Common Sense Media Review
By Andrea Beach
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, gore, steamy romance in good dark werewolf tale.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
When high-school senior Vanessa Hart gets BITTEN by a werewolf, she loses everything she loves and cares about in a single night. Her best friend is murdered, and her father turns his back on her as she's whisked away to live at the werewolves royal court. Locked in a room to wait out a transformation she may not even survive, Vanessa vows to find out who killed Celeste and bring them to justice. But simply fitting in with the merciless werewolf society is hard enough, let alone gaining enough trust to start asking hard questions. Making her life even more complicated are the feelings she's developing for the two werewolf princes who couldn't be more unalike. Can she trust either of them? Should she?
Is It Any Good?
This is a dark, violent addition to werewolf lore that has a unique vision of werewolf society. The werewolves in Bitten, even when they're in human form, live in a hidden, in-between world, and they're organized into royal courts with strict hierarchies. Knowing your place can be the difference between life and death in the ruthless court of Queen Sybil. Sometimes Vanessa's out-of-control rage gets a little repetitive, as does her frequent backing-and-forthing with the two love interests. But she makes an interesting example for young women about how anger can be a powerful driving force if you can control it. Fans of the genre who like things dark and bloody will enjoy this interesting take on werewolves from a debut author. The open ending leaves plenty of room for further intrigue as a new generation of werewolf royalty gets ready to take over.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Bitten. Is it too much? Too gory? How does reading about violence compare to seeing it in other media like movies, games, and videos?
What about the sexy stuff? How much is OK in books and other media aimed at teens?
Is Vanessa a good role model? What are her character strengths and weaknesses? What gives her the courage to live among werewolves, and what makes her persevere in her search for answers?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic , Monsters )
- Character Strengths : Courage , Empathy , Perseverance
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company
- Publication date : September 30, 2025
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 14 - 18
- Number of pages : 384
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : November 4, 2025
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