Artie and the Wolf Moon by Olivia Stephens

 

Welcome Back, Booklovers! I read this one last month when I wanted something quick and not heavy to clear my mind. Then I came across this cover and fell in love with the artwork. After reading a short free comic Olivia Stephens had available for download that had wolves I knew I wanted to read more of her work. Thank You to Lerner Publishing for an advanced review copy of Artie and the Wolf Moon. 

Artie Irvin is middle schooler who lives in a small town near the woods. She doesn't really get along with the other kids at her very white school so she prefers to stick to herself and her photography hobby. One night when she wants to take pictures of the full moon she sneaks out and comes across a wolf. She then witnesses the wolf shift into her mother. After being caught her mother informs her that they come from a long line of wolves. Her mother wasn't planning on telling her until she started exhibiting more wolf-like abilities and Artie is a bit of a late bloomer. 

After an incident with some kids at school activates her wolf genes she has to start training to learn to control her shifting. Her mom then introduces her to her old werewolf community where family and friends still live. Through the community we learn that werewolves came to be after an enslaved woman and her children escaped for freedom and came across a wolf who helped them find food and shelter. That wolf gave them the power to transform and all of her descendants passed along that power. So it was a unique take on the usual werewolf lore. And I loved the all Black werewolf town. 

Like it many stories vampires are the enemy here. There's a vampire coven that has been feuding with their wolf pack for years. There are some original twists to the vampire lore we've seen recently that I appreciated as well.

While this is good for any middle schooler to devour, this is a good one to give a a child who is not sure if they like fantasy because it's based in a world similar to ours. It also has positive queer representation and found family. And the ending leaves a few loose ends in case the author wants to expand on it for a series.

This story releases September 7, 2021 and will be a perfect gift for fall.