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Immortal Lycanthropes

by Hal Johnson (Goodreads Author), Teagan White (Illustrator)

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 80 ratings · 30 reviews

“A shameful fact about humanity is that some people can be so ugly that no one will be friends with them. It is shameful that humans can be so cruel, and it is shameful that humans can be so ugly.”

So begins the incredible story of Myron Horowitz, a disfigured thirteen-year-old just trying to fit in at his Pennsylvania school. When a fight with a bully leaves him unconsciou...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published September 4th 2012 by Clarion Books

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September 2012 YA Fiction

5th out of 111 books — 84 voters

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Jan 21, 2013 Barbara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: animals, bullies, community, death, families, fantasy, friendship, multiple-narrators, ncbla2013, mysteries, school, travel, science-fiction

Difficult to categorize or to explain, this book begins with an observation on the cruelty of humans toward anyone who is considered too ugly. Myron Horowitz, 13, is horribly disfigured, and most of those who meet him cannot bare to look at his face. When I first began reading the book, I thought that it would essentially be a book about bullying since Myron, not surprisingly, is picked on by others at his Pennsylvania school. But before I could settle down to read with that theme in mind, the a...more

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Oct 30, 2012 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: adventure, young-adult

This is essentially an adventure tale, which makes sense because the narrator writes adventure books, some of which the protagonist, Myron, has read and which help him survive.

I could see some of the teenage boys I know really getting into this. The story moves and moves, not everything makes a lot of sense and you just kind of have to accept it and go with the flow. Personally, I kept reading to see what Myron was. The end gave me an internal chuckle. I thought, "Well, that was interesting," as...more

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Jul 20, 2012 Kyle Warren rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: new-voices-2012, 2012

I'd like to start by noting that this is by far the best YA book I've read in some time. I haven't gotten this completely ensconced in the world of a YA book's narrative since first reading the Gone series (not that there is anything similar about the two). Maybe it has something to do with my deep love for anthropomorphized animals in literature (Watership Down, the Redwall series) and also the fact that I ate and breathed Animorphs growing up (I largely contribute my deep, extreme love for rea...more I'd like to start by noting that this is by far the best YA book I've read in some time. I haven't gotten this completely ensconced in the world of a YA book's narrative since first reading the Gone series (not that there is anything similar about the two). Maybe it has something to do with my deep love for anthropomorphized animals in literature (Watership Down, the Redwall series) and also the fact that I ate and breathed Animorphs growing up (I largely contribute my deep, extreme love for reading and writing on that series).

The narrative itself is completely unique, because the narrator, Arthur (just one of his names), is relaying events as were told to him, and although there seems like a big emotional distance between himself and Myron Horowitz, our hero, there is truly deep concern and love. Not that this in itself is unique - many novels are narrated as a retelling of events - but Arthur tells the story with a sense of disgusted vigor, with sardonic humor and mysterious, unsettling wit - which at first gave me pause - but you will see if you read it that the story could not have been dictated any other way based on the things that happen and what Myron goes through. Arthur is truly one of the only people that actually cares what happens to Myron, so his narrative anger stems the tragedy and injustice that befalls him.

This isn't just some book about humans that turn into animals and that are also immortal. These are animals that through eons and millennia began to discover that they, in fact, could turn human. When I learned this, it completely changed my perspective of the book, and was actually my first instance of loving it. The general idea (if that is possible) is that Myron is one of these "immortal lycanthropes", essential a "were-animal". The lycanthropes learn to possess a human form of their own and live through their years without ever aging as either animal or human. They have basically paved the contemporary world as we know it, taking part in almost every historical event we can fathom.

The history and lore of the lycanthropes is fascinating and engaging. We are given so many names, and groups of people, without ever learning much about them. Arthur remains a distant narrator even though he is a part of this world - because to him all this information is known and understood. Even Myron never gets fully explained details on everything he is doing, everyone he meets, and, frankly, what the hell is going on. Some readers might need those things, but I didn't. The loosely described history painted an extraordinarily complex and intriguing mosaic of this world, whether it be focusing on the Nine Unknown Men (still not known), the Rosicrucians, Dantaghata and the Pashupatastra, the illustrious hat-wearing Illuminati, the Central Anarchist Council, the Society of the Nights of Eternal Levity, the Carbonari, the Brotherhood of Moloch, etc. We get enough to understand it within the context of the story, which is all that was meant to be given. Most YA books would go into stupid, unnecessary detail about EVERYTHING, which I think steals away from the magic of the story. Not everything needs or warrants an explanation, and why would Arthur, who has lived for thousands and thousands of years, care to reiterate all that he already knows?

The novel is almost closer to being of an adult genre, but I think that could be because I simply have never read any YA that is so profoundly interesting. There are no vampires, or werewolves, or stupid love triangles (no love storyline at all, for that matter) or cliches involving plot direction. Everything you think might happen won't. If you can even fathom coming up with possibilities. I had no idea what would happen in each coming paragraph and that was thrilling. All normal narrative convention was thrown away from the get-go. I honestly think this book would sell better with lovers of CS Lewis and Tolkien and other writers of high fantasy. Much in the same way that Lev Grossman's The Magicians reinvented the magic-fantasy paradigm by stripping the false whimsy in boy-gets-transported-to-magic-lands-to-train-to-become-a-wizard type storytelling, Immortal Lycanthropes reimagines the animal-human-fantasy genre, and may create a pretext for such storytelling to come.

So, all in all, absolutely fantastic. I want to say that I wish there was a sequel to come, but I severely doubt that possibility; plus, I think it would take away from the essence of the story to have a follow up. There doesn't need to be one. But if Hal Johnson writes another book I'll read it in a heartbeat.(less)

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Aug 24, 2012 Jenifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a copy of my review posted on www.underagraysky.com

If you take Roald Dahl's James & the Giant Peach, Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass, and Dan Brown's DaVinci Code and combine them all together into one book, then you'll have an idea of what Immortal Lycanthropes is like to read. It was a definite wild ride. I don't think I've ever read anything quite like this book (well, maybe The Night Circus, but I didn't really like that book).

Amazon has...more

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Nov 02, 2012 Brandi rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: high schoolers, especially boys

Recommended to Brandi by: recieved the ARC from the publisher

Shelves: boy, mythology, ya

Review can also be found on Booksource.com

Readers are led to believe that Myron is 13, but small for his age. His face is horribly disfigured by an accident, which he does not remember, nor anything of his life before. Because of his deformed features, Myron has a severe bullying problem. One of the bullies gives him an injury that should be fatal. Because he recovers with supernatural speed, Myron suspects he isn’t an ordinary child. No one, not even Myron himself, knows what he is until the v...more Review can also be found on Booksource.com

Readers are led to believe that Myron is 13, but small for his age. His face is horribly disfigured by an accident, which he does not remember, nor anything of his life before. Because of his deformed features, Myron has a severe bullying problem. One of the bullies gives him an injury that should be fatal. Because he recovers with supernatural speed, Myron suspects he isn’t an ordinary child. No one, not even Myron himself, knows what he is until the very end.
Every species of mammal has a single member who is immortal. Through the centuries, these immortals have learned to shift into human form. This is how the immortals discover each other, and that they can only be killed by the teeth or claws of another immortal being. Because of the mystery behind Myron’s original form, he is seen as the biggest threat and the immortal lion becomes fixated on eliminating him.
Though often brutal, it is also quite hilarious—sometimes both at once. Arthur, the immortal binturong and friend to Myron, is the snarky and often abrasive narrator of this story. He is very well spoken, and his occasional use of more challenging vocabulary will stimulate readers. Some very obscure mammals make appearances. Groups of legendary long-lived/immortal humans are also involved, such as the Illuminati and the Rosicrucians. Many characters claim to be directly involved with major events, mythology, and literature throughout history. These snippets are so interesting, that many readers may research these topics on their own.
All immortal lycanthropes are sterile. Readers burnt-out on love triangles will find the lack of a love story refreshing. Fans of The Hunger Games and Animorphs will find much to enjoy within these pages. Discussions of the subjective nature of right and wrong will inevitably take place if being read by a group of students. The fate of the bullies (which is vague and horrible) should also be talked about, though only a brief part of the story. This is a tale with depth, and will cause students to think about it for long after they have finished the last page and discovered what Myron truly is.
(less)

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May 03, 2013 Summer Fenwick marked it as lost-interest-in

The title alone makes me not want to read this book.

Lycanthropy is the professed ability or power of a human being to transform into a wolf, or to gain wolf-like characteristics. (Not to be confused with shape-shifting.) The term comes from Greek λυκάνθρωπος lykànthropos "werewolf" (a compound of λύκος lykos "wolf" and άνθρωπος ànthrōpos "human") - while this is an easy mistake to make (as lycanthropy is becoming a more and more popular term to mean 'animal shapeshifter'), it is still unforgivab...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm so confused by this book. The story concept wasn't bad, and the writing wasn't awful... but there was just something a little off. I think the jumps and constant movement between character groups made it difficult to really sink into any kind of satisfying storyline. This author could have created stronger transitions, and spent a little more time with some of the characters to give the book more depth. I should mention, as a side note, the graphic design of this book is really gorgeous.

In s...more

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Aug 24, 2012 Ally rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: netgalley, young-adult, kindle, debuts, fiction, funnies, fantasy

So here's something I didn't expect this book to be: hysterically funny. Myron is a horribly disfigured teenager whose life is turned upside down by the sudden knowledge that he's an immortal lycanthrope--a were-mammal who can turn back and forth from human. Except that Myron has no memories before his horrible accident five years ago. He doesn't think he's really terribly immortal, and he certainly doesn't know what animal he is. This is the story of his journey across the US, meeting various c...more

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Sep 10, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: review, i-own

Immortal Lycanthropes. Just from the title I knew I had to give this book a try. From the synopsis, the story sounded even more interested. The cover is gorgeous and after I received my review copy from the publisher, I was in love with all of the beautiful illustrations inside. Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the story, I wasn't in love with it.

Our narrator is named Arthur. He himself is actually involved very little in the story, other than the telling of it. The story follows Myron Horowitz,...more Immortal Lycanthropes. Just from the title I knew I had to give this book a try. From the synopsis, the story sounded even more interested. The cover is gorgeous and after I received my review copy from the publisher, I was in love with all of the beautiful illustrations inside. Unfortunately, while I did enjoy the story, I wasn't in love with it.

Our narrator is named Arthur. He himself is actually involved very little in the story, other than the telling of it. The story follows Myron Horowitz, who is a very disfigured little boy. He is 13 but he looks about 8. He doesn't age and never will. Why? Because Myron is an Immortal Lycanthrope. Which means he is an animal who can take human form and live with people if he wants to, plus he's immortal and thousands of years old. The only thing is, he has no recollection of his past, he woke up hurt and can't remember anything, before Arthur shows up he just thinks he's a boy. So of course he has no idea what type of animal he is. He does learn that his scars are from the Lion and that this Lion would like nothing better than to hunt Myron down and kill him. The only thing that can kill him is another Immortal Lycanthrope. So Myron's adventures begin.

There is quite a large cast of characters throughout the book, I actually found it somewhat confusing to keep up. Then the story was hoping about all over the place since our narrators train of thought isn't always straight to the point. That was the one thing I found annoying. He would be going on about something, then all of a sudden he would talk about something else and then go back to the first topic. I have a hard time following along when I'm constantly putting my book down to chase my daughter, so that might not be an issue for someone else. Another thing I wasn't really a fan of was how at one point, Myron gets it into his head that he's the "Chosen One". Chosen One of what, I wasn't really ever sure, nobody else was either, they just kind of went along with it.

One thing I did like was that Myron's animal form isn't known until the very last chapter, therefore I was trying to figure it out the whole time. There is only one Immortal Lycanthrope for each species. So basically I was just eliminating the ones I knew he wasn't. I can say that I was not at all expecting what he was. It was a huge surprise and it wasn't even on my list of maybes. Another thing is that even though Arthur's narration is a bit all over the place, he has a great sense of humour, so there are quite a few laughs throughout.

Overall, it's a good story, if a little confusing at some parts. Sometimes there is too much description for what's going on and others there is just a bit missing. If you like stories with a narrator with a sense of humour, you should definitely give this one a try. It's very original, especially for a paranormal-ish story. Hal Johnson has a very unique writing style and if you're looking for something different than normal, this would be a good place to start!(less)

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Sep 28, 2012 E.C. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, mg

I've never read anything quite like this, and I can't quite classify it--and I don't mean that it "has a good personality" (though it does). You should totally date this book. It's just that it's marketed for ages 12 and up, so technically it's older middle grade? But it has YA sensibilities and an adult voice, so I guess it's more of a crossover book. I guess "12 and up" really is the best description, but you have to shelve it somewhere, right? But everyone should read it!

Anyway, it's about a...more

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Oct 11, 2012 jo mo marked it as to-read

Shelves: illustrated, animals, outsider-underdog-pariah, shapeshifters, to-buy, must-read, kindle-bility

a thing of beauty:

cover & illustrations by teagan white
from what i've read (review-wise) i'm expecting a mediocre story with superb illustrations.

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Feb 18, 2013 Dolores rated it 3 of 5 stars

3 1/2 stars. It really took me a while to get through this one. It seemed to meander along without any real purpose, and it really frustrated me. The only thing that kept me reading was the author's irreverent, snarky tone (fun!) and my insatiable curiosity. Very sneaky not telling us what kind of creature Myron was until the very end...

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Jun 09, 2012 Blaize rated it 2 of 5 stars

What I liked most was the narrator's humor. Honestly, I didn't think much of the story and when the narrator started to pay more attention to the story than his own opinion, I decided to put it down. It just stopped being interesting. But this book has the best, most attention-grabbing beginning I have ever read in my life. And that's saying something.

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Jan 01, 2013 Ashley rated it 1 of 5 stars

Not a fan! This book was too descriptive at times and was really slow paced. The beginning was really great and after we met the gorilla it went down hill. Sadly! I wanted to enjoy this book but after the narrator (which was hilarious) left, I lost interest.

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Dec 30, 2012 Renae rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Rachelle DeMunck

Shelves: books-i-own, ya

Ok...one of the stranger books I've read. A really interesting premise with some very memorable characters. Writing was witty. Some slow periods in the middle of the book and a strange ending. Not necessarily disappointing, just strange and not quite what I was expecting.

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Mar 20, 2013 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Although confusing,chaotic, and the writing style not fully matured, it is fun, clever and interesting to the end. The writer knows how to tell a story with aplomb. I would not call this a simple read, however. I was continually referencing characters. Now that I know who's who, a sequel is in order. More Myron and all the other delightful Lycanthropes!

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Mar 03, 2013 Talia added it

This is something I would consider recommending to teenage guys (which, I believe is the targeted readership). I'm unsure whether I'd recommend it to other people outside of that demographic.

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Nov 02, 2012 Ardis rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: never-finished, teen

this is a strange book, about a boy who finds out he's really a were-animal- only he doesn't know which kind. Its marketed as teen, but the main character is a little young to interest most teens.

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Dec 10, 2012 Donalyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012-nerdy-book-club-shortlist, ya-fantasy, ncbla-committee-2013-books

I describe this bizarre, hilarious book as, "Going Bovine meets Animorphs." Impossible to define or categorize. Talking to my husband about it, I couldn't even explain the plot, but I enjoyed Myron, his adventures, and the unique world-building.

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Jan 03, 2013 Tracey rated it 1 of 5 stars

If I didn't have to read this for the Library Materials Review Committee, I would have stopped after about 25 pages. This book just was not my style.

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Aug 25, 2012 Max Light-Pacheco rated it 2 of 5 stars

Wonderful idea. To bad it is not always coherent and could be longer in some places and shorter in others.

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Aug 23, 2012 karen marked it as to-read

honestly, this cover is so rad, i don't even care what it is about; i must have it.

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Sep 04, 2012 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, fantasy-scifi, young-adult

http://librarianosnark.blogspot.com/2...

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Mar 25, 2013 Melissa Cook rated it 3 of 5 stars

Good beginning, but I was lost by the end.

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Apr 30, 2013 Katie rated it 2 of 5 stars

I can't say I completely finished the book, because I managed to get halfway through (and that's saying a lot) before I couldn't take anymore and had to quit reading it. I felt the book got so involved with backstory that it completely lost focus on who the book was really about and I felt lost. Me. An almost 30-year-old got lost (and not in the good way) in a book geared towards readers half my age. If I'm getting confused, what does that say about the audience that this book is geared towards?...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Peter Bess rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not really sure what to say about this book. I enjoyed the characters, the story is off the wall, it's totally different.

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Feb 09, 2013 Elyse rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-just-can-t-with-you

I was really disappointed in this rambling, pretentious novel. Especially because it seemed like the author started out with a great story idea then turned it into a sloppy mess.

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Apr 08, 2013 Colleen rated it 3 of 5 stars

So far seems to be a grouchy narrator..Not ready to put the book away just yet.

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May 24, 2013 Ele marked it as to-read

May 24, 2013 Kitap Sihirbazı marked it as to-read

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Addicted to YA: Free copies of Immortal Lycanthropes	1	16	Jan 22, 2013 03:36pm
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