Book Review: The Change

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Change     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Lynne Hansen
Class/Genre:   Fiction   Horror   Young Adult   Juvenile   Werewolves
Series: Heritage of Horror # 2
Hard Shell, 2004

In 1874 Kansas, Hannah Gray and Daniel Drumm who are in love seek privacy in a corn field near a town dance when a giant wolf attacks them. In spite of Daniel’s heroic effort to save his beloved, the animal bites Hannah on the forearm before fleeing into the night.

Not long afterward, Hannah cannot sleep during the full moon, but soon finds her clothing full of blood. Already frightened, Malvinia the water witch scares her even further by informing Hannah that she is a werewolf. The only cure besides death is to cut off the paw of the Lupe Garoux that changed you. Desperate, Hannah hopes to return to 100% purebred human before she bites a friend.

This is an engaging historical werewolf tale whose ending will surprise readers though it should not. The story line hooks the audience from the moment that Hannah is bitten until the final climax. The transformation of Hannah from young in love teenager to werewolf is handled quite cleverly so that the reader accepts the conversion as genuine. The audience will taste the Great Prairie with its miles of cornfields as a decade after the Civil War comes vividly to life, but this is clearly a classic style horror tale that targets an appreciative early teenage audience.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner