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The Blooding
While spending the summer working as an au pair girl for a couple in England, Maris discovers that the husband is a werewolf intent on blooding her and making her one too, in a dark, psychological drama infused with the supernatural. Reprint.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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147 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Windsor
22 books16 followersPatricia Windsor is the author of many books for young readers. Her book The Sandman's Eyes won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile Mystery. Patricia Windsor lives and writes in Maryland.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 8, 2012
Talk about bloody boring! I wanted to like Maris, really I did. She's a teenager whose mother should never be allowed anywhere near an impressionable child. She's told Maris over and over again how worthless she is (never outright but by dismissing her and her abilities). The slightest mistake Maris makes is held up as the failing of a lifetime and something she should be flogging herself over for years to come. The one big mistake she makes truly is a bad one, but I can understand why it happened, what put her in that position. I can understand Maris completely; I just can't like her.
I thought I could through the first few chapters. She wasn't fleshed out and neither were any of the other characters, but I thought that might change and I'd grow to like her and the others. She seemed like a good kid in a bad situation, going from the emotionally abusive, overbearing mother into an au pair job where the parents screamed and yelled behind closed doors and made the whole atmosphere oppressive. I wanted to feel for her and the children under her care. But none of the characters were ever anything more than two-dimensional, and it's hard to care much about cardboard, even when it talks.
And then suddenly Maris turns into a Lolita. Out of nowhere she's fantasizing about Derek, a guy who's nearly twice her age, and he seems to be watching her in turn. That's just creepy in a bad way.
Then Barb, the mother, dies, and it gets much, much worse. Suddenly Maris wants to stay in England any way she can, even by spreading malicious gossip about Barb when she really doesn't understand anything that's going on. Her attraction to Derek goes into overdrive, which makes absolutely no sense when she's previously been frightened by him and thought that he was a jerk. Which he is. Emotionally abusive, controlling and, as it turns out, a bit homicidal.
I guess, Maris a teenager, I really shouldn't have expected her to think beyond her hormones and make a decision based on actual information instead of her own hopes and desires. But I had hoped that I'd be wrong, that she wouldn't go and do something stupid and then, worse, mope around and wangst about it. But she does. Constantly. For pages. When she's not throwing little tantrums about not going out hunting. Oy.
At least, in the end, she's not so self-centered and whiny that she can't do the right thing. Saving one life at the expense of another isn't such a bad thing, in this case, and I'm glad she could do that. But by that point I didn't care enough about her or any of the other characters to get too happy about it.
There is no good resolution in this book, which makes sense in Maris' case. She made her choice and she's going to have to learn to be an adult and live with it. However, we never did know what happened to the children, and that's a big oversight. But by that point in the book, I was so anxious for it to be over with that I really didn't care all that much.
The story just drags and drags and the characters are never developed, so they wind up as dull as the prose. There is a time or two when it actually threatens to be exciting, where something truly scary might just happen...but then it dies and you're left with more wangst and illogic courtesy of teenage hormones.
There are enough moments of interest to stop me from giving this one star, but not nearly enough to make me even consider giving it three. If there were half star options, this would probably be a 1.5 rating. Don't waste your money here and unless it's the only book left in the library, give this one a miss.
I thought I could through the first few chapters. She wasn't fleshed out and neither were any of the other characters, but I thought that might change and I'd grow to like her and the others. She seemed like a good kid in a bad situation, going from the emotionally abusive, overbearing mother into an au pair job where the parents screamed and yelled behind closed doors and made the whole atmosphere oppressive. I wanted to feel for her and the children under her care. But none of the characters were ever anything more than two-dimensional, and it's hard to care much about cardboard, even when it talks.
And then suddenly Maris turns into a Lolita. Out of nowhere she's fantasizing about Derek, a guy who's nearly twice her age, and he seems to be watching her in turn. That's just creepy in a bad way.
Then Barb, the mother, dies, and it gets much, much worse. Suddenly Maris wants to stay in England any way she can, even by spreading malicious gossip about Barb when she really doesn't understand anything that's going on. Her attraction to Derek goes into overdrive, which makes absolutely no sense when she's previously been frightened by him and thought that he was a jerk. Which he is. Emotionally abusive, controlling and, as it turns out, a bit homicidal.
I guess, Maris a teenager, I really shouldn't have expected her to think beyond her hormones and make a decision based on actual information instead of her own hopes and desires. But I had hoped that I'd be wrong, that she wouldn't go and do something stupid and then, worse, mope around and wangst about it. But she does. Constantly. For pages. When she's not throwing little tantrums about not going out hunting. Oy.
At least, in the end, she's not so self-centered and whiny that she can't do the right thing. Saving one life at the expense of another isn't such a bad thing, in this case, and I'm glad she could do that. But by that point I didn't care enough about her or any of the other characters to get too happy about it.
There is no good resolution in this book, which makes sense in Maris' case. She made her choice and she's going to have to learn to be an adult and live with it. However, we never did know what happened to the children, and that's a big oversight. But by that point in the book, I was so anxious for it to be over with that I really didn't care all that much.
The story just drags and drags and the characters are never developed, so they wind up as dull as the prose. There is a time or two when it actually threatens to be exciting, where something truly scary might just happen...but then it dies and you're left with more wangst and illogic courtesy of teenage hormones.
There are enough moments of interest to stop me from giving this one star, but not nearly enough to make me even consider giving it three. If there were half star options, this would probably be a 1.5 rating. Don't waste your money here and unless it's the only book left in the library, give this one a miss.
April 1, 2007
loved the book.evening the title was good.you can really feel what maris is feeling.how her mother throws negative words at her and makes her feel bad.it has a very intense plot, though the book is dragged out in parts.Also, the feeling of lonliness Maris feels after being blooded and being sent back to America can leave the reader felling sympathetic. I will certainly look for the other books by this author.
November 15, 2014
The dust jacket claims that Windsor wrote this in the gothic tradition. Frankly, it's more in the tradition of cheap, '70s knock-off gothic - thinly written and emotionally inscrutable. Or possibly someone changed the definition of gothic to simply "naive governness travels to country estate, develops inexplicable crush on man of the house" while I wasn't looking? Oy. Underdeveloped, with a "romance" that's actually rather squicky when you think about it.
November 6, 2008
one of my all time favorite books
please concider reading
you can get it at the library
please concider reading
you can get it at the library
January 22, 2011
This is a book about werewolves. I found it repulsive because the story is about a grown man tryin to hook up with a 14 year old girl REPUGNANT!
August 27, 2025
Rating: 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I enjoyed this book honestly although it was written a bit amateurish and choppy. It wasn’t the most thorough and descriptive riding i’ve ever seen, but I followed along, the pages read fast, and the story was fun! I liked the whole wolf/shape-shifting idea. It was a bit fast paced during the end when the MC changed into one herself, but at least there was no dragging it out or anything. The relationship between her and Derek was weird and I know she was still a “teenager” but I wish she would have maybe been older and there was some romance involved? I don’t know it needed something and felt like something was missing. Otherwise it was still a fun read.
I enjoyed this book honestly although it was written a bit amateurish and choppy. It wasn’t the most thorough and descriptive riding i’ve ever seen, but I followed along, the pages read fast, and the story was fun! I liked the whole wolf/shape-shifting idea. It was a bit fast paced during the end when the MC changed into one herself, but at least there was no dragging it out or anything. The relationship between her and Derek was weird and I know she was still a “teenager” but I wish she would have maybe been older and there was some romance involved? I don’t know it needed something and felt like something was missing. Otherwise it was still a fun read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 8, 2022
I'm glad I read this despite all the silly "eww yuck, 1 star because of subject matter!" reviews.
The first 75% was great: tense, mysterious (even if it was fairly obvious what was what), and comelling. The last 25% post-reveal did feel a bit rushed and thrown together, but I can overlook that with the lead-up being so well done.
All in all, ignore the people giving this one star because they don't like one aspect of the plot. But if you're going to do that, might as well all avoid all fiction lest you get offended.
The first 75% was great: tense, mysterious (even if it was fairly obvious what was what), and comelling. The last 25% post-reveal did feel a bit rushed and thrown together, but I can overlook that with the lead-up being so well done.
All in all, ignore the people giving this one star because they don't like one aspect of the plot. But if you're going to do that, might as well all avoid all fiction lest you get offended.
June 19, 2018
This was one of my favorites when I was sixteen and I am so happy I found it years later. The transformation from wolf to girl makes the character have a coming of age experience and also represents a blossoming sexuality within a love struck teenager. She emerges stronger, smarter, and confident from a dark experience.
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September 1, 2020Read in 8th grade. Curious to reread this.
December 30, 2024
A tale of werewolves told like no other. Focusing on the point of view of a young nanny in England who must take care of a family. Not realizing that family has a deep and dark secret.
May 27, 2024
I have read this book several times, it never gets old! Its one of my favorites from high school!
January 8, 2024
This was my first werewolf/wolf shifter book in high school, and I recently remembered the premise. After some searching, I found it again, purchased, and reread it. It's better than I remember. More grounded than a lot of wolf-related books, no fated mates or alphas. A complicated 'relationship' for lack of better terms between a man of the house and nanny. Easy to read, a bit exciting, although I wish there was a lot more. Still, one of my favorite wolf books out there.
July 5, 2008
"Night forest, this is where I belong, your dark shadow child moving through the spaces between trees, knowing your every scent, dear forest, wet earth, mother of my wild heart...
My humanness has scampered away like a frightened toad. This knowledge of who I now am plows me, deepens me, pushes me through time. I know everything. I know where the fox and deer have walked, where the turtle crawled, where the badger crept. I know the hapiness of the hunt."
Maris goes to England in order to get away from her mother while helping Barb, who is ill. Her children, Adam and Vickt are well mannered and adore Maris, making her job fairly easy as well as her cleaning and cooking duties. Derek, Barb's husband though, is a different matter, as he is different himself.
When Maris finds Barb dead, she starts to get even more suspicious while participating in a minor war for custody of the kids between Derek and Barb's mother, who wishes to take them to America, where she lives.
Then, as Maris finds out more and more of the truth and plunges deeper into the family's matters, she finds a part of herself she never knew she had before, a part that will not wish to be shoved away again once she dreadfully returns back home.
My humanness has scampered away like a frightened toad. This knowledge of who I now am plows me, deepens me, pushes me through time. I know everything. I know where the fox and deer have walked, where the turtle crawled, where the badger crept. I know the hapiness of the hunt."
Maris goes to England in order to get away from her mother while helping Barb, who is ill. Her children, Adam and Vickt are well mannered and adore Maris, making her job fairly easy as well as her cleaning and cooking duties. Derek, Barb's husband though, is a different matter, as he is different himself.
When Maris finds Barb dead, she starts to get even more suspicious while participating in a minor war for custody of the kids between Derek and Barb's mother, who wishes to take them to America, where she lives.
Then, as Maris finds out more and more of the truth and plunges deeper into the family's matters, she finds a part of herself she never knew she had before, a part that will not wish to be shoved away again once she dreadfully returns back home.
August 28, 2009
A good, suspenseful YA book. Unfortunately, I figured out the mystery... but that's what I get for reading books meant for girls more than 20 years younger than me ;)
I loved that this book is dark and creepy ~ not supernatural creepiness, persay (although there is some of that.) But the creepiness of the adults in the story. Some of them are just ~ not bad, but not exactly good people, either. I would have loved for Windsor to explore certain characters and their motivations a little more ~ perhaps make a longer book, or even a series of two or three. Unfortunately, I got the feeling this is a one time deal ~ no continuation or series in the works. Which is too bad. Although there is a definite ending, so much was left unresolved.
Ah, well. That's what I get for reading YA, right? If I want an indepth novel, I should start reading books geared towards adults ;) Still, it's a quick read and a story worth reccomending.
I loved that this book is dark and creepy ~ not supernatural creepiness, persay (although there is some of that.) But the creepiness of the adults in the story. Some of them are just ~ not bad, but not exactly good people, either. I would have loved for Windsor to explore certain characters and their motivations a little more ~ perhaps make a longer book, or even a series of two or three. Unfortunately, I got the feeling this is a one time deal ~ no continuation or series in the works. Which is too bad. Although there is a definite ending, so much was left unresolved.
Ah, well. That's what I get for reading YA, right? If I want an indepth novel, I should start reading books geared towards adults ;) Still, it's a quick read and a story worth reccomending.
September 30, 2009
Very strange, but I had a flashback of this book as I was falling asleep last night. I thought about the strange relationship between middle-aged Derek and his young American au pair. I also recalled it had something to do with werewolves.
By morning, I could remember most of the book. I probably read this when I was around 12 or 13, when I'd just hit puberty and I found most older men vaguely disturbing. Perhaps that is why this book still resonates for me.
The book is all right. Interesting ideas (werewolves, pedophilia, suicide, foreign lands), but perhaps a bit beyond me at the time.
Although, I suppose the fact that it came into my mind utterly unbidden is a testament to its staying power.
By morning, I could remember most of the book. I probably read this when I was around 12 or 13, when I'd just hit puberty and I found most older men vaguely disturbing. Perhaps that is why this book still resonates for me.
The book is all right. Interesting ideas (werewolves, pedophilia, suicide, foreign lands), but perhaps a bit beyond me at the time.
Although, I suppose the fact that it came into my mind utterly unbidden is a testament to its staying power.
April 8, 2015
Possibly one of the more messed up books I have read. A young girl leaves home for the first time, anxious to get away from her controlling and unsupportive mother. She gets work as an au pair in England for the summer, taking care of kids whose mother suffers unexplained TATT (tired all the time) syndrome. At first her new job is perfect, but soon things start to awry.
This is not a good book for the faint of heart or those sensitive abuse, as the main character is manipulated throughout the novel by both her mother and the father or the family she works for. It contains gore, manipulation, death, murderous intent, and supernatural characteristics.
All together this is a well written thriller, but not one of my favorites.
This is not a good book for the faint of heart or those sensitive abuse, as the main character is manipulated throughout the novel by both her mother and the father or the family she works for. It contains gore, manipulation, death, murderous intent, and supernatural characteristics.
All together this is a well written thriller, but not one of my favorites.
January 19, 2013
I found this book in the back of our school library mannnyy many years ago.
The version I found had a cover of a white wolf with a reflection in his eyes which instantly got my attention.
It was a book that really paved the way for my love of werewolves. The book starts off slowly and really drags you in and I really did feel quite sorry for his wife.
I highly recommend this book, its stuck with me after all these years and thats saying a lot with my memory! I even went and bought a copy of it ten years later just to keep on my bookshelf.
November 24, 2010
i say more like a 3.5 but i put four stars. i think that this is a good werewolf story and i LOVE the ending; super unexpected. not perfect though cuz i kinda thought it needed a little more depth to the characters. good description though.
i recommend this book to anyone who loves a new and creative werewolf tale.
i recommend this book to anyone who loves a new and creative werewolf tale.
February 27, 2011
Pacing was a bit slow in the beginning, and didn't pick up all that much throughout the rest of the story. It was also a little tiring having to wait till the last quarter of the book or less to find out the "deep dark secret," despite older readers being able to deduce the secret on their own early on. However, overall an enjoyable read.
September 2, 2016
This was the first book on my Goodreads list when I started my account more than 3 years ago. I finally got to it. I didn't feel close to the characters, they seemed very distant. And I don't know about you, but if someone turned me into a werewolf, I think I'd have stronger feelings than Maris had. She seemed very immature.
January 8, 2019
Maybe it's just me, but I found Maris' character a little disturbing. I didn't find her likeable at all. I also found the story somewhat corny. I am new to the werewolf genre of books, but I would wager to guess that there are better ones out there.
November 10, 2012
After reading Nightwood I was expecting this to be just as scary and awesome. It wasn't. It was decent but it lacked that thrill ride aspect that I live for.
January 5, 2011
This was the first book I read by Patricia Windsor and it was really good. This book was about werewolfs and it was better than any other book I read that included werewolfs.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews