When a protective young man finds a vicious solution to his troubles, will he save his family or unleash a deadly nightmare?
Brady Bennett can’t shake his guilt. Blaming himself for his dad’s fatal hunting accident seven years prior, the eighteen-year-old doesn’t trust his cruel stepdad and worries for his twin sister. But his suffering takes a strange twist after fleeing into the woods from a nasty school bully, only to see his attacker get ripped to pieces by a savage beast.
Fearing no one will believe his wild story or that they’ll blame him for the boy’s death, Brady sets out to capture the murderous creature and use it for his own ends. And when the monster transforms back into a man desperate to stop the carnage, the teen promises to free him in exchange for one final gory deed.
Will Brady’s plot to take out his enemies spill the blood of innocents?
Assessment:
Plot: In My Pet Werewolf, Brady's world is turned upside down by the death of his father. As he tries to contend with his malignant stepfather and a belligerent school bully in the aftermath, he unwittingly becomes drawn into a bloody battle sparked by a chance encounter with a werewolf. Kaine's text begins as a sincere look at family dynamics following a tragic death before its horror elements take root.
Prose: Kaine is a solid storyteller with a knack for telling details, though the prose doesn't always capture the youthful voices of its characters, which may sometimes create a disconnect for readers.
Originality: Kaine uplifts the werewolf lore by creating an intriguing backstory for the story's central character; readers may ultimately engage more with the novel's central relationships than with the supernatural elements.
Character/Execution: The novel's primary strength is in its character development. A sometimes outlandish storyline can feel at odds with the more nuanced coming-of-age threads.
Date Submitted: August 08, 2023
