Mongrels
Why this book?
A family of werewolves tries to live large in a world that hates and fears them. Mongrels is one-part urban fantasy, one-part horror, one-part family drama, one-part Great American Novel, a coming-of-age story in its essence, a search for identity, a family epic. This book had me laughing out loud at times and "Wow"-ing at others because of the beauty of its prose and ideas. And then there were the moments where I winced and grimaced because of the pain the main character suffered. The violence, when it comes, is raw and brutal. The point-of-view narrative is believable as coming directly from the brain of an adolescent (but this is not a YA novel). Wonderful stuff.