Claire de Lune

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson (Simon and Schuster)

PB RRP $24.99

ISBN 978-141699182-3

Reviewed by Peta Biggin

Hanover Falls hasn’t had a werewolf problem in over one hundred years.  So, when people suddenly start dying, panic starts to spread.  At her sixteenth birthday, however, Claire Benoit is more focussed on the gorgeous Matthew Engle. That night, she discovers something that completely changes her life – she is a werewolf.  She must keep her secret at all costs; especially from Matthew whose father is leading the werewolf hunt. As Claire is initiated into the pack, she struggles to come to terms with her new identity. Additionally, she must help to identify the rogue werewolf responsible for the recent killings and decide just how far she is prepared to go for love.

Claire de Lune is a fast paced story by first-time novelist Christine Johnson. 

The teenage heroine, Claire, is a character that most teenage girls should easily relate to – a typical teenager who is preoccupied with parties, friends and boys. She reluctantly finds that she is part of a world about which she knows nothing; a world that forces her to distance herself from everything dear to her.

Discovering she is a werewolf also forces Claire into a closer association with her mother – a situation that is not initially successful. This was one aspect of the book that left me a little disappointed:  I found the tension between Claire and her mother rather flat and hard to believe.

The romantic interest of the story is the character Matthew Engle. The blossoming relationship is present from the first chapter and flows naturally throughout the story. It is a dangerous love for both of them particularly because Matthew’s father is bent on destroying all werewolves.

The book offers a different approach to werewolf lore: all the werewolves are female and it is something you are born into as opposed to being infected by a bite. While there are some flaws to these twists (for example how the purity of the werewolf bloodline is maintained since children are sired by human men) it does give the story a certain freshness.

Christine Johnson is an American writer and Claire de Lune is her first book. Anyone wishing to learn more can visit Christine’s website: http://www.christinejohnsonbooks.com/.