Post by Rainvainz on Jan 2, 2015 17:18:50 GMT -5
I always save the titles of the books for when you click on the topic in order to preserve the mystery, but today you should know that what you're getting! Werewolves!
The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp! Man, this was my favorite when I was little. Look at that cover. The wolf with the clothes next to it. The full moon against the purple sky. I especially love the bubbling swamp with trees concealing the danger at every step! These covers sold the books more than the writing. Finding and posting these covers is my favorite part of every review.
Anyway, we start here with Grady and his family moving to Fever Swamp. Why would a family move to a swamp? Well, Grady's parents are scientists and want to study swamp deer. Oh, that explains it. They already have the deer in pens in their backyard and plan on releasing them into the swamp and studying their habits in the swamp. Man, I sure hope nothing happens to those deer. Like a horrible wolf mauling! Right away you know those deer are going to die at some point. Bank on it!
Grady and his sister Emily go exploring the swamp in order to become accustomed to their new home. Of course, they get lost along the way. Grady noticed how the swamp seems to bubble and how dense the trees are. Man, it would suck if something chased you through here at the end in some type of chase sequence. The siblings find a mauled bird in the swamp and wonder what caused the animal to die. Foreshadowing!
The siblings finally make it out right before it gets dark. Grady stays to play in the yard as the sun starts to set and meets a local boy named Will. Suspect Alert! He must be the wolf! Will is described as being about the same age as Grady, but larger somehow, like a sports athlete. They toss a baseball back and forth and Grady always fails to catch the ball while Will seems to have great vision in the dark and lightening fast reflexes as he always catches the ball. Good werewolf. I mean dog! I mean Will! Will tells Grady that the name Fever Swamp comes from the past when a group of settlers got a fever and died after entering the swamp. Grady goes to bed that night, but wakes up...with a fever!
Grady sweats from the fever and goes to the bathroom to check his temperature. He notices that the full moon is out and that the deer are making a lot of noise in the yard. Grady then hears a scratching noise by the back door. He runs into Emily in their kitchen. She heard all the werewolf-like noises too! Grady goes to check the door leading to the backyard and sees nothing. He then steps out into the yard and gets tackled by a hairy creature! It turns out to be a stray dog. Grady names it Wolf! Suspect Alert! He must be the werewolf. He is even named Wolf and has hair! Grady begs to keep the possibly lethal killing machine next to his bed and the family all goes to sleep. Grady settles down with his dog and right before he drifts off to sleep he hears the howls.
The next morning the family does not even really mention the howls. Grady, Will, and Wolf go to explore the swamp because, well, what else can you do at this point? They already played baseball. While exploring the swamp Wolf runs ahead leaving Grady and Will on their own. That's when they see the Swamp Hermit! Suspect Alert! He must be the werewolf! He is carrying a dead turkey and is covered in blood. He cannot be a simple hunter. The Swamp Hermit hears Grady and Will calling him a werewolf and decides to chase after the kids while screaming "I'm the werewolf!" in order to clear his name. Well, how odd. The boys run like heck and escape the swamp. Wolf comes trotting out afterwards and Grady is pissed that Wolf did not attack the Hermit. Grady and Will hang out in the yard while Cassie comes over. Cassie?! What the heck? Another Character? Suspect Alert! Where has she been this whole time? Maybe she was the one howling! Why else would she be introduced this late? The kids talk for a little while and then disperse. Wolf wants to roam around outside this night so he does not stay by Grady.
Grady hears howling once again that night. This time he hears the deer crying and the sounds of a fence tearing. Grady walks out into the clammy night air to explore! Along the way he finds some blood and a dead deer. The other deer are huddled in the corner of their pin as if terrified by something. Grady's dad comes along and patches up the fence. Suspect Alert! Awfully convenient time to show up, buddy! You were the one that took your family to the swamp in the first place! Of course, dad blames Wolf for the mauling since he was out that night. Wolf comes bumbling back into the yard all innocent looking. Dad chains him up and plans to have him put to sleep the next day!
WOW! Wait, a book where a dog might get put to sleep. That is awful. Grady thinks so too so he lets Wolf run away in the morning and Wolf escapes into the Fever Swamp. Grady's dad is angry, but Grady is convinced that a werewolf mauled the local animals and not Wolf. Grady's parents do not believe him and dismiss the day's previous events with the Swamp Hermit. Grady decides to stay up and prove Wolf's innocence on the final night of the full moon. That evening word gets around that a man down the street disappeared the other night and has not returned home. He was last seen going into Fever Swamp to hunt turkeys(!). Yeah, like those turkeys the Swamp Hermit was carrying! Grady is even more convinced of Wolf's innocence.
That night Grady hears the howls and sees a shadow in the yard. Grady slides out of his window onto the dew-covered grass. He checks on the deer and sees a shadow enter the swamp. As Grady makes his way through the dark he bumps into a figure! It's Will! Will says that he also heard the howls and wants to tag along to search for Wolf. Grady and Will get separated and Grady hears the howls again. This time closer! He noticed that the howls sound human as if they are sad. Grady is attacked by the werewolf as he reaches the middle of the swamp! The werewolf bites Grady on the arm and holds him down. This is when Grady sees the face of the werewolf in the moonlight. It is Will. A cloud passes over the moon and Will briefly reverts back to human and tells Grady to run because he does not want to hurt him. Before Grady can flee the moonlight transforms Will back into a werewolf and he attacks. As hope seems lost Wolf emerges from the trees and fights werewolf Will. Eventually the two run off into the shadows and a howl of defeat is heard. Wolf emerges victorious! Grady passes out and is carried home by the Swamp Hermit.
Grady tells his family about how Wolf saved him that night in Fever Swamp. Grady's parents do not believe him about the werewolf, but note that the Swamp Hermit said that Wolf chased off a large animal and saved Grady so they let him keep Wolf. Grady asks his dad to go to Will's house if he does not believe his story. Grady's dad returns perplexed. He says Will's house is empty, as if nobody has lived their for months. Grady and his family no longer have any problems. Grady and Wolf love exploring Fever Swamp, especially when the moon is full. Grady later transforms into a werewolf from when Will bit him and goes off with Wolf into the swamp to end the story.
That is the perfect ending. I really liked Will and all the suspects kept me guessing when I was little as to who was the werewolf. Looking back, I guess it is pretty obvious, but I loved this story. It has suspense, a good chase scene, an ominous setting, and a classic creature! This story was perfect for a kid like me who wanted werewolves! The cover always scared all the kids I knew and I felt really cool reading a story like this with blood, and lots of scary moments for a young reader.
The Werewolf Of Fever Swamp! Man, this was my favorite when I was little. Look at that cover. The wolf with the clothes next to it. The full moon against the purple sky. I especially love the bubbling swamp with trees concealing the danger at every step! These covers sold the books more than the writing. Finding and posting these covers is my favorite part of every review.
Anyway, we start here with Grady and his family moving to Fever Swamp. Why would a family move to a swamp? Well, Grady's parents are scientists and want to study swamp deer. Oh, that explains it. They already have the deer in pens in their backyard and plan on releasing them into the swamp and studying their habits in the swamp. Man, I sure hope nothing happens to those deer. Like a horrible wolf mauling! Right away you know those deer are going to die at some point. Bank on it!
Grady and his sister Emily go exploring the swamp in order to become accustomed to their new home. Of course, they get lost along the way. Grady noticed how the swamp seems to bubble and how dense the trees are. Man, it would suck if something chased you through here at the end in some type of chase sequence. The siblings find a mauled bird in the swamp and wonder what caused the animal to die. Foreshadowing!
The siblings finally make it out right before it gets dark. Grady stays to play in the yard as the sun starts to set and meets a local boy named Will. Suspect Alert! He must be the wolf! Will is described as being about the same age as Grady, but larger somehow, like a sports athlete. They toss a baseball back and forth and Grady always fails to catch the ball while Will seems to have great vision in the dark and lightening fast reflexes as he always catches the ball. Good werewolf. I mean dog! I mean Will! Will tells Grady that the name Fever Swamp comes from the past when a group of settlers got a fever and died after entering the swamp. Grady goes to bed that night, but wakes up...with a fever!
Grady sweats from the fever and goes to the bathroom to check his temperature. He notices that the full moon is out and that the deer are making a lot of noise in the yard. Grady then hears a scratching noise by the back door. He runs into Emily in their kitchen. She heard all the werewolf-like noises too! Grady goes to check the door leading to the backyard and sees nothing. He then steps out into the yard and gets tackled by a hairy creature! It turns out to be a stray dog. Grady names it Wolf! Suspect Alert! He must be the werewolf. He is even named Wolf and has hair! Grady begs to keep the possibly lethal killing machine next to his bed and the family all goes to sleep. Grady settles down with his dog and right before he drifts off to sleep he hears the howls.
The next morning the family does not even really mention the howls. Grady, Will, and Wolf go to explore the swamp because, well, what else can you do at this point? They already played baseball. While exploring the swamp Wolf runs ahead leaving Grady and Will on their own. That's when they see the Swamp Hermit! Suspect Alert! He must be the werewolf! He is carrying a dead turkey and is covered in blood. He cannot be a simple hunter. The Swamp Hermit hears Grady and Will calling him a werewolf and decides to chase after the kids while screaming "I'm the werewolf!" in order to clear his name. Well, how odd. The boys run like heck and escape the swamp. Wolf comes trotting out afterwards and Grady is pissed that Wolf did not attack the Hermit. Grady and Will hang out in the yard while Cassie comes over. Cassie?! What the heck? Another Character? Suspect Alert! Where has she been this whole time? Maybe she was the one howling! Why else would she be introduced this late? The kids talk for a little while and then disperse. Wolf wants to roam around outside this night so he does not stay by Grady.
Grady hears howling once again that night. This time he hears the deer crying and the sounds of a fence tearing. Grady walks out into the clammy night air to explore! Along the way he finds some blood and a dead deer. The other deer are huddled in the corner of their pin as if terrified by something. Grady's dad comes along and patches up the fence. Suspect Alert! Awfully convenient time to show up, buddy! You were the one that took your family to the swamp in the first place! Of course, dad blames Wolf for the mauling since he was out that night. Wolf comes bumbling back into the yard all innocent looking. Dad chains him up and plans to have him put to sleep the next day!
WOW! Wait, a book where a dog might get put to sleep. That is awful. Grady thinks so too so he lets Wolf run away in the morning and Wolf escapes into the Fever Swamp. Grady's dad is angry, but Grady is convinced that a werewolf mauled the local animals and not Wolf. Grady's parents do not believe him and dismiss the day's previous events with the Swamp Hermit. Grady decides to stay up and prove Wolf's innocence on the final night of the full moon. That evening word gets around that a man down the street disappeared the other night and has not returned home. He was last seen going into Fever Swamp to hunt turkeys(!). Yeah, like those turkeys the Swamp Hermit was carrying! Grady is even more convinced of Wolf's innocence.
That night Grady hears the howls and sees a shadow in the yard. Grady slides out of his window onto the dew-covered grass. He checks on the deer and sees a shadow enter the swamp. As Grady makes his way through the dark he bumps into a figure! It's Will! Will says that he also heard the howls and wants to tag along to search for Wolf. Grady and Will get separated and Grady hears the howls again. This time closer! He noticed that the howls sound human as if they are sad. Grady is attacked by the werewolf as he reaches the middle of the swamp! The werewolf bites Grady on the arm and holds him down. This is when Grady sees the face of the werewolf in the moonlight. It is Will. A cloud passes over the moon and Will briefly reverts back to human and tells Grady to run because he does not want to hurt him. Before Grady can flee the moonlight transforms Will back into a werewolf and he attacks. As hope seems lost Wolf emerges from the trees and fights werewolf Will. Eventually the two run off into the shadows and a howl of defeat is heard. Wolf emerges victorious! Grady passes out and is carried home by the Swamp Hermit.
Grady tells his family about how Wolf saved him that night in Fever Swamp. Grady's parents do not believe him about the werewolf, but note that the Swamp Hermit said that Wolf chased off a large animal and saved Grady so they let him keep Wolf. Grady asks his dad to go to Will's house if he does not believe his story. Grady's dad returns perplexed. He says Will's house is empty, as if nobody has lived their for months. Grady and his family no longer have any problems. Grady and Wolf love exploring Fever Swamp, especially when the moon is full. Grady later transforms into a werewolf from when Will bit him and goes off with Wolf into the swamp to end the story.
That is the perfect ending. I really liked Will and all the suspects kept me guessing when I was little as to who was the werewolf. Looking back, I guess it is pretty obvious, but I loved this story. It has suspense, a good chase scene, an ominous setting, and a classic creature! This story was perfect for a kid like me who wanted werewolves! The cover always scared all the kids I knew and I felt really cool reading a story like this with blood, and lots of scary moments for a young reader.
