Book Review: The Frenzy

Author: Francesca Lia Block
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: September 28, 2010
Pages: 258
Read it in: 2 days

Summary: Liv has a secret. Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn't belong anymore-- not in her own skin, not in her family... not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she's with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.

But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.

While Corey and Liv's love binds them together, Liv's dark sercret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who-- or what-- she really is. And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws...

LC's Take:

Alrighty, so I was interested in reading this book, first because I think the cover is just gorgeous (redheads unite!), and second because I had never read a book about werewolves before. I have heard very mixed reviews for The Frenzy, and now that I've read it, I guess I fall somewhere in the middle... it definitely wasn't a favorite, but I didn't absolutely hate it either.

First, I want to talk about what I did like about this book. I really like plots where the heroine is struggling to find out who she really is and where she fits in and how she can be happy in her own skin-- those kinds of themes really resonate with me and I think they're a lot of fun to read about, too! Liv is, on the surface, just a normal teenage girl, but there is another, darker side to her that she's afraid of, and doesn't really know how to control. The main plot of the book focuses on Liv being able to come to terms with who she is, and still find happiness. That was pretty cool-- I liked the main plot.

One big problem I had with this book was how disconnected it was. The writing seemed to jump all over the place, and that got very difficult to follow after awhile. Another major issue I had was the side-story with Pace, Liv's homosexual best friend, and the haunted house. First of all, this did not fit into the whole werewolf story at all-- it seemed like it was just added in-- and second, I was not a fan of how Pace's story turned out. I think a lot of readers had the same negative reaction to it as I did, and I don't want to give it away, but basically, it was incredibly dark and disturbing, and I felt like it should have been dealt with in a much different way, instead of coming across as almost romantic. There are certain things that need to be handled with great care, especially for the YA audience, and I just didn't like how this part of the book was handled.

The Frenzy did read very quickly, and that, I think, made me not dislike it too much-- if it had gone on for 400 pages, my rating might have been much lower. However, given that this was such a quick read, and that there were some things about it that I did like, I won't write it off as being horrible. The main story was engaging, the characters for the most part were interesting and likable, and the ending was reasonably satisfying. In the end, I would recommend this book only to my readers interested in werewolves and who can quickly finish it in a quiet, free evening. I for one am looking forward to reading other werewolf novels now!

LC's Rating:

This was a quick, short read-- which I think helped to redeem it somewhat. The main story with Liv coming to terms with being a werewolf was good, but the writing seemed very jumpy, and the side-story with the haunted house was very vague and didn't match with the rest of the book. All in all, I wasn't a huge fan, but I've read worse!