Wolfsong by T.J. Klune

Green Creek in the Cascade Mountains is a small, out of the way sort of place and Ox (Oxnard) Matheson lives there with his mum, Maggie, who works in the local diner. His Dad, a violent drunk left when he was 12. Ox is big, says little and does not lie; his father called him “dumb as an Ox” and before he left, told him “You know you are not the smartest boy” and “You’re gonna get shit, for most of your life” p2. Local mechanic, Gordo gives Ox a job and helps the family out. Down a lane towards some woods is an empty house, sometimes there is a car outside briefly but one day a man comes to the diner and introduces himself as Mark, from the family who own the house. Ox likes him and asks if they can be friends, Mark says “It’s always the ones who are the quietest who have the most to say. And yes, I think we’ll be friends.”p18. It was not until Ox is sixteen that Mark and his family move into the house in the woods. Ox is met in the road by ten year old Joe, a whirlwind of a boy who instantly takes to Ox, climbing up to cling to him chattering constantly as they go to meet the family. There is Carter, about Ox’s age, and Kelly, a bit younger and their parents Elizabeth and Thomas Bennett. Mark is Thomas’ brother and the Bennetts become more and more a part of Ox and his mum’s lives as they absorb them into their pack. “It should have been obvious what they were, but then I wasn’t looking for the incredible buried in the ordinary” p64. The family are werewolves, part of a wider community of werewolves constantly alert to the dangers of those who hunt them and to power struggles within the community. Not only does Ox find an extended, loyal, caring family he falls in love with Joe in spite of the six year age difference. As the story develops over ten years, Ox gains in confidence and supported by the family and Gordo, who turns out to be a witch, (an important “tether”) he becomes a leader, fighting against the villain Richard. This is a brick of a book, well over 500 pages, difficult to sustain, given that it is character, rather than plot driven, and while the development of the relationships of most of the secondary characters was beautifully realised I didn’t find the love story very convincing. There is an animal attraction between Joe and Ox from the beginning and it never seems to develop past Joe’s sexual possessiveness and need to mate. What we get are explicit sex scenes which narrow the readership regardless of the gender of the participants. This is a shame because there is much to love in this paranormal fantasy; I liked the emphasis on loyalty, support, friendship and how Ox’s perceived deficits become strengths.  The werewolf relationships are more attractive than vampires, quite sensual with their touching, smelling wrestling and pack bonds, a shame about the sex scenes.

Themes: Werewolves, family, LGBTQ relationships.

Sue Speck