Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin

Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN 9781599906188.
(Age 13+) Avery Hood is an orphan. Her parents were brutally murdered and she is the only witness. But she is so traumatised by it that she can barely remember what happened, except that she saw 'silver, deadly silver, moving inhumanly fast'. Then she meets the new boy at school, Ben, who she finds out is a werewolf. They fall in love and she trusts him, at first. Then she sees his eyes sometimes flash silver, and she isn't the only one who can't remember the night her parents died.
This story is how she tries to find out what really happened, part murder-mystery, part grief-narrative, and part headlong romance.
I loved this book for many reasons. It is original in one sense, but sometimes it echoes faintly of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. The language is evocative and rich and the plot and characters really pull you along on a breathtaking ride of murder and romance. The characters are mostly realistic, but, like most books, they still manage to have a few small flaws. The little things that Avery remembers are well thought out by the author, because although they seem to be meaningless to start with, they all tie together to reveal who the killer really is. And who the killer is found out to be, is a great twist at the end of the story.
The book isn't as long as I would have liked, because it didn't seem to build enough suspense. It is also surprisingly violent; during Avery's flashbacks there is often a lot of blood and gore. One thing I really liked about Low Red Moon was that whenever the word 'moon' is written in the book, it is printed in red, which added to the spooky atmosphere.
Low Red Moon stands out from all other supernatural romances because it has an element of murder in it. It is original, scary, beautifully crafted, gripping and it kept me on the edge of my seat.
Rebecca Adams (Student)