Unleashed

Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguié

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Publish Date: November 2011

Version: hardcover

Series: Wolf Springs Chronicles

Katelyn McBride was at home with her mother when there was an earthquake.  Because Katelyn had taken some medicine, she wasn’t as alert as normal.  Her mother ended up dying and that is something that haunts Katelyn.  Because of this, she has to move in with her only living relative: her paternal grandfather in Wolf Springs, Arkansas.  Katelyn isn’t happy about this move.  She wants to stay in sunny California with her best friend, Kimi Brandao.  She hasn’t had contact with her grandfather in a long time and doesn’t want to stay with him.

On the flight to Bentonville, Arkansas, she overhears someone talking about Jack Bronson and his seminars in which they talk about embracing the “wolf side of your nature.”  To Katelyn, this just brings back memories that she doesn’t want to think about.  When she lands in “Banjo Land,” as Kimi nicknamed it, Mordecai McBride, Katelyn’s grandfather, is late to pick her up.  Katelyn immediately dislikes her current situation, from her grandfather’s truck to his house.

Trick is the boy who her grandfather has arranged to give her a ride to school.  At school, she learns of a girl who was recently killed in the forest.  She is warned to not go into the forest alone.  On the way home, Trick and Katelyn (who was nicknamed Kat by Trick) hit a deer in Trick's car.  When Trick was taking the deer off the road, there appeared two wolves that scared Katelyn.  This was her first encounter with the wolves, but it wouldn’t be her last.  While studying with her friend, Cordelia, Katelyn learns more about the wolves.  During one of the studying sessions, she meets Cordelia’s cousins, Jesse and Justin.  Now she has a dilemma.  Not only has Justin had a steady girlfriend for the last five years, but he seems to have a spell over her when he is near.  Then there is Trick…  When she learns of another disappearance in the woods, things really start to get scary for her and makes her want to learn what is happening even more.

I liked this book.  It flowed nicely.  You really feel sorry for Katelyn in the beginning of the book because she feels as though her mother’s death was her fault.  Being the new person in a town of people who has been together for a long time is difficult.  Then there is the grandfather whom she hardly knows. I've read a lot of reviews where people haven't liked this book because of way Katelyn is portrayed, but I liked it.  You have to remember that she is a senior in high school and things that are important to her are different than what is important to other people.  I didn't find her behavior startling for someone who has been through the things that she has suffered.

Katelyn McBride’s life changed in an instant when her mother died. Uprooted from her California home, Katelyn was shipped to the middle of nowhere, Arkansas, to her only living relative, her grandfather. And now she has to start over in Wolf Springs, a tiny village in the Ozark Mountains. Like any small town, Wolf Springs has secrets. But the secrets hidden here are more sinister than Katelyn could ever imagine. It’s a town with a history that reaches back centuries, spans continents, and conceals terrifying truths. And Katelyn McBride is about to change everything.

Broken families, ageless grudges, forced alliances, and love that blooms in the darkest night—welcome to Wolf Springs.

• Katelyn.  Even though she is sure that she will not like it in Wolf Springs, she does find friends at school.  The disappearances of the kids spark her wanting to learn more about the history and the wolves.  Given all the facts, I do like her character.  She deals with what life has given her in the best way that she knows how.  I think things might have been different for her in the beginning if she had known her grandfather.

• Vladmir Sokolov aka Trick.  There are people in the school who do not like Trick and warn Katelyn to be careful around him.  He has his moments where he acts like a normal teenager, but for the most part, he is a gentleman who looks after Katelyn and goes above what her grandfather expects of him.

• Justin.  Justin is Cordelia's cousin.  Katelyn is enthralled with him when she first meets him and when she meets him thereafter.  She doesn’t understand why she is drawn to him.  In some instances in this book, I do not like Justin’s character.  It was a hard decision which side to put him on.  Even after everything that goes on (and I will not tell you what happens because it will spoil the ending), I still like him.

• Mordecai McBride, Katelyn’s grandfather.  As Katelyn’s only living relative, he takes her in because of a sense of duty.  At first, you can tell that this is just as awkward and difficult for him as it is for her.  He really wants to know her, and eventually warms up to her.  He really is not a bad person and you can tell he thinks that it is in Katelyn’s best interest to be around family.

• Cordelia.  Cordelia is Katelyn’s friend in school.  She is on Katelyn’s side when nobody else is and helps her through some troubling times.

• Codelia’s family, her father and two sisters, Arial and Regan.  They have an air about them that they are better than everyone else.  The way that they treat Cordelia and anyone she brings over, makes you like them even less.  I definitely do not like the way that things happen in this book regarding Cordelia’s family.  (Note: I do not include Jesse and Justin in this category.)

• Katelyn.  Yes, there are things that I don’t like about her.  I felt that it was important to put them where they belong.  I don’t like her judgmental attitude.   When she first gets to school, she judges everyone by their clothes.  In her mind, she is comparing these to that of her high school in California.  Also, Katelyn seems a bit whiny.  Yes, she is a teenager who is in high school, who was uprooted prior to her senior year to live with a relative that she has not seen in five years, who a lot of bad things have happened to, but throughout the book, she is whiny and self-centered.

• The way that everyone is secretive in this book and does not tell Katelyn what she needs to know to keep herself safe. 

The cover is what initially drew me to read the synopsis of the book. I admit that I do judge books by their covers. On the cover, there is a full moon and a girl, whom I presume to be Katelyn. The girl is holding her head back and someone is cradling her head.  I think that this cover is fitting for the book. After finishing the book, I can understand the cover a little more. I will say that there could be more of the story in the cover as ¾ or more has nothing to do with what is portrayed.  It has nice colors and I think the saying on the back is appropriate.