Unleashed by Kristopher Reisz

Description: Daniel Morning seems perfect -- handsome, charismatic, intelligent. But living up to everyone's expectations has cost him the right to make his own decisions. The urge to shatter those expectations is beginning to gnaw at his insides.

Then Daniel meets Misty. She's smoky, rebellious, tender...and much more. She decides to let him into her pack of outcasts -- and in on their little secret: She and her friends have learned to shapeshift, and have been prowling the night as wolves.

Daniel soon falls in love with the primal sensation of shifting, just as he's falling in love with Misty. The freedom to follow his most basic instincts is like nothing he's ever felt. But Daniel will slowly come to realize that such freedom comes at a price....

Review:

On the surface, Daniel and Misty seem different -- he is the "shooting star," complete with popularity, a beautiful girlfriend, and an early acceptance to Cornell; she is an outcast just trying to survive her senior year of high school amidst rude comments from her peers and the drudgery that is ISS. However, Daniel has more in common with Misty than anyone would realize. Both are struggling to figure out their futures and their place in the world in general. Once Daniel learns that Misty and her friends have learned how to shift into wolves, he soon finds himself as part of their pack. The freedom that comes with being a wolf is intoxicating to him, but the more he shifts, the more his human and wolf side blur together. Just like with the conformity of humanity, Daniels finds himself losing himself in the chaos of being a wolf, and only finding his own voice will save him and the rest of the pack -- if it's not already too late.

Unleashed is realistic, honest, and gritty with a unique take on werewolf mythos. While it may contain elements of the fantastical, this book will appeal to a broader range of readers because of how it tackles pertinent teen issues. Whether you're a shooting star, an outcast, or something in between, there's no one who's never had to deal with shaping their identity and facing the uncertainty of life after high school. The way those issues parallel with wolf-shifting is genius. As impressive as it is gripping, Unleashed is the perfect read for anyone in the mood for a fantasy that is more down-to-earth than others currently on the bookstore shelves.