The Amazing Wolf Boy

The Amazing Wolf Boy #1

by Roxanne Smolen

Cody Forester plans to become a doctor. Instead, he becomes a werewolf. The first time Cody shows fang and fur, his parents ship him off to podunkville to live with his black sheep uncle. His revised career choice is social hermit. As the new kid, he makes more enemies than friends. His high school teachers label him a troublemaker. The whole town hates him. Except Brittany. She's beautiful, with her eyes painted black and her lips dark purple. When Brittany discovers his secret, she tries to cure him using crystals, candles, and magic potions. Cody falls head-over-tails in love-but he can never tell her. Girls like her aren't for him. He's the amazing wolf boy. Astound your family and mystify your friends. While Cody moons over Brittany, a murderous pack of lycanthropes howl into town. They want Cody to join them. When he refuses, they kidnap Brittany and threaten to kill her at moonrise. Cody must master his untried superpowers or the girl he loves dies. Can he defeat the pack and save both their lives?

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

406 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

About the author

Roxanne Smolen is the author of the popular Cody Forester Novels (The Amazing Wolf Boy) and the new Brittany Meyer Novellas (Which Witch.) Like many authors, she started writing stories as soon as she learned how to hold a crayon. However, she didn’t write professionally until twenty years ago when she lost her eyesight. She has since penned several novels of science fiction and magical realism. Her heroes are often teenagers because she believes that young adults will change the world. She lives in South Florida not far from where the Brittany Meyer Novellas take place.

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Amazing Wolf Boy
By: Roxanne Smolen
Narrated by: Danny Randerson
This is an audible book I requested and the review is voluntary.
This is a great coming of age of a teen werewolf! It is fresh, and exciting! The young teen turns the first time while in a restaurant and has not idea what is going on. His family sends him away to his uncle that lives several states away and lives in the country. There are murders happening in this small town. Bullies to deal with. A new school, girls, and figuring out his new body. Exciting and fun read.
The narrator is just perfect for this book. He does the voices of girls, women, men, and all these emotions perfectly. The flow of the book runs well under his performance. Great job!

[Karla BookAddict2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

deleting reviews if you want to take a look at them you can do so on my blog, link on my profile

[Got My Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also posted on my blog Got My Book.

A sympathetic protagonist & sweet love story make this YA Fantasy shine.

Source: I received this book for free from the author. My opinions are my own.

BOOK DETAILS:
The Amazing Wolf Boy by Roxanne Smolen, read by Danny Randerson, published 2016 / Length: 10 hrs 13 min

SERIES INFO:
This is Book #1 of 4 in the "Amazing Wolf Boy" series. So far it is the only one on audio.

SUMMARY:
Although there were a number of things I didn't like in this book (it starts off with one of my most disliked tropes, see below), I was nevertheless drawn in from the beginning and really enjoyed it. It was well written, with characters I liked, and I especially enjoyed the realistic progression of the teenage romance. I am looking forward to when the next book becomes available on audio.

CHARACTERS:
Cody: He is a good kid (he even looks away when Brittany's skirt rides up). But he isn't perfect; for example, he had occasionally sent new students at his old school to the wrong place as a prank.

I wish that the book hadn't gone the too typical route of given him special abilities that few/no other werewolves have. I think I would have been OK with it, if it had been pointed out that he could only do these things because nobody told him he couldn't (i.e. a result of him being kept in the dark so long).

Brittany: She leans towards goth in her clothing, but without the stereotypical (in fiction at least) interest in dark kinds of things. Her New Age interests seem to be firmly in a positive vein.

I liked her family. Her single mother has to work 2 jobs, but does her best to be sure her kids have a good dinner and "family time."

Cody & Brittany: Their relationship begins with a very real world sort of InstaLove. The kind were a guy sees a girl and is instantly intrigued & seeks out opportunities to be closer to her and get to know her better. From there things proceed very much like real relationships I actually witnessed in High School. There is also mention that wolves mate for life, and his being sure she is his mate, but it isn't presented as a mystical bond they have no choice about.

--
I could have done without the jocks = bullies characters. But, I really like that the gym/football coach is one of the people who are nice to him, and that he see's his players clearly and is willing to do the right thing. / I would have liked a few more females in larger roles.

WORLDBUILDING:
The book takes place in small town Florida. Shifters are real (obviously), but no other supernatural creatures are mentioned. One of the main side characters is Native American, and there are a couple of sections that discuss their remedies & beliefs. I don't know how accurate they are. There are also sections regarding New Age & tarot subjects that were consistent with what I've read in other books.

PLOT:
The beginning was particularly well done. I was able to immediately connect emotionally with his horror at what was happening to him. And the descriptions of all the sensory input was good.

The secrets were drawn out way too long, however. Since they were obvious to the reader, it made it extra frustrating.

There was a complete ending with no major threads left dangling.

HIGHLIGHTS:
--Brittany's opinion on tattoos
--The Valentine's Day dinner
--The scene where he is very upset and the unknown other wolf flips him a fish.

I COULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT: Parents who keep secrets, fail to prepare their child for potential life altering changes, and emotionally abandon said child. (I've actually written a post on how much I dislike this trope.) / A really brutal bullying scene involving a severe assault / The nudist colony and everything involved with it. / The constant repetition of Brittany's nickname for her brother, it ceased being funny really quickly on audio.

CONTENT NOTES(?): This is a book about a teenage boy in love. There are a couple of comments about the fact that his body responds to her, but they are all very tastefully done. / Werewolves returning to human shape are naked, which leads to some awkwardness.

NARRATION:
Character voices differentiated = Yes / Opposite sex voices acceptable = Yes, not very feminine but not fakey / Accents = Good. I have no idea how authentic they were though. / Phrasing, Pacing & Pronunciation = Good. / Emoting = Good. I like the way he avoided going over the top yet still captured what Cody was feeling. / Speed = Slow. I listened on 1.5, rather than my usual 1.25 (although that was a touch fast)

[Angel Leya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cody enjoys his life as the only son of two wealthy doctors, but when one Christmas eve on a vacation abroad he turns into a wolf, his life is shattered. His parents send him to his "black sheep" Uncle Bob's in Florida with no explanation and no time to process. Cody is understandably angry and confused, but when he spots a girl headed into a video shop, he decides the sweltering heat and his odd uncle might not be so bad.

But Cody quickly runs into trouble, and when the drama at school finally begins to die down, he's faced with a much more frightening threat - one that could get him, his uncle, and the cute video store girl killed.

I'm always pleased when I run into a book that grabs me by the throat and propels me at breakneck speed through the story. The characters, story, romance, and drama are intense, and I felt myself riding on the roller coaster with Cody. The writing is excellent, the pacing is excellent, and there's so much heart in this story. If you like werewolves (kind of reminiscent of Twilight), then you'll love the Amazing Wolf Boy.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED this! By far, the best "werewolf" story I've ever read! Very real and extremely likable characters with just the right mix of suspense/drama and humor. I'm diving right into the next in the series ... right now!

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

She had me at the title, The Amazing Wolf Boy. You know just by reading the title there is going to be some interesting reading. I had not read what the book was about when I got this book I just saw Wolf Boy and I was hooked. It has even got a bit of romance. The Cake incident will have you laughing so hard you may pee yourself

[Mollyann Tabachnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book, whether you consider it as a YA novel of the supernatural or an adult coming-of-age story. Cody progresses from a youngster, faced with what seems to be an insurmountable problem, to a more assured person, more secure in himself. I recommend it highly.

[Callie · Rating 5 out of 5]

***Goodreads First Reads Winner*** I loved this book! You follow Cody's story with intrigue and not put it down! It was well written very interesting!

[Sheila Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Won book from goodreads. I absolutely loved this book! I read it in once sitting. It had me captivated! Excellently written!

[Freddie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm still in the process of reading this book; but I will review it as I go, because I seriously doubt I'll make it through this entire book. It's just not my type of story.

I won this book from a goodreads contest. The description immediately pulled me in, and I was hoping for a book very similar to M.T. Anderson's Thirsty Well, it's nothing like Thirsty. It neither pulls me in, nor does it make me laugh.

The Good:
Smolen has wonderful description, I overly enjoyed the beginning. She draws the reader in as Cody goes through his first transformation. We hear like Cody, we smell like Cody, and we even feel like Cody. I was immediately hooked at the beginning, but than it silently spiraled out of control from there.

The Bad:
The only good part was the beginning. Because the story becomes filled with boring paced plot. And although the author had lovely description skills in the beginning, she goes too far, explaining places in detail that I hardly doubt is going to be vital to the plot. It takes nearly two pages for the Uncle's house to be described, and although I read it, none of the imagery retained there. Because, frankly, I didn't care how many chairs were at the table or the contents of both the cabinent and refrigerator. (a couple of mugs, a large jar of instant coffee, three beers, and a bottle of ketchup, just incase anybody cares.)

Add onto that, story that doesn't move anywhere. We get to see Cody dine with his uncle again and again, and find out the exact foods they are nibbling. As if that's important to drive the plot.

Then there's that girl. The girl with the "purple lipstick." Well, if her lipstick was so darn important why exactly is Cody thinking about it after meeting the girl for the first time? During the entire first interaction scene Cody never eyed or looked at her lips to note they were purple. The reader walks away with an impression of this girl as having short spikey hair, tights, and a miniskirt. They aren't told until a couple of pages after the scene that "Cody couldn't stop thinking of her lips. They were purple."

and the downright ugly:
But I could survive with all the above flaws; What I cannot, absolutely cannot survive with is the dumb blonde syndrome going on with the main character. When a main character has to purposely act dumb for the sake of the story, folks, it's time to rethink your main character, because they just aren't cutting it. If the reader can put two and two together before the main character can, you have some rewriting to do. Nobody likes to read a book, see the main character act dumb and ignore the obvious. It's painstaking to read a book like this.

Be forewarned of :spoilers: (but if you've already made it to 50 pages, these aren't really spoilers.)
Cody transforms at the beginning with no hint of a prior event that would lead to this transformation. No werewolf bite mentioned. Which leads the reader to believe that Cody's transformation may be genetic; especially when his mom is sobbing and refuses to talk to him. His parents than ship him out to go live with his uncle. Cody doesn't question why the outcast uncle of all people. Need I say that this is an uncle from the mother's side?

Cody mentions a few things that give a brief hint to it being genetic if the reader hasn't caught on yet. He mentions fevers so bad he missed weeks of school, and that this must have been his bodies way of fighting off the wolf genetics.

Cody doesn't even question, for one second, why his uncle is always away at night. He tries to hide his werewolf transformation from his uncle, and his uncle never clearly states "I know youre a werewolf." But he does ask Cody weird questions like "You didn't eat last night? I had myself a bunny last night. Don't you hunt?" at which point Cody responds with "I fish." Because he is an idiot with dumb blonde syndrome and cannot connect an uncle staying out all night to a werewolf uncle that hunts at night; thus the always empty fridge until Cody arrives.

I also question why the uncle thinks Cody is so inhold of being a werewolf. As if the boy has transformed his entire life. The uncle just kind of assumes Cody understands the ropes by now; when he only transformed the night before.

But the part that drives me absolutely insane is the part about Cody's first transformation in Florida, and hearing about a girl being mauled to death that same night. Cody transforms right after he lands in Florida. He runs out the window of his uncle's house, and than a hilarious scene happens where he is trapped in his own shirt in werewolf form. He than passes out. And wakes up in the same exact spot. Days later he hears about a girl being mauled to death. And he seriously thinks he did it. When 1. He woke up in the same place he fell asleep as a werewolf. 2. The first time he transformed as a werewolf he never chased any humans down, and he was able to remember everything that happened that night. 3. He wasn't even covered in blood. If you mauled a girl to death you would be covered in blood. So why exactly does Cody think he mauled this girl? To give feed to the story; so Cody can hide more, think he's a monster, and the story can last longer because he's pulling this dumb blonde syndrome for the sake of the story.


This isn't my type of book. It could be better, because it drives me completely insane when a writer feels the need to create dumb blonde main characters. There are plenty of great books out there where the character doesn't have to feign dumbness.

I am thankful for the gift, I really am, but the book isn't for me. I'll be donating it to the library after I'm done with it, and hopefully somebody can find it and love it there.

*Update* I actually managed to finish the entire book, and below is spoilers for the whole darn thing (be mindful of those spoilers)

I may be putting this all into words again, but I need to blow off steam about this entire book.

It could have been a really good book, it could have. Instead I was led on a rather boring adventure that involved Cody denying the obvious, hating what he is and trying to hide it (even from the one person that is obviously a werewolf as well)and than watching him flirt with an overly stereotypical girl the entirety of the book. You see the back of the book? How it mentions "They kidnap Brittany and threaten to kill her at moonrise. Cody must master his untried superpowers or the girl he loves dies." well, that doesn't happen until the last 14 pages of the book. Instead you just get to see Cody at a dinner table, Cody denying anything is wrong, Cody trying to hide what he is, Cody at the dinner table with his uncle (multiple times) and Cody flirting with the chick of his dreams. Oh, and several instances of him at the dinner table with this chick he is "mooning" over.

Now I can live with a boring pace. That isn't where this book earned a two star in my rating. This book got a two star from me because Cody suffers from the dumb blonde syndrome. Heck, everybody in this book does when it suits their need.

On the nights Cody shifts his uncle is mysteriously gone each and every night. He even offered to take him out hunting so they could bond one of these nights. Cody is in denial, and thinks he is the only werewolf on this entire planet (Should I mention that no prior bites were mentioned, and one can only draw from this that its hereditary? Do you want to know how long it takes Cody to figure that one out? 80 percent of the book is read, and he FINALLY gets it.) so each and every night he tries to hide his shifts from his Uncle, who is obviously a werewolf as well.

Well, why is his uncle so obviously a werewolf? For starters the uncle drops hints like no tomorrow that he understands what Cody is going through. Cody, going through his dumb blonde moments, is convinced that his uncle doesn't know jack. That his Uncle's mysterious friend Howard that "knows" their secret (uncles own words) doesn't know jack about Cody being a werewolf, so he must hide it. First face palm.

Then, upon research Cody finds out 1. All werewolves have a moon birthmark on their back. 2. All werewolves are born on Christmas and are considered Cursed. Cody realizes his uncle's birthday is Christmas, but he chalks that up as a coincidence. When he sees his uncle taking off his shirt and sees this mysterious birthmark that all werewolves must have he thinks "Nah, I must be seeing things." Near the end of the book he gets flipping mad that his uncle has been a werewolf this whole time and has "hidden" it from him. Um, no. let's just call you a retard because you can't put two and two together.

So despite Cody's denial that his uncle is a werewolf the entirety of this book, Brittany figures it out in an instant. She witnesses Cody transforming and 1.)isn't bothered, 2.)thinks it's perfectly natural for somebody to be a werewolf, and just accepts it. But an even quicker acceptance is Brittany's brother, Buttcrack (yes, that's what he's called). After one night of almost dying, and being saved by a giant wolf that just so happened to be following Brittany, he puts it all together just because he puts on Cody's pants and it has his wallet (with identification) in his pocket. He shows up at Cody's house the next morning saying "I know what you are."

Really? Do they live in a world where werewolves are a completely normal concept? And yet a werewolf himself (Cody) can't concept the idea that other werewolves than him exist?

I have so many gripes about this book that I can just keep going on and on. But I won't. I'll stop here by saying that the author isn't at all a bad writer. Some of her descriptions are beautifully detailed (if not overly detailed. like I mentioned before why do I care about the exact meals everyone is chopping on? How is this vital information to the book's plot?) It isn't her writing that is lacking, but her characters themselves. They are so overly draped in cliches I have to wonder if the writer truely knows her characters well, and just can't convey them to the reader, or what exactly is going on here. The story itself could be better, if not so overly draped in cliches too. I kind of feel like the "bad guys" were just thrown in there just to have an antagonist. They are so cliche I didn't even feel like they were real characters, but more like props. And honestly, if I'm to remember anything from this story it isn't how Cody took on the bad wolves in town. It's more like how Cody won Brittany over through their series of dates, because that's pretty much what this book comes down to. A romance between a werewolf that is so blind he can't see his own kind, and an overly cliche girl with short skirts and colored hair that can accept a character being a werewolf much easier than the main character himself.

[Scherry at The Novel Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm generally not a big fan of "shifter" type books, but I have to admit that I truly enjoyed this one. I listened to the Audible version and it was excellent. Danny Randerson did a great job changing his voice for each character.

Cody, a nerdy 16-year-old boy, has no idea that he comes from a long line of werewolves. So when his family is celebrating the holidays in Paris he is shocked at what was happening to him when he suddenly changed into a wolf. This part bothered me a bit. I couldn't quite understand why his mother never told him about his heritage when all the signs were there. And why would his parents take a chance on taking him out in public during a full moon? And I didn't understand why they didn't explain why they were sending him to live with Uncle Bob in Florida. AND why an intelligent boy like Cody didn't immediately figure out what the deal was with Uncle Bob (the reader figured it out immediately). But I will put all of that aside because Roxanne Smolen wrote an exciting, beautifully written, entertaining tale that included so many of the elements I love in a novel. There was even a bit of young romance... all clean and sweet, so that this book will do well for young adults.

The characters were well developed and likeable. Very likeable. The story was exciting and entertaining with the whole good vs. evil (even though you generally think of werewolves as being evil). And there were quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, like when grandpa starting shooting his pellet gun at the nudists.. er, I mean "naturalists". I would have liked to have learned more about Howard, but perhaps he will be addressed further in the other books in this series. The Indian folklore was fascinating.

Yes, Roxanne Smolen is an author I will watch, and I'm sure I will be picking up Book #2 in this series.

Disclosure: A complimentary copy of the Audible version of this book was provided by the author. Although a review was not required, I was compelled to provide one. All thoughts, opinions and ratings are my own.

[S. Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cody, the Amazing Wolf Boy, was an ordinary guy until Christmas Eve dinner a few months after he turned sixteen. Instead of sticking around after the meal for dessert, Cody turned into a giant silver wolf and spent the night running through the streets in nothing but a necktie. His parents promptly sent him out to live with Uncle Bob. Then things got really complicated with Cody as he faced bullies and a pretty girl who likes werewolf movies.

I think Smolen did a great job building the conflict of this story around a subject most teen boys (and even guys in their twenties and thirties, speaking from introspection… ahem!) struggle with. It’s not growing hair in funny places and howling at girls, either. Cody is unwilling to share his inner life and his complicated secrets with the people he is close to. It complicates his situation time and time again.

Smolen approaches a very hot social issue for teens right now, bullying. Cody faces a few bullies and I enjoyed watching the character grow and react as the theme reoccurred. I was driving through the woods, up north, nodding along as Cody did something most would consider a bad idea because of how the reaction went over with his prior experience. I said to myself, “Yeah, a younger me with no sense of danger or long term consequences would act like that.” Not aging careful me with aches on rainy days.

I received an audible code in exchange for a review. Any review. That fact that it’s a good one is because the book is good. Which has nothing to do with how awesome I am. You’ll have to find that out for yourself @S_Shane_Thomas on Twitter.

If you enjoyed Teen Wolf, stories about high school problems, or books whose authors really grasp the concept of themes then Amazing Wolf Boy is for you. I’m looking forward to listening to the sequel. There were a number of strange, seemingly unrelated plot threads around the midpoint, but they all wove together very nicely.

[Michelle VanDaley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is based on the audiobook. This is a great YA supernatural story. The story is fast paced, I found myself binge listening as often as I could to see what would happen next. Cody is a great lead who is basically juggling all these things being thrown at him when all he wants to do is be a typical teen. The adults and their lack of communication in this story is extremely frustrating. The narrator does a wonderful job at bringing the story and characters to life. I look forward to seeing where the next book takes the story. I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Amazing Wolf Boy is an engaging werewolf story with a likable protagonist, a Florida setting, and that one uncle in the family who’s a little strange. An appealing read for fans of paranormal novels as well as those new to the genre. The writing flowed well with humor, good character development, and fast-paced action.

[Axel Stephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow the series was fabulous i hope there will be another! The enticing story just draws you in with its Light hearted flare, charm, wit, suspense, kind romance, and even minor fits of laughter. Almost like Huck fin+werewolves ^u^

[Ken W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! At 20 pages left I wasn’t sure how it was going to wrap up without a cliffhanger, but the author did an amazing job and I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a reasonably vivid book, whose author uses not only conversation and visual descriptions to take us into its world, but good descriptions of smells and the physical sensations experienced by the protagonist. I got annoyed that the adult characters didn’t communicate well with him about crucial information, and there was one detail, one sentence that jolted me out of the fun reading ride I was having, but other than that, I found no fault with the book or its author, and I would recommend this book as a fun read for kids in junior high.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book after reading the second book in this series, so I already knew the general idea of what would happen. There were still plenty of twists to keep me happy, and Smolen's beautiful writing kept it going for me. The first chapter was great, and it just kept going from there....In fact, the only thing about this book that I did not enjoy was the description on the back. It made it sound like a typical teenage paranormal romance story, and The Amazing Wolf Boy was not like that to me at all.

[Jason Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great storyline that follows the adventures of a boy going through unexpected and originally uncontrollable changes during adolescence. Love the character developments throughout the story that can turn the plot in any direction as he assesses each situation.
Hoping that the next ones will give more updates and character developments of the parents and how they treat or handle such a situation.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent listen. The pace was steady and the narration was perfect. It was a different take on the standard werewolf story, a little funny, a little sad and with enough danger to keep it interesting.

"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of Audiobookboom"

[Maymay]

love this book