Review ~ Wolf Mark ~ Joseph Bruchac

Title: Wolf Mark

Author: Joseph Bruchac

Published: 15th September 2011

By: Lee and Low Books

Source: netgalley

First line: The mark is on the back of my left wrist.

Last Line: This is as close to a happy ending as I’m going to get.

Favourite Line: I feel like a guppy who’s been dropped into a shark tank.

Wolf Mark is a clever mix of the sci-fi, action adventure and genres. It tells the story of Luke who like any teenager is desperate to blend in with the rest of society but is clearly destined not to. Aside from the fact that he carries a strange wolf mark on his skin and often displays wolf-like tendencies he is highly skilled in survival techniques having been trained by his father who is a member of the black ops. While his family are still recovering from the loss of Luke’s mother, Luke seems to find himself being plagued by a group of Russian teenagers that have moved into the area. He also finds himself trying to pluck up the courage to ask out Meena, a young Pakistani girl who attends school with him and like a lot of teenage boys, struggling to do so!

The story really starts to take off when Luke’s father is kidnapped. After following a series of pre-planned clues Luke finds himself at Drake House, a deserted mansion where he discovers his ‘second skin’, that is the final element that will complete his transformation from human to skinwalker, a creature which possesses all the strengths of the wolf but also retains the abilities of a human to some degree.

It is also after his father is kidnapped that Luke discovers that he has more in common with the Russian kids at school than he first thought and that they actually have a common enemy in the multinational organisation, Maxico, who have taken up residence in their local community and who appear to be linked to the disappearance of Luke’s father. From this point on Bruchac creates an intricate web of corporate conspiracy, greed, and the desire for world domination which he ties to ancient folklore regarding the world of the skinwalker.

I like the intricate details that Bruchac includes in this story. Two things that particularly stand out are the way that he describes Luke’s transformation into the skinwalker which is nicely described and the information that he provides with regards to the folklore that surrounds the skinwalkers. I also liked the cultural discrepancies that he highlighted between Luke and Meena as they tried to forge a relationship. One thing I wasn’t really sure of at first was whether Luke knew he was a skinwalker and was just waiting for the right time to transform or whether he was just ignorant and experiencing wolf-like symptoms and I did find that a bit frustrating. I may have missed something in reading but I felt that further clarification might have helped. I also found the way that Luke spoke as a wolf irritating sometimes. Having said that the language that Bruchac uses is very descriptive and whilst there is some mushy stuff in this book it’s fairly minimal so I think that this may also appeal to the male YA reading faction more than other books might.

Rating: 3 out of 5. I would recommend this book for younger readers of the YA fiction genre or indeed those who enjoy the younger end of the range.

Stealing Phoenix~Blog Tour~Extract



Monday marks the start of the Stealing Phoenix UK Blog Tour and to start things off we have been sent an extract from the book.

We hope you enjoy it and be sure to get your hands on the book, it's brilliant, we loved it and you can read our review here.

Joss Stirling is a strong voice within the YA genre and we can't wait to read more!

Please take the time to visit all the blogs taking part in the tour for interviews, giveaways and more!

Extract:

Sit down, Phee.’

‘No, I have to go. You’ve got to let me go!’ I scrambled

round him to the door.

‘Xav!’ shouted Yves.

‘I’m there.’ His bloody brother was in the hallway blocking

the door.

Yves guarded the way through to the kitchen. ‘You’re not

going anywhere. I thought you understood that.’

I hung between them like a person stuck halfway down a

zip wire, dangling with no way of getting the motion to go on.

‘No, no, it’s you who doesn’t understand. He’ll hurt me.’

Yves held out a hand to me. ‘Phee, I won’t let anyone hurt

you.’

I stood poised for fl ight by the coffee table, my reflection in

the wall mirror telling me l looked like a demented pixie, hair

sticking out every which way. No wonder they weren’t taking

me seriously. ‘You don’t know the Seer. It’s not that simple. If

I hadn’t stolen the water from you today I’d be pretty much

dead—he’d made it so I couldn’t eat or drink until I did the

job. He . . . he does stuff to your mind, makes you obey. If he

catches me, he could tell me to murder you . . . or . . . or jump

off a bridge . . . and I’d do it, too.’

Yves fl inched, not so confident now that he had the answer

to everything. He looked to his brother, seeking reassurance.

‘I’ve told Vick to get back as soon as possible,’ Xav confirmed.

They were using telepathy, keeping me out of the loop.

‘Just stop it—how do you think I feel knowing you’re talking

behind my back!’ I grabbed a stack of magazines and chucked

them at Yves, fl ipping them like Frisbees.

‘Calm down. You’re free of him, Phee, this Seer person.

You’re staying with me.’ Batting away the missiles, Yves used a

soothing tone that right now only wound me up. This was not

the moment for being cool and reasonable!

‘Shove that: what about Tony?’ I threw a cushion at him.

Yves caught it. ‘Tony?’

‘My friend! You can’t keep him safe too, can you? If I’m not

back by nine then he’ll get so hurt and I promised—I promised

him I’d keep my side of the deal. Oh God, oh God.’ Strength

giving out, I folded in on myself and hunched in the doorway.

‘Xav?’ Yves rushed to me.

‘I’m on it.’ Xav placed a warm hand on my back and flooded

me with his sedative touch. ‘She’s exhausted and run down,

Yves. We’ve got to be very careful with her; she won’t be able

to take much more. She’s so strung out, more pressure could

make her snap.’

‘I’ve got to go back,’ I whispered.

We know it's a little mean to leave things there but we can't let you know everything just yet ;)

You can lean more about Joss Stirling and her books by visiting

http://jossstirling.com/

of following on twitter

@jossstirling

In My Mailbox #24


In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted every Sunday over at The Story Siren. A great meme which allows bloggers to share what they receive/buy/borrow each week.


Sorry I am a day late! Things are very busy at the moment for me with work and Sally is helping her son get ready for uni. I got a few books this week so thought I would post and then Sally will share her books with us on Sunday.

Bought:

Bloodlines~Richelle Mead~goodreads

Storm Glass~Maria V. Snyder~goodreads

For review:

This is not forgiveness~Celia Rees~goodreads

From netgalley:

  

  

Life Eternal~Yvonne Woon~goodreads

The Poison Diaries: Nightshade~Maryrose Wood~goodreads

Bite Me, Try Me and Fang Me~Parker Blue~goodreads

So thats what I got this week, now I'm off to see what you got :)