Red Moon Rising

by Peter Moore

Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods. Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist. But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms — fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence. There's only a month until the next full moon, and Danny's time is running out.

Peter Moore speaks to adolescents in a voice that will have them laughing, set in a world that will get them thinking.

Genres: Vampires, Young Adult, Werewolves, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Teen

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 8, 2011

About the author

Peter Moore has been writing fiction since he was eleven years old, and became an amateur lycanthropologist even earlier. Because he studied hard in high school and ate all his vegetables, he was able to attend Vassar College and Columbia University. Though he briefly considered a career in the FBI, America can rest easy: it didn’t work out. Instead, he has worked as a screenwriter, college professor, English teacher, and guidance counselor. He lives with his wife and two kids in Westchester, New York. This is his third book for young adults. He strongly denies all rumors that he is a werewolf. Still, he won’t say where he goes every month during the full moon.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Greta is Erikasbuddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Praise the Three Little Piggys!! Finally a werewolf book a boy can sink his canines into without rolling his eyes at dreaded love triangles and lip gloss and wardrobe changes.



Totally something to howl at!!



"Red Moon Rising" is about a 9th grade boy (15 years old) who is half vampyre/half werewulf.



Being a werewolf is a big social NO NO! They are treated unfairly and when the full moon comes every month they are dumped into compounds that to me were like concentration camps for wulves. They are even tattooed at birth, having to wear the symbol of the wolf on their hand.



The book doesn't go into what the compounds are like on the inside but you get the idea that this is a fight for civil rights.



Taking place at Capathia Night High (a supernatural school for vampyres and werewolves) we follow Danny through out his day. We learn here that wulves are not treated equally.



Danny doesn't really worry about the wulves until he starts to notice hair growing in funny places and his senses starting to heighten.



Since Danny is half wulf/half vamp his family had him go through a series of treatments to basically put the wulf to sleep. They worked for Danny's sister but for some reason Danny didn't get to be so lucky.



"Red Moon Rising" is a really funny book at times. I really enjoyed reading it and I loved the fact that these wulves are the kind of beasty that stands up on two feet and not down on 4 paws like a bow wow.



I definitely think that boys and girls would both equally enjoy this book. Sure, there is a tad bit of cussing but it's not anything your kid hasn't heard on "The Jersey Shore." Actually it's probably way tamer than that.... and less scary ;)



I'd recommend this to all sons out there that are into werewolves but don't want a love story. Sure, there is a tad bit of romance but because this book is written by a man it's not a swoonfest and will leave your boy laughing out loud with the way Danny is thinking.



Totally worth checking out and letting your little teen/tween howler take a bite at.

[Ravenous Biblioworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3/5

So I was expecting a lot of things with this book. You know, like lots of action and fighting and fun. What I got was drama and teenage angst… though it was the good kind not the bad kind. Good? How so? Well, drama as in family issues and self discovery. Teenage angst as in handling your first crush/relationship, and going through the Change (aka somewhat like puberty, so stack the Change on top of it and it can get depressing), trying to fit in at school and finding your place. All things we heard of before. But Moore adds a slight touch to it by making it a “werewulves” and vampyres story.

Danny is our main character and he’s half “wulf” and half vampyre. What I liked about Moore’s story is that he has these explanations to his beliefs, for this book, in his vampyre and werewulf lore. Vampyres can procreate and they can’t turn humans into another vampyre. Both Vampyres and werewulves have existed along with humans from a long time ago as they share the same history. Certain famous figures in history are noted as vampyres (and I don’t remember any as werewulves). Moore has interlaced all of this information down smoothly. There aren’t a lot of information dumping. We get the information through snippets of classroom conversations, or the background noise of a TV, they are included in with the storytelling, scene, and moment. There weren’t a lot, close to none, instance where we get an information dump to explain what was what, who was what, and why. Through snippets and laying the clues of the world through out the story, it came naturally and built a good strong foundation for the history of the world in the book.

Danny is struggling to be himself in high school. He has a crush on a human girl and inter species relationships are frowned upon. The werewolves are considered the lowest of the low, and are basically treated as such. Vampires are the elite – the richest, smartest, and wealthiest between them, humans, and werewolves. You take away the vampires and werewolves element in this story and there would still be a strong story here. It could be taken to be race, economic class, and/or societal rank and the story would still exist. The story deals a lot with Danny, his need to try and be himself and knowing what he is and what he would like to be. We have the sister/sibling hate-love relationship going, a jerk coolest guy in school bullying him, and parental relationships that are strained. I mean we have things all found in a contemporary book thrust into a paranormal realm because the characters just happen to be vampires, werewolves, etc… like people are black, Asian, and white, etc.

Which brings me to the next point that nagged me. The vampires all are elitists and everyone wants to be like them. Here’s the thing that bothered me: all the vampires are blond, white skinned, with blue eyes. Every single time I read about a description about the vampires I was like, uhhh… what happened to all the minority groups. It was as if they all disappeared from the face of the earth. They didn’t exist in this story. Not at all. Even the humans were all white. It annoyed the hell out of me. At times, it felt like this book was written for white kids only. Whether it was intentional or not, I still felt that way. Normally, it wouldn’t bother me if there was no mention of other races, I would just assume there was and the story didn’t touch upon them because it didn’t matter. It bothered me here because there was so much emphasis on being a white person, I mean a vampire. I mean really there was. Everyone wanted to be a vamp, which were described as being white, blonde haired and blue eyes. Reminds me of Nazis and Hitler and if that’s what Moore was going for in his depiction of the vampires (because they are elitist and jerks and I was wishing every single one of them would get staked…) then I guess he made his point. But it’s as if you can only be a vampire if you’re a white person. That the elite can only be white peoples. There was no explanations or side comments or even a joke about how another race can’t/can attempt to be a white vampire. It was disorienting. Really, the world in this book was all filled by whites only. There was nothing blatantly racist here in this book, it’s just – as I have said – there was such a heavy note and emphasis on everyone trying to be the white vampire, it seemed a little too naive (or ignorant or foolish, but I can’t really say which for sure) to not touch upon the point of race in some way or another, even if it was one liner. Even Danny who has naturally dark hair and dark skin for a white person has gone through medical therapy to become whiter. We are talking about changing appearance to blend in to be the “cool” white peoples/vampires, and when it [the need to be a white vampire] is such a heavy focus, folks are going to question race. Whether it’s a simple: I wonder what happens to the colored people? Or tough luck for the black guy who wants to be a vamp. Or it’d be weird to see an Asian person with platinum blond hair and blue eyes. I mean these aren’t questions the book will have to have and answer but these are questions readers will have and have no answer to.

Aside from that fact, I felt Danny’s story was compelling. His being stuck on Juliette and him finding out he may have to go through the Change was believable. His relationships with his sisters, mother, and stepfather were all given a scene to attempt to depict the relationships they had. It was very contemporary. I found Danny likable for his need to want to be accepted and yet stay who he is. He doesn’t want to lightened his skin and go blonde. He liked a human even though inter species relations were frowned on, especially one with a werewolf. There was also the constant barrage of snippets of someone advocating civil rights for the werewolves (this just sparked a memory of a mentioning of the civil rights in the book… I can’t find the page where it was referenced, but then it raises the question, what happened to all the black (and colored) vampires/werewolves/humans?… Did the treatments turned them into white peoples vampires too? (I’m not being sarcastic, I’m being naively curious for the benefit of the doubt) and Danny having a spark of interest in supporting the movement but feeling too small and things are happening too much at a personally level to do anything about it. Though he does get into an argument with his family about it at the dinner table.

The language and form in the novel was average. The world building was built with snippets of history and snippets of descriptions (i.e. the werewolves lived in the slum part of town). It could have been more intense and immediate if we got a closer glimpse of the distinctions. Like when Danny traveled to visit his father in the not so good part of town, we only got a broad explanation of how the place was rundown. Give us descriptors, rotting walls, broken stair cases, rusted cars… etc. to give that visual emotional punch… things like this weren’t explored. Most everything was surface level and proceeded just a few inches deeper into emotional, but never thrusting us there. I understood the plight of Danny’s and his situation because there was just enough there to tell me what was going on but there wasn’t enough for me to completely feel for him. There were implication and I knew what was being implied so I could vaguely imagine what was going on. So when Danny starts crying it’s like that awkward moment when a strangers (or someone you barely know) cries in front of you and you don’t know what to say or do so you just watch and stare awkwardly, which shouldn’t be the case because we know Danny’s history and story like we were BFFs ( as the story is told from his perspective).

Overall, I enjoyed the story. It was a good read and I read it in one sitting. I would recommend the book but it wouldn’t be a first recommendation or be a book that I’ll remember to recommend only if I come across it. I didn’t hate it and I didn’t love it. It was okay and good.

Verdict: Library check out if you want to.

Check out my book review blog at http://youngadultbookguide.wordpress....

[Fiendishly Bookish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Moon Rising is a strong contender for one of the most realistic teen wolf books I’ve read, more reminiscent of the sci-fi/horror section than the young adult. So where to place it? That’s up to Hyperion. Peter Moore renounces the typical soft werewolf lore in favor of something more authentic. His story is less angst, less “girly”, less Twilight (and Shiver for that matter). Instead, it has more substance and is chock full of real world issues than any other. Can it reel in the girl demographic?-that remains to be seen.

At Carpathia Night, Dante Gray has no idea that his world and his high school life are going to get just a bit more difficult. The product of a wulf father and a vamp mother, Dante has mostly favored his mother’s genes. Mostly. After a few genetic treatments to suppress his wulven side, Danny lives his life with his family mostly as a vampire. He sleeps in a Sol-Blok, hangs with a vamp crowd at school, drinks SynHeme and tries to monitor his daily globin levels when he can. He thought he would in the clear until he starts to exhibit some strange effects.

Red Moon Rising is the story of a boy who is at the mercy of fifty percent of his wulf genes and now must potentially embrace a society that is wholly ostracized against. In Moore’s world, Wulves and vamps are two disparate sects of society, and the parallel between real world segregation becomes hauntingly and uncomfortably clear.

Wulves are thought to be lesser in both intellect, and civility, worthy of only the most menial of tasks. Vampires on the other hand are at the highest echelon of society, even above that of humans. Every month wolves are forced into containment, into wolf “compounds” where they are at the mercy of their animal side. Some walk in, others don’t walk out.

As he experiences all the pre-moon phase jitters, it becomes apparent that Moore has no intention of fluffing the story up. Werewulf change is painful, harrowing, and mind bending. But even as Danny succumbs, his awkward genetic makeup spins him into an anomaly that defies classification. With werewolf issues at a critical point in his society, does he have the ability to bridge the gap?

Moore’s voice is one of seriousness that even the most light-hearted banter cannot even alleviate. This tale will wildly appeal to the male crowd who understands the chest pounding and (grrrr) rites of passage present within its pages.

If Hyperion expects crossover to the girly-girl crowd then Red Moon Rising will have to be significantly diluted down into more frothy fare. Less bone, blood, and fur. Lighten up on Gunther, and cut Huey and his activist cause as well as the requisite visuals of wulves being hunted down indiscriminately by the police and the LPCB.

On the other hand, if you believe in the book then let it be. I enjoyed Peter Moore’s vision. Red Moon Rising is indeed, all sharp edges, but it’s a fierce read. I could not put it down. Danny is in perpetual motion throughout the book fighting off hurdles one by one. It’s page-flippingly addictive, action-packed and steaming with obstacles coming from every direction.

A Fiendishly Bookish Review (and one grumpy cat)

[Kirsten C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just like how I remembered, I loved this book as a kid, it was just the nostalgia I needed. 4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Dyonasis P · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very enjoyable book. I love reading about vampires and werewolves, but now that I found one about a hybrid. I have never been more excited to read a book. It's cool to see how Danny has to change and adapt to his new abilities. The part I loved the most is when he is running back to his house before the full moon rises into the night sky. Has Danny is struggling to get out of the full moon's rays, he is fighting the transformation at the same time. This is causing him to have inner conflict while he's running. I really enjoyed reading this book and I would enjoy reading it again. The way the story is written is really good with changing events and scenes in the book. It honestly gives the reader a good idea of what Danny has to go through during his middle school year.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is not a good book, necessarily. I think the plot is fine, and i liked most of the characters that i was supposed to like, etc. The main problem is with the worldbuilding: you cant have a fantasy story with visible supernatural creatures but have like.... the same history. I laughed out loud when he dropped that the Nazis had a division called Wulfjaeger to persecute werewulves. it's details like this that make this book REQUIRED READING for all.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this review copy from the peeps over at Disney Hyperion. Thank you. =)


a wulf in vamp clothing:

On the surface, Red Moon Rising would appear to simply be a quirky story about a teen wolf-vamp named Danny Grey. With a vamp for a mom and a wulf for a pop [yep these wolves are wulves], Danny has always felt somewhere in between. At a young age he went through genetic therapy to get rid of his wulf tendencies. And while his light blue eyes and "blood lust" claim him as a vamp, his dark brown hair and strength are clear signs that his wulf side is still strong [insert Star Wars joke]. Having turned his back on his Dad, and wulves in general, Danny has tried to be all the vamp he can be. But when he starts noticing pains in his teeth, hair on his arms, and that SynHeme, a commercial synthetic blood beverage [nom nom nom], is making him queasy, Danny quickly realizes that maybe his inner wulf wants to come out and play. In a socitey where wulves are repressed and viewed as unclean animals being a wulf is for the dogs [pun intended]. Danny begins to struggle with who he truly is and how he will fit into this world.


who doesn't like a lil dystopian aka reasons cutie reallly liked this book:

I like when a book has something to say. Don't get me wrong, I do like myself a good, mind numbing read every now and then, much like I do *heart* myself a good TV sitcom, but as a whole, I tend to want an author to share with me their world view and maybe try to show us a little somethin'-somethin' about human nature. Peter Moore does so in Red Moon Rising. He combines his quirky, fast paced writing style which flows easily from the pages with a deeper message. It's nothing new nor is it Earth shattering, but I think that's why I like it. It's simple. To the point. Something we all need to remember: Oppression of a group of people based on social prejudiced is grossly unacceptable. Furthermore, we can not judge a people as a whole by the actions of a few. While the main plot thread of Red Moon Rising is about Danny dealing with his seemingly inevitable change into a wulf, there is a deeper message and a bigger story that is churning under the surface of this tale. And that, my friends, is what sold me hook, line, and sinker. The potential with this story, what could become of Danny, what will happen in his world, what role he will plan in the "bigger picture," and so on, have really got me excited about this story.


too much with too little. aka reasons cutie was a little dissatisfied:

There were a few things that held me back while reading the story. The first being the scope of the world, which was almost to grand for the length of this novel. I felt a little jarred at times, while trying to keep up with the lingo of the book. The dictionary in the back did help, but in some ways it made it more difficult to get into a reading groovy. I almost wish there had been a little set up from Danny about the world he lived in, instead of just pushing us [the readers] into the story without much to hold onto. Also, I felt some of the story lines were either rushed or just didn't need to be there. For example, I would have traded the whole love story with Juliet for more info on Huey Seele. Not to say I don't love meself a good love story *coughTwilightercough*, but for this first book of the series [*crosses fingers* sequel please?] my extremely humble opinion is that the love interest should have been introduced but maybe dealt with on a bigger scale later on. Or that another 100 pages should have been added to this novel. In conclusion: I wanted more in a BIG way and a GOOD way from this book. This was a simple case of: cutie has a lot of questions and needs to have them answered.


survey says:

All in all, I didn't think this was the perfect novel, it did leave me a little wanting, but in the end, the great far out weighed the somewhat negative, and I'd have to say I am totally sold on this story. I really like Danny. I am beyond impressed that Mr. Moore decided to make this story not about Danny's issues with his family who pulled together in the end to help their loved one.... Fancy THAT! A young adult novel breaking away from the family drama norm and creating a solid loving family support system! Um... where was I? Oh yeah, I really liked this book.

[Missy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Red Moon Rising is the story of Danny (Dante), a teenage boy living in a world divided into three very distinct and separate classes. There are the vampires – elite, rich and powerful, there are the humans – desperate to be everything the vampires are, and at the bottom of the pack are the wulfs. Danny, unfortunately, is part wulf. He’s had treatments to make him look more like the exclusive vamps with whom he attends school, but he had to stop them, and now his symptoms are getting worse. To top it all off, Danny has to deal with conflicting emotions towards his biological father, qualms with his mom and stepfather, and the snotty kids at school. Throw in a love interest, and Danny’s world is ready to turn upside-down.

I don’t like vampires and, frankly, werewolves tend to bore me because it’s the same-old, same-old every time…usually. Red Moon Rising isn’t your typical werewolf and vampire tale. With a teenage boy as your narrator, a society that’s twisted and skewed and every bit of teenage angst you can bear, Red Moon Rising is daring and quirky. Author, Peter Moore, took your traditional paranormal tale, turned it upside-down, threw in a snarky MC and added an actual undercurrent of morals throughout the story – an intriguing and infectious combination.

I’ve decided I don’t read nearly enough books from a male POV. Red Moon Rising was a fun read, in large part because of Danny’s narration. He’s every bit a teen boy with humour and hilarity, but his emotions run a bit deeper, and a little more subtle at times, though perhaps more powerful because they boil over at the right (or wrong – depending on how you look at it) moments. I think there’s a real theme of prejudice in the story, as well. Society has class divisions, certain species are considered subhuman, and frankly, this adds a deeper note to what could have very well been a shallow tale. I think the main highlight of the story was the developing relationship between Danny and his father though, and the internal battle for acceptance that Danny consistently dealt with. The only real qualm I had with Red Moon Rising was that the plot becomes a bit predictable after a while and let’s face it – I like to be surprised, and there were a lot of unanswered questions.

Overall though, Red Moon Rising was a great paranormal read, and it definitely exceeded all my expectations. I give it a strong 4 out of 5, and I’d recommend it for a YA audience (or upper MG), especially those who enjoy paranormal stories.

I received this ARC free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Moon Rising is not your typical vampire / werewolf novel. As the beginning explains, there is not only one (homo) species, but rather three. Therefore, these paranormal creatures are not made.. only born. But not all is peaceful between these species. Think 1950s / 1960s Civil Rights Movement, only with vampires vs. werewolves. And in Dante's society, vampires rein supreme. They are the rich and powerful. While werewolves are completely looked down upon. They are the poor, the laborers, the replaceables. And our main character is caught inbetween both worlds.

The concept of Red Moon Rising completely caught me by surprise. It is really creative and unique for a paranormal novel. And while I really loved this concept, wish I had known a lot more about Dante's world. Who decided that vampires are the "better" species? How do humans fit into the picture as a whole? There were so many questions left unanswered.

What bothered me the most was that for most of this novel, I was not sure of what the main conflict of the novel was. Is it Dante being half vamp / half were? Was it the possibility of having to suffer through the Change? I just did not know what the novel was building up to. And the ending... wait, what? ... there was an ending? It answered practically nothing.

Despite some troubles, Red Moon Rising was a fun read, thanks mainly to Dante's Point of View. His funny, awkward personality kept me glued to the novel's pages. And while I was completely disappointed by the ending, there is plenty of evidence that we may not have seen the last of Dante. Which I really hope is the case because I need some resolution to all these questions that I have.

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

RED MOON RISING is honestly the funniest most clever vampire/werewolf book I’ve come across in a long time. Moore clearly has a gift for dialogue, as it is on the money hilarious and quick witted. The characters are all well fleshed out and vividly written, making it easy to become invested in them.

While the idea of vampires living out in the open, surviving on synthetic blood it not a new one (see TRUE BLOOD); the surprisingly original concept of speciesism is definitely intriguing. Where Vamps are considered the populations aristocrats, followed up by Humans and scraping the bottom of the gene pool are Werewulvs; Moore shrewdly creates a paranormal world that mirrors the American Civil Rights movement of the 60’s.

Slightly awkward, yet sweetly charming, 15 year old Danny happens to be the unusually combination of half vamp/ half wulf. Fortunately for him he underwent special genetic treatments as an infant to allow the vamp DNA to dominate and forcing the wulf genes dormant. Unfortunately for Danny, he had a reaction to the treatments and was unable to complete them. And although his need for blood and intense blue eyes are trade mark vampire, his stocky build, darker hair and skin are obvious giveaways that he is not a pureblood, making his life in an elite mostly vampire high school, far from a picnic.

Moore ends with what can only be concluded as a set-up for a sequel and if the next book is as cleverly written as RED MOON RISING, it’s definitely going to be one I’d like to read.

[Miyong · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's probably my own fault. I was expecting more than this book's plot suggested. So there you have it.

I suppose it's not the worse, but really, the plot's too...shallow, too simple. In turn, the solution to the problem also seemed simple.

The characters were rather meh. I couldn't get to just even be fond of someone--most of the time, everyone's just plain annoying.

Gunther was too annoying. I didn't even get the point of him being a complete loser and jerk in the beginning. Surely, if him being a specist was highlighted from the beginning, I would've understood the danger Danny was in and why Gunther was so bent on annoying the heck out of Danny and his life.

The romance part? Fail. I didn't enjoy reading it, especially the sexy scenes and convos about that. Unfortunately, I also didn't share Danny's huge appreciation and admiration of Juliet. She's mostly flat. Just like Danny.

The book could've had a bigger plot that made much more sense. I'm no writer, but this one's just...whatever. I suppose it's not really worhtless, but I'd suggest reading when you can't find a much more exciting book to read. It didn't really hold my interest much; it just so happened I was determined to finish it quickly.

[Huda Sarkowi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red Moon Rising is probably something that I won't recommend to someone who wants to read a book similar to Twilight. But it is a fresh change from the typical Mr-Perfect-Invincible-Vampire. For once the vampyres in this book actually bleed, they are not portrayed as a sensuous non breeding species, but as everyday people but with the exception of blood-drinking.

So Danny was a regular teen, constantly bickering with his perfect older sister, a gay best friend, he scored himself a human girl friend, perfectly regular. Only that he's changing into a werewulf like his biological father. Werewulves were not second-class citizens; they had no place at all in the society. What worst? A specist vampyre named Gunther was suspicious that he is a werewulf posing as a vampyre.

Not much fighting scene in this book, quite a shame for a paranormal book intended for boys. But Danny's dilemma is so normal that it seems so amusing that this art is imitating real life. Enjoyable read. Outstanding? Not really.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story, but it wasn't great by any means. I thought Danny was a good MC, but I didn't like the way the story was told. I wasn't sure what the main conflict was and the ending was just okay. Not a book I recommend, unless it fit what someone was looking for exactly.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had a chance to read an advance copy and loved it!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting new spin on an old tale. A couple of things left in the air, so really hoping there is going to be more.

[Alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was recommended as a "Now you're a werewolf" book. And that's a big guilty pleasure of mine. (Maybe I shouldn't be guilty about it, but it's not very "literary" and culture has a whole thing about that....) It is definitely that type of book.

Danny is a half-vamp, half-wulf hybrid and the wulf genes are coming to the forefront despite supposedly having had them repressed. So he's going to Change. And since this is a society with rampant werewulf discrimination, he tries to hide it.

I've always rolled my eyes at the the whole half-vamp-wolf thing, but I was willing to look past it, since it didn't seem this was the bad-ass kind that is totally OP. Good news. He's not. Danny feels like a normal boy going through a difficult situation. He has a bullying problem, which didn't appeal to me (I'm not big on anything that feels too much like school-age drama), but I liked the resolution and it felt believable. Well, the parts we saw anyways. It did feel a bit cleaned up too tidy at the very, very end, but that's normal.

Downsides -- Some of the dialogue feels forced and clunky. There is a few scenes that are clearly just put in there for exposition-y purposes that didn't feel natural. And some of the world-building didn't make much sense. The big one for me: why is a chamber illegal? Rich wolves go to a rest home with a 60% chance for something to go seriously wrong and everybody talks about the compound being the worst option? Maybe if you're more concerned about scarring than your brain... but why wouldn't the rich lobby congress to approve the chambers. As long as they get inspected, I don't know why they would be illegal. It feels like they have to be illegal for the plot to work out the same, so they are. And that's not good enough.

If you can ignore those things, then go read this book. It's still a lot of fun and hits the right emotional beats. The climax was exciting and kept me up later that I should have been.

[Sarah Ramirez · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Red Moon Rising” by Peter Moore is a fictional book that is about a society that has vampires, humans and wolves. Danny is the protagonist, and he is a half vampire and half wolf. This society is unfair because vampires are treated better than wolves. Every month during the full moon, the wolves are taken into a place where can go through the “change” but that place is like a prison and they are treated like trash. Danny and his sister received genetic treatments so they can look like vampires and would not need to go through the monthly changes. But in the middle of the treatments, Danny got sick and didn’t finish them. After awhile, he went to the dentist and found something really weird. Then he went to talk to his father (he is also a wolf) to ask questions about those weird symptoms he has been having. In school, there is a kid called Gunther and he is the antagonist. He doesn’t want the wolves to be mixed with vampires and he tries everything to get Danny sent away. Also, a human girl called Juliet is also wondering what’s wrong with him. Any time Danny can find out if his life is ruined. I enjoyed the book because it feels pretty realistic when it comes to teens problems but also it is fiction, so it is pretty interesting and I could distract myself a little by reading this book and getting into the story. If you like fictional books but also teen drama, you will enjoy this book.

[Cambria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this book. Quick easy read YA book. It's interesting to hear this perspective on a person who has vampire and werewolf parents. Not common. I've always thought of werewolves and vampires as evenly matched so it's interesting seeing their strengths and weaknesses distinguished. Also interesting to see what the author does with a setting where vampires and werewolves are known to humans and part of their society. It makes sense, but is unfortunate that werewolves get the "short end of the stick" per say as werewolves obviously have an animal form which is played on and people try to reduce them as merely animals. It was cool to see a supportive family for Danny. Wish there was sequel. It would have been interesting to learn about Danny's new sequel and what ended up happening between him and Juliet.

[Scycer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good coming of age fantasy. Add a good paradigm for the universe and we have gold.

Red Moon Rising narrates the challenges a young Vampire-werewolf hybrid faces when his werewolf genes start taking over. In a society where Vampires are the ultra rich , humans somewhere in between and werewolf's take the bottom of the totem pole most of time. This book also takes in well the class divide in the daily life of the characters.

A lot of parallels can be drawn to the racial and economic divides we have in reality.

I do wish there was a book two though. There are a few threads left loose that could be taken to closure and enough plot points that could take the rest of the school year.

I do recommend checking it out. The audiobook was narrated very well.

[Saif Bawany · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was a waste of time. I swear - through the first 3 quarters of the book - I really wanted to go back in time to the moment where I was buying this book (I think that was more than 5 years ago) & knock my younger self out from doing so. The book only got interesting towards the end, but I guess that's too late for me.

Thereafter, I found out that there's no sequel in the works. This makes me doubtful as to whether it made sense to add those cliffhangers.

One last thing. Claire was amazing throughout. The rest of it, meh.

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

13 year old me probably woulda been all about this book. Old fart me thought it was an enjoyable, quick and easy read. The ending seemed terribly rushed and needed more development...But I'm trying to teach myself that not everything published needs to be mind blowing.

[Kayla Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, I enjoyed it, but the book left a lot of things unanswered and I ultimately felt unsatisfied. I would give it a higher rating if it was clear this was a series, but it's been some time, and no sequel has been published, so for now, 3 stars.

[Addy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a pretty good read and did have me “hungry for more”but the ending could have used more, it was definitely what I expected but it could have used more after how it ended if that makes sense. Still overall a good book and worth the read!

[Sarah Gries · Rating 2 out of 5]

Red Moon Rising wasn’t very impressive.

The characters were a little too young for me to relate too, and I couldn’t find any real fear or excitement in the plot.

Now I understand why Moore chose to add the political issues in his book, because it relates to society. But, it just doesn’t have any other depth besides that. I get there’s a “big bad” bully, but again the extent of that bullying is really unrealistic and this is a very fictitious book.

It was a simple and easy read, which I enjoyed. I hated the mom and the sisters, because they were too cruel in my opinion. Moore needs time to grow in his work, or focus on younger ages.

Cheers.

[Olivia Dodd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but the ending just left me wishing there was a little more.

[Michelle Gath she-her · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started slow for me and the ending was more exciting but I wasn't very satisfied with the final scene.

[Tamzen Van Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in a few sittings its not overall a bad book. I was just kinda confused about the vampires and werewolves and stuff and how they worked.

[Emily Kuhn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. You don’t get a whole lot of books written about vampire werewolf hybrids so I liked that aspect s lot.

[Andrea❤️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, definitely YA.

[Addie Neath · Rating 3 out of 5]

dnfed.. it was too YA for me.