13 to Life: A Werewolf's Tale

When 13 to Life came out I was in need of a fresh look on paranormal. This more than satisfied that need. I can't wait for Secrets and Shadows to come out this next February.What I like: The wolves in this story are different. They are your usual run of the mill change at a full moon, big and burly wolves. They have real character and weren't out to make themselves known in any way. I like Jessie. She's got spunk and she cares for those around here, even when she doesn't have to, or maybe shouldn't. I like the flow of the book, there is a lot of build up, but I have faith that Shannon will deliver answers in upcoming books. There are hidden answers in the book that you don't figure out until after you've read it or you talk to Shannon, like their names. It adds another perspective to the book that keeps you thinking long after you're finished reading.I like Pietr too. He's quiet and caring. He looks after those he loves.What I love: MAX! I know Max isn't a standout character in this book, but there is something that immediately drew me in to him. From Chapter One to the last page, he's there in the background making me smile.I'm thinking maybe it's the whole snarky protector. The family puzzle was one of my favorite parts of the book. The descriptions Shannon used for their reactions to Jessie were brilliant. There is some symbolism that I can't wait to find out the meaning of (and not just my assumption!) I love the Russians as a whole. They add a dimension not regularly seen in paranormal.What I'd change: Not much. There were a lot of unanswered questions at the end of the book. Knowing that there are more books to follow it isn't as big a deal as it would be if I wondered how many books were coming. Derek, he annoyed me. The typical jock (although I'm not convinced there isn't more to him) really bothered me. I wanted to shake some sense into him on more than one occasion.Would I recommend: Of course! Wait a minute...I already have, more than once. It's a great book. I love it, everyone I've recommended it to loved it. I'm going to take a leap and say you will love it too!

In 13 to Life, Jess Gillmansen has recently lost her mother and is trying to deal with the aftermath of it all. Of course, in walks a mysterious boy and we're off. I finished reading this book a few days ago, but I couldn't quite put my finger on why it was just ok. I've finally figured out what it is though. Nothing really happens in this book. The plot is almost non existent. The conflict is there, but it never really reaches it's full potential; it kind of just hums along. The most intriguing part of the book for me was the relationship between Jess and Sarah, and how the author revealed the things surrounding them in parts. I also liked the banter between Max and Amy. Everything else just felt really flat for me, especially the relationship between Jess and Peter. Also, none of the characters really grabbed me and I didn't care for Jess' self-sacrificing routine. I'm sure I've said this plenty of times, but I like a good werewolf book. With vamps and were's being the new fad right now, this book needed something to set it apart from all the rest of the books out there about,and that just didn't happen for me.

I read a lot of YA and I really enjoy the YA Paranormal novels. This one didn't work for me on many different levels. The story is about a grieving girl, Jessica, who is dealing with her mother's death. She takes on a great deal of responsibility in her family. When Pieter starts attending her school, Jessica is given the job of being his guide. He immediately ticks her off and thus begins a brief love-hate relationship. The book is very slow to get going. Only in the last fourth of this book does anything important begin to happen. Jessica also wins a nomination at least for the TSTL (too stupid to live) character of the year. She loves reading paranormal books about vampires and is up on her werewolf lore as she has studied a major case of a bizaree wolf attack in Farthington, where Pieter is from. Pieter is sniffing clothes, using his sniffer to find people, being attacked randomly by dogs and much more and TSTL Jessica can't figure out he is werewolf. At one point Pieter says "I'm a werewolf" and Jessica is like, "Stop Playing Pieter". Ugh, this made me frustrated to no end.I was also annoyed that Jessica pushes Pieter into a relationship with her crazy 'best' friend and then the two of the sneak make out sessions and whispers of love. Anyone with an eye can see they are hot for each other and that they keep playing like there is nothing between them publicly was just really silly. I did like the little bits of history that we found out about Pieter's family and their past. I enjoyed that the story was about a family of werewolves but I was caught off guard by the mafia connections and struggled to make sense of some of these.What can make a book most successful in my mind is having developed, endearing characters and a well thought out plot with some twists and turns. 13 to Life had neither.Certainly there are worse books out there, but this one just didn't work for me. The content if fairly clean and I wonder if it might work better for the pre-teen market.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a really original twist on the werewolf theme which was totally engaging to read. The book was quite slow on the whole and not all that much actually happened. In fact at the end of the book I had lots of unanswered questions rattling around my brain. While this would normally be a bad thing, this book had me totally hooked and I am desperate to know more.I loved the main characters of Pietre and Jessica and I am dying to know how their relationship develops. I hope they get it sorted and Jessica shows Sarah what for. I have the feeling that Pietre is going to be a fascinating character who has a huge amount more than has already been revealed. I loved the whole Russian thing that this book had going on and I can't wait to find out if more about the Mafia Links. I also liked the that for the first half of the book (or more) the story could just be a boy meets girl in high school book, until it twists and becomes so much more.Don't pick up this book expecting it to be a stand alone - it is a fab introduction to what will hopefully be a cracking series but it will leave you with far more questions than answers but if you are anything like me you'll be hooked.

13 to Life has to be one of my favourite YA reads of 2010.The characters were sympathetic and broodily dreamy (can I just say - thank you, Shannon Delany, for creating Peitr, seriously!) and you found yourself wishing that things would work out for the best, because you truly got invested with the characters and the story.This is surely to be a mega anticipated serious, and I already can't wait for the sequel.

Painful reading. Really, really bad storyline and characters, a jumble of various books and TV series put together haphazardly, pretty much insulting your intelligence.

This book was pointed out to me by a friend, who heard about it at the Romantic Times convention earlier this year. She thought it sounded really great and we tend to agree on books so I checked it out and agreed it sounded interesting so I ordered it. I didn't expect to adore it though, and I completely do. The book opens with Jessie grooming one of her horses, Rio. I'm more horse obsessed than book obsessed, which is saying something, so right there Jessie had mega points in my book. The mystery with the werewolves starts up moments later, though Jessie doesn't understand it for a long while. It's not a particularly fast paced book, but it doesn't hang around. Jessie was easy to like, her voice easy to get in to and she's a complex character. She's hurting for her mom, crushing big time on football star Derek and helping her best friend Sarah, who has been through a really rough time as well. Then in steps Pietr. Hot new Russian guy who she can't figure out. Every girl in school is drooling over him, especially Sarah, but not Jessie. She's annoyed by him more than anything. He aggravates her easily and seems to enjoy pushing her. He's brutally honest and Jessie respects that, even if she doesn't always like it.Jessie has a lot of spark to her, and she doesn't back down easily. She's smart and she knows what she wants, apart from when it comes to boys. Derek, after years of crushing on him, seems to finally be noticing her too. But can she really trust in his attention? The more she gets to know Pietr, the more she finds herself falling for him too. But Sarah wants him and Sarah being happy is more important to her, so she can't have him. But there is more to this book than romance. It's also about friendship, about Jessie dealing with her mom's death and growing up. And about a year ago, there was an incident in a town not too far from theirs. A wolf attack that left someone dead. Jessie is an editor on her high school paper and it's something she'd love to know more about. She looks in to it a little in some of her free time. And when she faces a giant wolf on her horse farm, she's even more curious.I was hooked on this book from the start. It's sweet, intense, sad, thoughtful, mysterious and there are some very funny moments as well. One of my favourites being Pietr being faced with a kitten who suddenly faced with a werewolf in human form, and goes...a little bit crazy trying to hurt him. Jessie has a second best friend, Amy, who I love. She's doesn't mind telling it as it is, and she's wiling to support Jessie, and kick her when she's being an idiot, as any true best friend should. She's a fantastic side character and the friendship she and Jessie share is very real and really adds to both their characters, as well as just being a great addition to the book.All the characters are really well drawn, and so is the location adding to the overall tone. It's well written, carefully revealing secrets from everyone as the book unfolds. There were some things I thought I had figured out, then when it got there, things turned out to be completely different. Or at least, not like they'd first appeared. Great characters, great plot, carefully written and very, very enjoyable. The ending was fantastic but left me hanging. I very much want the second book to find out what happens next for Jessie and Pietr. There were some big moments at the end that are obviously going to leave lasting impacts on them both, and those around them by default. There is a lot still unknown and a lot that still needs explaining, but I'm really happy with what we do know at present and that we don't know everything, that Jessie and Pietr don't know everything. Far more interesting learning along side them, watching them screw up, learn, grow. Life. I can't wait for the next book in Feb 2011, Secrets and Shadows. I loved everything about this book and would highly recommend it!!

Les dés sont jetés : 13 TO LIFE est une lecture purement et simplement distrayante ! C'est encore et toujours la même petite histoire (boy meets girl) mais l'auteur a su tourner tout ça à sa sauce, effectivement c'est drôle, c'est teinté de suspense, et les personnages sont trèèès attachants.A commencer par Pietr. The new-boy-in-town. Sa famille et lui sont originaires de Russie. Il a ce petit accent délicieux et sexy qui rend toutes les filles complètement dingues. A l'exception de Jessie. Depuis deux ans, celle-ci se meurt d'amour pour Derek, le joueur de foot. Et pour la première fois, il semble lui prêter une attention particulière, qui lui donne du rose aux joues. Hmm.A la demande du proviseur, Jessie a été désignée pour servir de guide à Pietr. Bing, ça tombe sur sa pomme et déjà ce garçon l'agace. Il sait tout sur tout, veut toujours avoir le dernier mot, bref il la met mal à l'aise. Elle ne sait pas trop comment se comporter avec lui, et le plus souvent elle s'énerve et lui lance des petites piques. Bizarrement, Pietr ne lui tourne pas le dos. Au contraire, il est toujours aussi pressant. Toujours attentionné, très patient. De plus, il semble la comprendre, ce qui la touche profondément.Mais impossible de l'admettre ! Ce serait insulter ses principes, et puis c'est Derek qui lui fait de l'effet... Il est temps de se ressaisir. D'ailleurs, son amie Sarah est complètement dingue de Pietr. Et que ne ferait-on pas pour rendre le sourire à une copine dont l'histoire a été marquée par un drame ?! Fidèle à elle-même, Jessie se sacrifie pour le bien de Sarah. Argh ! Jetez-lui un seau d'eau ! Non mais quelle cruche ! Jessica Gillmansen est la fille la plus stupide de Junction !!! C'est sûr. (Et pourtant, elle n'est pas insupportable non plus. Ouf.) Le problème, c'est qu'elle réalise trop tard qu'elle en pince pour Pietr. Tant pis pour elle.L'autre part d'ombre du roman concerne le mystère entourant Pietr et sa famille. Quelques indices sont disséminés mais ce ne sera qu'à la toute fin du livre que le secret sera dévoilé. Ce n'est pas la révélation du siècle, mais c'est ce qu'on découvre autour qui interpelle.Jessie et Pietr sont deux personnages très attachants. Ils ont une histoire à eux, très douloureuse, qui ne peut que les rapprocher. La jeune fille a notamment perdu sa mère, violemment. Cette tragédie explique beaucoup son caractère et la plupart des décisions qu'elle prend, même les plus insensées ! Moi qui pensais en avoir soupé de ces romances à la tralala, finalement je me rends compte que le charisme des héros est très important aussi. C'est ce qui a fait que ce roman-ci a su me toucher, me séduire, même si, en toute objectivité, il n'est pas LE livre non plus. Il a l'honnêteté d'être simple et agréable à lire. C'est déjà ça. C'est peu et beaucoup à la fois.Série en 5 tomes.

I enjoyed the hell out of this entire series. Interesting, well written and kept me reading.