Red Moon Rising Review

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Title: Red Moon Rising
Author: Peter Moore
Publisher: Hyperion
Published: February 8, 2011
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 336
Source: Publisher

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist. But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms — fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next few moon, and Danny's time is running out.
Red Moon Rising is the story of Danny (Dante), a teenage boy living in a world divided into three very distinct and separate classes. There are the vampires – elite, rich and powerful, there are the humans – desperate to be everything the vampires are, and at the bottom of the pack are the wulfs. Danny, unfortunately, is part wulf. He’s had treatments to make him look more like the exclusive vamps with whom he attends school, but he had to stop them, and now his symptoms are getting worse. To top it all off, Danny has to deal with conflicting emotions towards his biological father, qualms with his mom and stepfather, and the snotty kids at school. Throw in a love interest, and Danny’s world is ready to turn upside-down.

I don’t like vampires and, frankly, werewolves tend to bore me because it’s the same-old, same-old every time…usually. Red Moon Rising isn’t your typical werewolf and vampire tale. With a teenage boy as your narrator, a society that’s twisted and skewed and every bit of teenage angst you can bear, Red Moon Rising is daring and quirky. Author, Peter Moore, took your traditional paranormal tale, turned it upside-down, threw in a snarky MC and added an actual undercurrent of morals throughout the story – an intriguing and infectious combination.

I’ve decided I don’t read nearly enough books from a male POV. Red Moon Rising was a fun read, in large part because of Danny’s narration. He’s every bit a teen boy with humour and hilarity, but his emotions run a bit deeper, and a little more subtle at times, though perhaps more powerful because they boil over at the right (or wrong – depending on how you look at it) moments. I think there’s a real theme of prejudice in the story, as well. Society has class divisions, certain species are considered subhuman, and frankly, this adds a deeper note to what could have very well been a shallow tale. I think the main highlight of the story was the developing relationship between Danny and his father though, and the internal battle for acceptance that Danny consistently dealt with. The only real qualm I had with Red Moon Rising was that the plot becomes a bit predictable after a while and let’s face it – I like to be surprised, and there were a lot of unanswered questions.

Overall though, Red Moon Rising was a great paranormal read, and it definitely exceeded all my expectations. I give it a strong 4 out of 5, and I’d recommend it for a YA audience (or upper MG), especially those who enjoy paranormal stories.

I received this ARC free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

40 comments:

  1. He's half vampire and half werewolf? Crazy! I've always wondered what would happen if you combined the two. I guess the movie Underworld shows you, but I'm interested to see/read how that person think/feels :)

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  2. Daring, quirky, snarky paranormal is my favourite. Will have to add this to my wishlist. You really aren't helping my book budget lately ;)

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  3. Right, I am a bit tired by vampires/werewolves for a moment but maybe this book won't be as boring as the majority of it - thanks for your honest review! Yeah, my book budget is also in tatters since I started to visit book blogs...

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  4. This sounds like a fun read - something a little different from the usual vampire/werewolf fare! I admit to not being much of a werewolf fan, but I'm a vampire girl till I die. I just love the sparkly kind, too! ;)

    Great review, Melissa!

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  5. The book sounds great! I have hardly read books from a male POV. Red Moon Rising seems like a fun read :)

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  6. I seriously didn't know that this book was told from the boy's POV! Exactly what I've been looking for (For some reasons, I love this better. Perhaps because there are too many books out there being told from female's viewpoint). While I like reading vamps stories, werewolve's has never attract my attention. Though from your review, I've a feeling that I will love reading this book!

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  7. I want to read more male POV books too. It's amazing what a difference it makes. Everything feels more fun and less angsty, even if it is angsty. The class division aspect sounds interesting. It reminded me of Nightshade.
    Werewolves generally bore me too, but I love vampires. I definitely think I'll want to check this out.

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  8. I love that this one has a male narrator! I'm like you, I don't read enough from a male POV mostly because I tend to relate to a female voice more, but this books sounds fabulous. Any character with snark is a character I'm a fan of:)

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  9. I really, really want to read this. I featured this book on my WoW post a few months back & thought it sounded interesting. After reading your review, it still does! I'll have to get my hands on it this month!

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  10. Love the sound of this, I will definitely be looking forward to it!

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  11. Great review! This book sounds interesting.
    NC
    Truly Bookish

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  12. Great review Melissa! I put this book on my TBR list when I saw that you had received it in your mailbox, so I am glad to know that it is a worthwhile read!

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  13. A vamp who is also a wulf, I like the sound of that. Seems like an interesting world too

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  14. Why have I not heard about this book! I love your review and it makes me want the book badly!! It sounds very interesting! Nice review.

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  15. Quite honestly this sounds really interesting and actually original, too, bringing in all those other elements. Nice review; I'm glad you enjoyed it, even if it was a bit predictable.

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  16. Thanks for this review!
    l love the sound of this and have seen great reviews on it!

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  17. LOL Melissa! You are very frank and I appreciate that in your reviews.

    Yay! Glad you were pleasantly surprised, even with vampires and weres. I need to get around to reading more male protags too, so I will add this to my list.

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  18. I like that this one has a snarky male protagonist you said you liked. I also like that it's not the typical werewolf/vampire book. I enjoyed reading your review about this one. Thanks!

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  19. This sounds very orginal. Something very different! I like it. Great review.

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  20. I agree- love the M POV and the unique twist.

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  21. oooh, sounds like it's pretty good!! i'm glad to hear you liked it, i have it on my to read pile!

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  22. I love reading from the male pov....the snarky guys seem more real than the snarky female..>:D

    This sounds good...but Im so burned out on vampires...but I love them...Ive got a problem...ohhh its Thursday..Vampire Diaries...

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  23. Sounds interesting and loving the male POV. I can't find enough books from a male voice to introduce my students to. Will check this one out. Thanks

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  24. I tend to stear clear of vamps/wares since so many YA's seem to be telling the SAME story over and over. Glad to hear this has a unique spin on the topic! I'll have to add it to my list!

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  25. I think this sounds like a great read based on your review. Even though I don't read to many books from a male POV, I find that I really enjoyed the ones that I have read. Class divisions are also one of my favorite topics in books, so thanks for sharing!

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  26. Is it just me, or does the spelling of wulf really throw you off? Anyway, Red Moon Rising sounds like a fun read that I'll have to check out. I love me some boy POV and quirky characters even more. Great review, Melissa!

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  27. Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on this book, it sounds so good! Glad you liked it. :)

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  28. I don't read many books from a male POV either, but like you I really loved this one. I enjoyed how the paranormal class issues reflected the race issues we deal with in the real world. I'm interested to see where the story goes from here.

    Great review!

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  29. I've got this one to review and no I'm super-excited to read it!! Thanks. :)

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  30. I'm really interested in reading this book! Your review has motivated me to get my hands on a copy ASAP :o) I'm always thrilled when a YA title comes out with a male protagonist! There needs to be more YA titles with snarky teen guys as the narrator :oP Great review!

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  31. Fantastic review... Now that I think about it, I don't read a lot of books from a male's perspective either. Hm. I hope that changes! I'm not really into vamps or werewolves either but you really sell this one. I'll have to think about it before I add it to my TBR but the premise sounds very interesting.

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  32. I've been so curious about this book. I still wonder why you are against a little neck nibble and, well, extra body hair. ;) Seriously, though, I like a different type of paranormal. I will put this one on my wishlist!

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  33. Awesome review and I completely agree. I need more male POV books in my life too :)

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  34. I'll have to add this one to my wishlist since I don't read too many male POVs and because it's different from the typical paranormal books about werewolves and vampires. Great review!

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  35. This sounds like a great read! I'll have to add it to my list. Thank you for the awesome review, Melissa! :)

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  36. This sounds like a great read! I'll have to add it to my list. Thank you for the awesome review, Melissa! :)

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  37. This sounds like a great read! I'll have to add it to my list. Thank you for the awesome review, Melissa! :)

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  38. This sounds like a great read! I'll have to add it to my list. Thank you for the awesome review, Melissa! :)

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  39. Oi! It seems like I haven't had to to visit and comment on your blog in forever. And you've posted 3 reviews since then!
    Don't you love it when a book exceeds your expectations? Glad this wasn't same-old, same-old!

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