Raised by WolvesAuthor: Jennifer Lynn BarnesPublisher: Egmont, 2010
Adopted by the Alpha of a werewolf pack after a rogue wolf brutally killed her parents right before her eyes, fifteen-year-old Bryn knows only pack life, and the rigid social hierarchy that controls it. That doesn't mean that she's averse to breaking a rule or two.
But when her curiosity gets the better of her and she discovers Chase, a new teen locked in a cage in her guardian's basement, and witnesses him turn into a wolf before her eyes, the horrific memories of her parents' murders return. Bryn becomes obsessed with getting her questions answered, and Chase is the only one who can provide the information she needs.
But in her drive to find the truth, will Bryn push too far beyond the constraints of the pack, forcing her to leave behind her friends, her family, and the identity that she's shaped?
My Review:
Bryn has been raised by wolves, but living with a pack of werewolves means submitting yourself to Pack Law. Well, not for Bryn. You see following the Alpha’s edicts, letting the other males treat her as weak for being female, submitting herself to others, and opening up her bond leaving all the innermost secrets of her mind for the Pack to see is not part of Bryn’s nature. Having to deal with all this since she was four, she’s grown up to be a badass chick that always goes against the odds – and the rules – and somehow manages to stay alive. What’s more amazing is that Bryn is human! And she is constantly setting herself up against werewolves, never thinking that she is less.
But Bryn is a special kind of human, she is a resilient, a survivor. Chase, a newly changed werewolf, is also one and together they manage to create a bond stronger than the Pack’s. A bond birthed from their need for freedom of the Pack’s strict rule. And this might be all sounding pretty darn romantic, but the romance in this novel is a mere passenger, not the driver. While there are intense moments between Chase and Bryn, it’s always about the bond and not any real romance between them. Bryn does like him, but she’s also conscious of the fact that they’ve only met a couple of times and don’t really know each other. So they might be constantly saying “mine” when referring to each other, but I just never felt anything romantic there.
So bonding with Chase was a big no-no and now Bryn gets beat (literally) because she broke Pack Law. And this is where it gets interesting, because its when Bryn finally rebels. She finally sees that Pack Law is not right at all, and she basically goes out and makes her own pack. We get Bryn, the human alpha. And that’s where I kind of got lost. The whole thing with people having “knacks” or unique powers, like seeing the future and anticipating things, to making others talk more than they had to, was a little bit weird. And I felt the end to be a bit anticlimactic, but still interesting enough.
Overall, I give this book a 3 and not a 4 only because of Bryn. As a character I loved her. She is strong, goes against the man, and comes out victorious. But the story lost me a bit in the “convincing” department. I'll probably read the sequel, but not right away.
Favorite Quotes:
“It didn’t matter if my ribs hurt. It didn’t matter if every time I blinked, I saw Sora’s fist coming toward my face. I needed a plan. I needed to be strong. So I just kept running, because come hell or high water, a girl couldn’t afford to be weak or human at a time like this.”
“Lake breathed out a happy sigh as she approached the row filled with guns.
‘Matilda was my first, but, ladies, you know how to make a girl want to stray,’ she said.
‘Lake could you please stop sweet-talking the weapons? It’s kind of freaking me out.’”
