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Learn to Howl
When a football player follows her home from an illicit party, preacher's daughter Allie unmasks a secret her mama has been trying to pray away for almost seventeen years. The women in their family are werewolves. All except for Allie's mama.
To protect her normal life, Allie's mama dumps her off in the wilderness with three aunts she's never heard of, let alone met. But Allie hardly has a chance to find her bearings among these strangers who are family before somebody kidnaps them and burns down their ancestral home.
Allie has one high-speed road trip with her wolfier-than-thou cousin, Morgan, to learn how to make her way in a world she never knew existed.
To protect her normal life, Allie's mama dumps her off in the wilderness with three aunts she's never heard of, let alone met. But Allie hardly has a chance to find her bearings among these strangers who are family before somebody kidnaps them and burns down their ancestral home.
Allie has one high-speed road trip with her wolfier-than-thou cousin, Morgan, to learn how to make her way in a world she never knew existed.
- GenresFantasy
286 pages, Paperback
Published March 5, 2024
1 person is currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer R. Donohue
42 books17 followersJennifer R. Donohue grew up at the Jersey Shore and now lives in central New York with her husband and their Doberman. A member of the SFWA, she works at her local public library where she also facilitates a writing workshop. Her work has appeared in Apex Magazine, Escape Pod, Fusion Fragment, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Exit Ghost is available now. She tweets @AuthorizedMusin and you can subscribe to her Patreon for a new short story every month: https://www.patre-
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
on.com/JenniferRDonohue
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 8, 2024
The "wolfiest" werewolf book I've read, in that it's VERY family centric! This avoids the typical wolf misinfo, and leans in hard on what family means and what it means to belong. Add in a healthy dose of inter-familial politicking, some very fast sink or swim learning, and you've got a deeply compelling story. Looking forward to the next one!
March 12, 2024
It's always curious when an author makes a left turn in their writing. I'd read a large number of Jennifer R. Donahue's work by now, but they were all sci-fi heist novellas or that one surreal drug-trip-esque Hamlet retelling. So when she offered me a copy of her YA urban fantasy, I was intrigued to say the least.
I'll start with the critiques and end with the positive. My biggest struggle with the book was how little time is spent with the aunts before they're kidnapped. In the story it's technically a couple months, but there's very little of that shown on page. In fact, the relationship between Allie and the eldest aunt Rachel is tense at the best and hostile at the worst. Her desire to track them down feels less out of love and more out of desperation. She can't go back home, so if she doesn't have them she doesn't have anyone. And the "I have to do this, it's family" vibe at the end didn't feel quite as earned.
My second biggest critique is how disconnected the character of Allie feels from her backstory. Allie is from an incredibly religious, conservative upbringing. Never eating out, never going to the movies, homeschooled nearly her entire life. Speaking as someone who's father is a legally ordained American Baptist reverend, I was particularly interested in how it affected her character. But it mostly... didn't. Yes, there's a lot of talk about how sheltered she was as a kid and how little she knows about the outside world. But someone who grew up in that kind of ultra-religious isolation would have a hundred things they have to work through and unlearn. She's surprisingly okay with everything and goes along with it easily. She never really grapples with her upbringing versus what she's learning outside of it. It's not that I wanted her to be freaked out and transphobic when that one character came out to her, but I was hoping the religious trauma of being literally considered unclean and abandoned by her neurotic mother would have a lot more weight.
Alright, for the good parts. While the beginning of the book felt a bit rushed, it eventually did even out as the road trip went on. Morgan is a dynamic character and their developing relationship is intriguing. The discussions on the different werewolf families and the concept that there are, in fact, several different ways to start a werewolf line was particularly of interest. I liked the agnosticism of "multiple werewolf myths are true, actually." And although I missed the wolfy telepathy, I understand going for a more realistic take on wolves. I did appreciate how there was none of that "alpha" hierarchy myth.
As for the positives, I liked the weird "we hate each other but also we kinda have to do this together" vibe they have with another werewolf family. You never quite knew what was going to happen between them and it made for a great bout of tension. And of course I spied a possible romantic pairing, so naturally I zeroed in on that. I still don't particularly like the Wards, but I don't think you're really supposed to.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Morgan and Allie. Theirs felt like the most natural arc from struggling to get along to behaving like family. The relationship between Morgan and her mother was also intriguing in that "it's fucked up, but they still love each other way."
The action scenes had a lot more blood than I anticipated (at least the second one.) But I enjoyed the tension and the sense that they could be caught at any moment. And of course the idea that there could have been a betrayal among them right at the crucial point. The pages nearly flew by during those scenes.
Overall, I gave this book 3 stars. It read quickly enough that the problems never jumped out too broadly and I did enjoy the complicated family dynamics. And if you like YA werewolf books, this is right up your alley!
I'll start with the critiques and end with the positive. My biggest struggle with the book was how little time is spent with the aunts before they're kidnapped. In the story it's technically a couple months, but there's very little of that shown on page. In fact, the relationship between Allie and the eldest aunt Rachel is tense at the best and hostile at the worst. Her desire to track them down feels less out of love and more out of desperation. She can't go back home, so if she doesn't have them she doesn't have anyone. And the "I have to do this, it's family" vibe at the end didn't feel quite as earned.
My second biggest critique is how disconnected the character of Allie feels from her backstory. Allie is from an incredibly religious, conservative upbringing. Never eating out, never going to the movies, homeschooled nearly her entire life. Speaking as someone who's father is a legally ordained American Baptist reverend, I was particularly interested in how it affected her character. But it mostly... didn't. Yes, there's a lot of talk about how sheltered she was as a kid and how little she knows about the outside world. But someone who grew up in that kind of ultra-religious isolation would have a hundred things they have to work through and unlearn. She's surprisingly okay with everything and goes along with it easily. She never really grapples with her upbringing versus what she's learning outside of it. It's not that I wanted her to be freaked out and transphobic when that one character came out to her, but I was hoping the religious trauma of being literally considered unclean and abandoned by her neurotic mother would have a lot more weight.
Alright, for the good parts. While the beginning of the book felt a bit rushed, it eventually did even out as the road trip went on. Morgan is a dynamic character and their developing relationship is intriguing. The discussions on the different werewolf families and the concept that there are, in fact, several different ways to start a werewolf line was particularly of interest. I liked the agnosticism of "multiple werewolf myths are true, actually." And although I missed the wolfy telepathy, I understand going for a more realistic take on wolves. I did appreciate how there was none of that "alpha" hierarchy myth.
As for the positives, I liked the weird "we hate each other but also we kinda have to do this together" vibe they have with another werewolf family. You never quite knew what was going to happen between them and it made for a great bout of tension. And of course I spied a possible romantic pairing, so naturally I zeroed in on that. I still don't particularly like the Wards, but I don't think you're really supposed to.
I also enjoyed the relationship between Morgan and Allie. Theirs felt like the most natural arc from struggling to get along to behaving like family. The relationship between Morgan and her mother was also intriguing in that "it's fucked up, but they still love each other way."
The action scenes had a lot more blood than I anticipated (at least the second one.) But I enjoyed the tension and the sense that they could be caught at any moment. And of course the idea that there could have been a betrayal among them right at the crucial point. The pages nearly flew by during those scenes.
Overall, I gave this book 3 stars. It read quickly enough that the problems never jumped out too broadly and I did enjoy the complicated family dynamics. And if you like YA werewolf books, this is right up your alley!
March 19, 2024
What I Did Like:
+The twist in the “classic” werewolf tale works. I like some variety and this had that. It does keep enough of the familiar things to keep you rooted while making changes that make sense.
+Morgan is a GREAT character. She’s confident in who she is, relatable, and an interesting reluctant mentor.
+The interaction between the two families is great. Forced cooperation doesn’t always work, but in this story it does. It comes across as believable.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of fantasy stories about paranormal creatures who want something a little different than the “typical” stories.
My Rating: 3 Stars
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2024/03/...
+The twist in the “classic” werewolf tale works. I like some variety and this had that. It does keep enough of the familiar things to keep you rooted while making changes that make sense.
+Morgan is a GREAT character. She’s confident in who she is, relatable, and an interesting reluctant mentor.
+The interaction between the two families is great. Forced cooperation doesn’t always work, but in this story it does. It comes across as believable.
Who Should Read This One:
-Fans of fantasy stories about paranormal creatures who want something a little different than the “typical” stories.
My Rating: 3 Stars
For Full Review: https://alltherightreads.com/2024/03/...
March 7, 2024
Learn to Howl is a fun and tightly plotted read. Donohue starts with tension and continues to ratchet it up throughout. A werewolf coming of age story, Allie (the main character) is engaging and relatable. A heist tale that at its heart, is about acceptance and of course, finding your pack. Highly recommend.
March 28, 2024
Jennifer R. Donohue's work is packed with heart, humor, and a sense of exquisite fun while never forgetting the emotion that makes a book like this work out so well. Taking on the traditional werewolf tale, Donohue offers twists to keep it interesting and exquisite characters that keep a reader glued right tot he page.
April 3, 2024
Family Secrets Unfold
One daughter splits off and has a daughter & 2 sons. The daughter runs into a drunk football player in the Alabama woods. She ends being dropped of at the unknown aunts.
One daughter splits off and has a daughter & 2 sons. The daughter runs into a drunk football player in the Alabama woods. She ends being dropped of at the unknown aunts.
July 18, 2024
Good stuff
A different and fascinating take on werewolves, which I very much enjoyed - and promptly bought the second book. Gotta find out what happens next.
A different and fascinating take on werewolves, which I very much enjoyed - and promptly bought the second book. Gotta find out what happens next.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews