Book Review: Weregirl by C.D. Bell

Synopsis: C. D. Bell’s WEREGIRL is a fast-paced teen thriller set in Tether, Michigan, a town on the brink of shutdown since it was stripped of its resources by corporate polluter Dutch Chemical. High school junior Nessa Kurland is a cross-country runner with her eyes set on one thing: a college scholarship as her one-way ticket out of Tether.

Talented teammate Cynthia Sinise invites Nessa on a nighttime run through Tether’s overgrown forest trails. But she speeds ahead, leaving Nessa alone to discover a trapped wolf. Nessa tries to free the animal but is badly bitten, seemingly ruining her hopes for a strong fall season with the cross-country team.

Instead, Nessa’s freakishly quick recovery is followed by improved running times. All her senses are heightened. Nessa has transformed.

She has become a werewolf.

TRB Review – 3.5/5

Weregirl is a feminist twist on a classic usually male-driven werewolf transformation story. It was dramatic, witty, and detailed – just not exactly my cup of tea.

A little bird told me that this was going to be better than the Twilight series, which I can happily say is true. It’s a much more feminist story with a very strong and determined female lead character. Unlike the gloomy and uninteresting Bella Swan, Nessa fights hard for what she believes in and although she is struggling through the story with her changes and adjusting to the new life that she’s be chosen for, she remains feisty and curious.

I unfortunately was not a fan of this author’s writing style. There were countless sentences where unnecessary information was added in parenthesis, I find this to be an overused and frankly loose form of writing that I have difficulty appreciating. This book is not necessarily dramatically high school level, but I would say that it is geared more so towards readers who appreciate or can relate to said age group’s maturity level and way of behaving. One thing that I did enjoy was the occasional pop of very expressive scenery and senses.

“She could hear the running of water, the music of wind in the trees. She could smell the heaviness of leaves turning to soil, the acidity given off the broken branch of a pine tree.” Weregirl, pg. 150

I was pleased that the author included more than just the expected teenage wolf drama. The side story of the town’s chemical exposure kept me intrigued, it was a buffer that was very welcome and moved the story farther along that just a normal “girl gets turned into a wolf and has to find her place in the world again” story. Overall, the story is well rounded and the characters are nicely developed. This was an uncorrected ARC, so it’s very possible that the grammatical issues I had were entirely based off this fact. Regardless, I was impressed with the multi-faceted story weaving that was done, and the fact that this wasn’t your average teenage angst werewolf tale. I’d suggest this to anyone that doesn’t mind a little high school drama and enjoys a good feminist lead character.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author’s publicist in exchange for an honest review.

About the author:

When she’s not biking the streets of Brooklyn, NY, you can find C. D. Bell writing in a decrepit RV clinging to the side of a hill in upstate New York, trying to teach herself to watercolor, or inventing her own recipes. She is a voracious reader of anything and everything fantasy, supernatural, or romance. And she swears that the monsters she often writes about are not real— at least she hopes not.