Wereduck

Wereduck #1

by Dave Atkinson

Kate’s family has told her that on her 13th birthday she’ll hear the “Whooooo” call of the moon, and howl back, and become a werewolf just like them. But she doesn’t want to be a werewolf. She’s always felt more like a duck. On the night of her 13th birthday, Kate stands near her family’s cabin in the backwoods of New Brunswick and hears the moon calling - but it sounds like more of a “Whooooo?” as in “Who are you?”, and Kate does what she’s always wanted to do - she quacks. Quack, quack, quacks.

Her family tries to understand Kate’s new full-moon form, but they are busy integrating themselves with some edgy new werewolves in town.

Engaging, hilarious, and utterly believable, Wereduck is a thrilling addition to the were-canon.

Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Animals, Fiction

Audible Audio

First published September 15, 2014

About the author

Dave Atkinson is an award-winning freelance journalist, columnist, and broadcaster. His work for the CBC has appeared on The Current, Atlantic Voice, Tapestry, Maritime Magazine, In the Field, and regional radio programs across the country. He and his wife are homeschooling their three silly kids in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Follow him at Facebook.com/daveatkinsonbooks or Twitter.com/davyay.

Reviews

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a light read; original and very funny. If you buy it for your kids to read, you're going to want to read it, too.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaaaadorable.
Kate, whose lives with her family of werewolves, follows her heart when the moon calls to her on the 13th birthday and becomes a wereduck instead. And also there's a mystery and danger and intrigue. And it's set in Canada!

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun read! I look forward to hearing the reviews of my various book addicted grandkids. AND I'm hoping for an early release of Book Two. Write on there, Dave :-)

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Sponsored by Digitally Lit** This was a very cute and smart middle grade book. Very enjoyable and entertaining!


Digitally Lit is a youth engagement strategy aimed at bridging literary and digital practices with Atlantic Canadian youth. Follow us on Instagram @digitally_lit, like us on Facebook and find us at digitallylit.ca.

[Alexander Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book from GoodReads First Reads--I love the twists and turns of wereducks and betrayal

[Felicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book- I thought it was so funny and a great read

[Mirlou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great tales, funny.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: Mentions of blood, family in isolation from society

This enjoyable and quick read felt like Mamoru Hosoda's "Wolf children" for kids. We follow Kate and her family who must isolate themselves from society due to their family being 'werewolves' and their fear of discovery. They however are being chased down by a reporter from one of those classic hoax-y newspapers. He was a great classic villain, with his scene in the diner having me genuinely laugh-out-loud.

From the cover, blurb, and choice of creepy font for the chapter headings, I was expecting horror to be a subgenre of this book, however it was strictly urban fantasy/humour. I was disappointed as I love a good jr fiction/middle grade horror, however it was still an enjoyable book and very suitable for sensitive readers.

There were great little illustrations for each chapter heading, but for some reason the publisher decided to have them be ridiculously small, only filling a third of the blank space the chapter heading had between the chapter number and the start of the chapter itself. It felt like perhaps there was an error when the book went to print where the images were meant to fill the whole space, but an error in sizing shrunk them. This is nit-picky of me, but the illustrations were so good and I hated how I had to squint to see them.

I absolutely loved the message of this book. Kate never 'felt right' with the idea of being a wolf, and her discovery that the magic isn't calling people to be wolves but be what they feel is right for them is honestly sweet and refreshing. The other werewolves are very accepting of her being different from them. It is a great message that can be applied to many aspects of real-life issues. Ultimately, being unapologetically true to you, even if it goes against societal norms.

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alicia- When the main character “Kate” is supposed to turn 13, the exact night of her birthday, she is supposed to become a werewolf. But when she hears the call of the moon it’s not how she expected and what she hears is, “Whooo?” Like “Who are you?” So instead of howling she does something even better. Something even more legendary and cooler!! She quacks. Yep! She quacks just like she wanted to. Kate’s family is confused, (As one should be) they try to understand her new full moon form while making room at their home for some new mysterious werewolves. And to make matters more of a quack, a reporter by the name of Dirk, is lurking around who thinks he heard a couple howls. (Dirk likes to lurk.)

I thought this book was hilarious and “suspenseful” in a cute and funny way. Although I did enjoy this book so much it didn’t keep me engaged all the way through. I really liked the book because it was cute and funny and because it was such a quirky idea. It was written beautifully and honestly at the beginning of it, when she comes home and sees her little brother "motionless" on the floor with her grandmother standing above him in her wolf form, and Kate saying, “I thought I told you to save room for me.” Took me a little off guard and I quickly rethought if this was gonna be a sweet and cute story but I was just tricked and taken off guard by the author. Well done. I give this book 4/5 🌕🌕🌕🌕 moons for it's creativity. I would recommend this if you want a cute and funny read.

[Tiona Horning · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad’s cousin wrote this book, so I might be biased, but here I go.
This book is awesome!! I mean a were-duck? That’s unusual. People are always reading stories about werewolves. This is different.
Katie’s relationship with John is really good. She has a crush on him and hates him at the same time.
Dirk Bragg- eye roll and smile. He’s awesome.
I hate Marcus.
I love this book so much, though Cure for Wereduck is better.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wereduck is a great read that you'll pretend you're reading for your kids. It's a page turner with great characters and is salted liberally with both humour and wisdom. Highly recommend.

[Chad Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laugh-out-loud funny and full of heart, Wereduck is a great read for middle-graders that has passed back and forth between my kids multiple times.

[Jocelyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightfully fun twist to the traditional werewolf story.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it

[Jane Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read-aloud bedtime book for a kid with a quirky sense of humour. Fun!

[Spot · Rating 4 out of 5]

found this in a list for quick reads, so i gave it a shot, because wereducks....
this is probably a better read for a kid , but it was enjoyable for the premise

[katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I spent the first half of this book wondering whether or not the book was a joke: first, the title, secondly, it was in the YA section of my bookstore though it is clearly a children's novel, and third, the cheesy little lines about ducks (a flock of ducks fluttered in her stomach? Atkinson, what're you trying to pull, bud?) had me in tears I was giggling so much.
But I really liked how silly it felt, overall. That is exactly the kind of reaction you want with a children's book. You want them engaged. You want them to love reading.
Wereduck also had some really good morals for the youngins: be true to who you are, family first, etc etc.

[Wunderdrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

This title is nominated for the 2016 Hackmatack award in the fiction category.
I really liked the messages in this book about being true to yourself, and standing up for what's right. Sometimes it is hard to be different, but in the end it is always more satisfying to remain true to your ideals than to compromise them. Your moral compass will point you in the ight direction, regardless of what friends or family may try to influence you to do. A simple morality tale with some silly humour mixed in. Loved the cover illustration.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and quirky. Although a small book intended for a young audience, the vocabulary range increases the readership potential. I won a copy on goodreads. The main character is a teenage girl who is dealing with all the trauma that being a newly minted teen comes with and the awful fact that for her it includes becoming a full fledged werewolf like the rest of her family. There is family issues, boys, and fear of discover by an over zealous reporter. Loved the humour, fun read. My kids may be grown but I love finding new kids books with quirky content.

[Thomas Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read.

[Carolyn Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book...looking forward to the second in the series.