taken in the process.
CLIMAX
Woody and Nat are taken prisoner and have to figure out a way to escape. Jude, Mick and Ophelia come to the rescue and are aided by some surprising people. Nat ends up confronting the founder of the experiments.
CONCLUSION
Nat and Woody are likable characters, although character development isn't a big part of the story. The story itself is well paced and there is plenty of action. But many side characters have no backstory or depth at all. I give “Wolven” three stars.
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