The Curse of the Wolf Girl

September 13, 2010
Kalix the emo berserker werewolf makes a moody return in Millar's witty, chaotic sequel to 2008's Lonely Werewolf Girl. Offered an allowance by her mother if she does well at remedial college, Kalix is soon distracted by the murder of her former lover. She's determined to get to the bottom of the murder but soon discovers that, in addition to being a laudanum-addicted, anorexic cutter, she's much better at mass slaughter than investigating. Only after a series of seemingly unrelated subplots come together does she stand a chance at vengeance. Millar introduces a cast of thousands, including fashion-obsessed fire elemental royalty, a werewolf sorceress, and would-be werewolf rock stars, deftly weaving together a myriad of subplots as the narrative hurtles toward the conclusion. The dialog reads like a good British sitcom, and if the characters are somewhat shallow, it has the odd effect of making their personal revelations more poignant by the end.

August 1, 2010
Kalix, the depressed laudanum addicted teen werewolf from Lonely Werewolf Girl (2008), is still living in London with university students Daniel and Moonglow, and now shes also enrolled. Kalixs mother, the Mistress of Werewolves, is paying for her to stay with the poverty-stricken students as long as they can get her to attend her remedial classes. Vex, Queen Malverias soon-to-be-adopted niece, has also moved in while going to the same school, where she awards herself gold stars for her poems about life as a fire elemental. Meanwhile the guild that is dedicated to the destruction of werewolves is getting bolder as one of its members starts up a romantic relationship with Thrix, Kalixs fashion designer/werewolf/sorceress sister. While Malveria obsesses about fashion and her rival, others plot to overthrow them and steal their kingdoms. Mayhem is bound to ensue when all the players are drawn to Scotland by a fund-raising opera taking place at the same time as a Yum Yum Sugary Snacks gig. Wildly imaginative, this gore-splattered yet hilarious romp is vastly entertaining.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)