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Love is a werewolf, influenced by the moon and terror, and always about to change.
Liv has a secret.
Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.
But in the woods, a mysterious woman watches Liv. In the woods, a pack of wild boys lurks. In the woods, Liv learns about the curse that will haunt her forever. The curse that caused the frenzy four years ago. And that may cause it again, all too soon.
While Corey and Liv’s love binds them together, Liv’s dark secret threatens to tear them apart as she struggles to understand who—or what—she really is. And by the light of the full moon, the most dangerous secrets bare their claws. . . .
Strange things have been happening to Liv. Ever since her thirteenth birthday, she has felt cursed - trapped by something she can't explain. Her body is not her own - a transformation has begun and there is no way of stopping it. Her peers make fun of her, and her parents are far from understanding. Liv finds solace in her best friend, Pace, the beautiful, talented jock who is hiding a secret of his own, and boyfriend, Corey, who must hide in the shadows because Liv's family would never condone their relationship. She feels safe in the woods that surround her house, but danger lurks in the trees. A string of murders have been committed and the killer has not been found. So many questions, and very few answers - Liv wants to know the truth, but can she accept the reality that faces her? I am constantly amazed by the brilliance that is Francesca Lia Block. Her stories are lyrical masterpieces that flow effortlessly across the pages. She has a way of speaking to young adult audiences that many other YA novelists have not yet grasped. Her prose is lyrical, lilting, but also frank and unyielding. She has a way of blending the fantastic with harsh reality, and somehow, it works. If you have never read a Block tale before, pick this one up - it's an excellent place to start!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.lilmissjenny
Posted February 19, 2011
why is shy writing this stuff.. her stories are always so awesome and now she's going the way of those crappy twilight books... so disappointed.
1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Owlmanafanatic16
Posted April 3, 2012
i really enjoyed this book. This the only book i've read by Francesca. All i can say is that i hope therre is a sequel.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 29, 2011
Typically, i love block's style, but i feel in this her euphoric atomosphere is missing. It feels like any other young adult novel out there lately. Since it doesn't have that usual air, it feels a little off, like it could have been written by anyone. It's not that bad though, if you haven't read any of her other books.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.The cover is beautiful, it has movement, and interest, all the things the story lacks in abundance.
A quick summary. Liv is a 17 year old werewolf. Who's in denial. She's weird and awkward, but Liv finds a place to belong with Pace her best friend and Corey her boyfriend. Liv lives a lie hiding who and what she is from everyone even herself. Her mom is the perfect former beauty queen huntress, to Liv's abnormal freakish physical qualities and vegetarian tendencies. Liv doesn't want to face what she is, or trust her boyfriend to still love her if he knew she was different. But a mysterious family of werewolves has been keeping an eye on her for years. With their appearance she will have to confront her fears.
With the substance in this book I find it hard to even write this review. I don't know where to begin. Ugh, I finished this story thinking, Can I get my Money Back? It seems like Block wanted to take these commonly used ideas and story lines and do something different. But it came off under planned and patchy and just failed. I suppose I have to mention that this book is really short, maybe too short. The story could have used more development, there's barely any backstory to a lot of the threads. The conclusions felt limp. They did make sense, but I don't feel Block elaborated enough on anything, especially Pace's romance, or end. The story line about the werewolf family and Victor was like an after thought, hardly worth mentioning, but could have become a great love triangle. I also found the romance in this book weak. We enter the story when everything great about a romance has already happened, not that it mattered the way they came together was pretty anti climatic anyway. Liv had already made up her mind, she had known and been with Corey for years, so there was no wooing, no falling in love or challenge from another beau. It was really a little bit of angst, apprehension, then a lot of sex. The whole book seemed more like an outline or summary for a book in the process of being written. I found the Frenzy anything but what the title suggests. It was flat and depressing.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This book was a real disappointment, it had SO much potential too. The Frenzy is very confusing at first and you don't even really know whats going on. After about 100 pages things start to get more interesting, but honestly this book has a load of information that is useless and then BAM at the end it just explains everything and ends. I could think of a couple ways the author could have improved this, this book would have been good if it had been stretched out some. maybe be a series? it seemed very sloppy at the end how everything just happens in a couple pages then ends, the the author just wanted to get done with there work instead of making a nice ending. I must admit i did enjoy the characters, you really feel like you know them when reading, but besides that i couldn't sink in with this book, too sloppy. everything could had been improved by simple things.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.ctyler
Posted March 10, 2011
I love Francesca's work to death...but I am so confused as to why she is falling in line with the mainstream! We love her work because its different from anything else out there. Not because its the exact same crap every other author out there is writing just tot get a quick fifteen minutes of literary fame.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is not the kind of werewolves book that I normally read but I was really surprised. I started reading it and was going to just give up and put it back on the shelf. For some reason I decided to keep reading, I guess I wanted to know what happened. I am so glad I did, I really liked the entire book and the ending was great. I thought Liv and Corey made a nice couple and I liked Pace too. What Corey and Joe Ranger did for Liv with the silver hand and then with the wolves at the end made for a great ending. I just wish there was a sequel to be about Liv and Corey and their life together. Captivating, romantic and heartbreaking. Overall a great read that I recommend!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.kittydanza
Posted October 29, 2010
THE FRENZY, by Francesca Lia Block, is an interesting new perspective on werewolves. Liv spent her time after "the incident" at thirteen avoiding the posibility that it might happen again, or why. It was a fun ride to figure out what she was and what caused this change within her.
It is like a breath of fresh air when I come across a paranormal book that truly seperates itself from the rest. I love werewolf books, but after reading so many they all seem to blend together. Block really stepped out of the "norm" for this genre and created something haunting, suspenseful, and pretty amazing. When most other books in this category experience how the person changes and then adapts, this one showcased the fight against the change. Liv had to live with being so different, internally and externally, all she wanted was to be herself. She had to hide the relationship with the love of her life, and hold the secret of her best friends identity along with her own.
The relationships among the characters were very complex and created an emotional turmoil in me. I absolutely hated Liv's mother, felt pity for her father, and loved Corey and Pace. I hated that Pace and Liv had to pretend to be with each other because it was socially accepted in their community. Neither could be with who they truely wanted to. Block's writing really tugged at my heart-strings.
One thing I would have liked to see more of was the family of wolves in the forest. I had a hard time deciding what part of Liv to side with. I understand her motivation to want to be normal, but I am always attracted to the 'paranormal' in these books. I wish I could have gotten to see more of Liv with the other wolves and what could have become of that.
The best way I think to describe this story is that it is gritty and rough around the edges. This community that Liv lives in is not an accepting place for anyone outside the norm and how a young girl struggles through it is the focus of this story. For anyone who is a fan of the paranormal and YA, I do recommend this book.
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Posted April 17, 2011
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Posted February 15, 2012
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Posted February 26, 2011
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Posted September 3, 2010
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Posted October 22, 2010
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Posted December 25, 2010
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Overview
Liv has a secret.
Something happened to her when she was thirteen. Something that changed everything. Liv knows she doesn’t belong anymore—not in her own skin, not in her family . . . not anywhere. The only time she truly feels like herself is when she’s with her boyfriend, Corey, and in the woods that surround her town.
But in ...