Ah, yes, a school dance, the perfect place for shy boys and girls in their early teens. The perfect place for bullies to try to humiliate you in front of the school and give you great memories about it.

Cool right? Oh yeah, but if you think that you will be relaxed for long then you’ll be mistaken, because the book takes a sharp turn to the thrilling scenes of danger and investigation of what can possibly be murder.

Edo Van Belkom, the author, is excellent when it comes to creating problems and keeping your attention in one of them while developing others in the background for you to worry later on, so be assured that this novel will keep you on the balls of your feet leaning into these pages.

Some of these problems are clearly not to be solved in this book, yet they have teeth, and we get a feeling that things will only get worse by then for everybody, as more werewolves are being created by the attempt of doing good, and Nature has its laws set for survival, and revenge.

This book is a perfect read for teens! It’s light, exciting, full of mystery and has good amounts of action and tension without being super intense. The relatability is off the hook as it has most of the archetypes that possible readers in this age group will relate, along with their troubles and dilemmas of acceptance, roles in leadership when it comes to their groups and a sense of belonging.

The overall language of the book is light, moderate, even if the pace at times isn’t, there are no hints of sex or lewd things, (there’s only hints of nakedness in a general sense for specific purposes, nothing at all descriptive), and there’s only, from what we could read and capture, one instance of a cuss word, “bitch”, being used, but it was used to refer to an insult relating to dog/canine, as you will see. So, if you are a concerned parent, or someone looking a for a light read, and fast read without profanities for your teens then Cry Wolf by Edo Van Belkom is a great choice.

The images that Edo Van Belkom creates are repulsive at times, which adds to the book. The author gets deep and nails the attitude of vicious teens looking for revenge and outright destruction, as secrets are about to be revealed and lives put in danger in several ways.

Ok, Cry Wolf is great and even though it’s not the first book in the Wolf Pack Series, you can read it like it was a standalone and enjoy it just fine.

Yes, the main characters are teens, yet, there are adult characters that you will be able to relate. One of these characters, that is quite “charming” in his own way is Phellan, a lone werewolf that is friends with the main characters. Phellan makes a strong contrast with the, at times naïve, main characters acting like a teacher of sorts. Phellan elucidates the teens about the wild side of nature and its laws that many of us forget. He also has a super weird sense of humor and a playfulness that you will grow to appreciate. Great read.

Through the trills and dangers in the book, you are hit with lots of humor, be it ingenuous, sarcastic or “phytonish”, and this will only enhance your reading experience.

The dilemma of going off in as a pack without a leader, and having to fight other wolves without the strength and the brains of the operations and then solve everything by yourselves for the first time. A bad situation to be in, for sure, and this shows how underappreciated a leader is, and what should we men strive to be in times of peril. For teens, this will be a good read to open up their eyes about certain situations of life and the duties of being in the so coveted leader’s roll, and how, many times, you don’t need to be the leader to be useful and needed in the team.

Although short, you will be surprised by how good this book is and what a great job Edo Van Belkom did with it in all senses. He succeeded in sending a message in aspects like the right thing to do, how to treat people, how to be Noble (pun intended), and a very important thing is hinted here: the need to, at times, be gray with morals and bend the truth just enough so it is better received.

I loved how Cry Wolf ended, those last scenes were the icing atop of the cake as they not only wrapped up the book nicely, but made us want to read the next book in the series right away, as it promises to be much better and terrifying than this was.

Cry Wolf by Edo Van Belkom is a great reminder of how much different we are from other animals, and yet, how much we are alike them in many contexts, bound to Nature and submissive to its merciless rules, no matter how much we try to bend them. Great read all the way around.

If you are looking for a paranormal light read involving teens, fangs and morals that will leave you smiling and ready for the next book, Cry wolf by Edo Van Belkom is the one for you. Grab your copy and tell a friend.

Pros:

• Great narrative. Light, yet that brought the tension forward when needed
• Great sense of humour on the plot, characters and dialogues
• Dilemmas both physical and emotional
• Relatable characters in relatable situations, although they were werewolves, lol
• Great ending that promises an exciting follow-up

Cons:

• None

Lesson of the book: Nature has its ways, and its way is supreme.

Cover score: 8.1/10

Book Score: 8.6/10

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