Beautiful senior Rosetta and her family have recently moved from Florida to a town called Ashwood. The high school is small, so she causes quite a stir; there aren’t enough pretty girls to compete with her. What the boys don’t realize, is that Rosetta is quite capable of seeking out handsome boys.
The first day is an exciting one, because she meets Tommy, who happens to be the star quarterback. His rippling muscles and cute face convince her that he will be her new boyfriend. Soon, they are considered a couple and she accompanies Tommy everywhere he goes. Friday nights are officially party night, with lots of drinking and hopefully drugs. The cool kids meet at Brad’s house, but across the street is Phil’s, where the other few gather. They never start drinking until Phil does and begin to fantasize about what it would be like to be a part of that group. Following suit, their little get-togethers break up the same time as Phil’s.
One night, Rose and Tommy are too drunk to drive, so they decide to walk through the woods, trying to make it home before her curfew. As they are laughing and stumbling along, Rose realizes they are being followed. Tommy is too drunk to realize anything. Suddenly, a large wolf confronts them on the path with a menacing growl. Tommy protectively shoves her behind him, and is sadly consumed by the wolf. Seeing her chance, she escapes, screaming. She never has a chance, though, and the wolf is right on her, ripping into her shoulder.
Michael, a very shy senior who has talked with Rose, even though she hardly knows him, has just left the party when he hears her screams, as he is driving past the woods. He runs to her rescue, chasing off the wolf and helps her to a neighboring house.
After the attack, Rose begins to have dreams of a masked man who threatens her and her family. She cannot begin to understand the reasoning behind them. About this time, a girl shows up in her room, who looks exactly like Rose. She comes and goes, seemingly on a whim, and Rose continually stops her from giving advice for all of Rose’s problems. At the same time, Tommy starts appearing, too. Being dead and all, he seems to be hanging around just because he likes her and has nothing better to do.
Although Rose is traumatized by Tommy’s death, it doesn’t take her long to pick out her new boyfriend, Zach, who happens to be known as a bully, only Rose doesn’t have a clue. His favorite victim is Michael, but she feels obligated to him and agrees to go to the carnival with him. In reality, she’s indifferent to him and as they enter an attraction, she loses sight of him, not caring. Michael has been cornered by Zach and his friends, who proceed to beat the stuffing out of him. Believing that Michael abandoned her, she finishes out her evening with Zach. Frighteningly, Zach meets the wolf and joins Tommy as a ghostly spectre who haunts Rose.
Gradually, Rose begins to see the good in Michael and he is constantly amazed by her beauty and kindness. As time passes, she realizes that she has a secret that she doesn’t know how to share with him or her family. More students fall prey to the wolf and join the ranks of her ghostly friends.
Now, for my take on the book. Rose is quite arrogant and I found her hard to like. In fact, I couldn’t sympathize with her at all. She is overly involved in others’ appearance in regards to whether they are worth her time. She is mean to Michael, but he forgives her because he believes he is in love with her. She sneaks out at night to get drunk, party, and do drugs. I thought that she set an awful example for others, especially her little sister. Being grounded for her behavior never stops her from going out anyway.
Michael has a severe ‘savior complex’. He just has to throw himself into harm’s way to save everyone, which happens on more than one occasion. He is crazy for Rose, but she doesn’t warrant his devotion. Of course, Michael being tongue-tied half of the time, does not earn him brownie points.
Overall, the book was repetitive, long, and definitely YA. I don’t think adults will be too interested, but I think it is well put together. There is no wandering far off topic or getting lost in large groups of characters and their activities. The ending pops up all of a sudden, isn’t terribly exciting, and then it’s over.
For the rating:
- Genre and general reading age – paranormal for young adults.
- Level of sexuality – low.
- Is there graphic language? Very little.
- Did I cry? No.
- Did I laugh? No.
- Is this part of a series? No.
- Level of character development – none.
I give this book ⭐️⭐️ stars. Good effort. Some strong points. Not for me.
Bona Fide Book Reviews 