Ansel, or Sel for short knows he has to do it. Everyone does, and it’s only one night a month to reduce the Bite Risk. Besides, it’s one night he and his friends can do what they like, despite the rules that are constantly repeated at school and in their small town community.

Not that Sel and his friends do anything wild while their parents are locked up for the night. Most of the time they just hang out, riding their bikes around in the dark, playing cards or talking about what it would be like living somewhere other than Tremorglade. But they’ve seen what it’s like past the forest in the closest big city. Crime is rife and the Rippers are even worse. Sel is happy to stay where he is, but his friend Elena yearns for more.

Her big brother Pedro is curious too, but he’s the only one in their house bringing in a pay cheque. He too must be locked up for everyone’s safety, but they have it under control.

What Sel doesn’t like about what everyone calls ‘Confinement’, is the horrible sluggish feeling that overcomes the town that night every month. It makes him feel wooden and uncomfortable. But just like having to lock up his mum, he just puts up with it.

Pedro has been working on something to try and make Rippers less dangerous. Experimenting on himself, he builds electronic devices to work with until something goes terribly wrong. He’s always been super responsible about being locked up as all the adults do in Tremorglade – but one night he doesn’t come home in time.

Elena has to do the right thing – She sends an alert out to warn the rest of the town that a Ripper is free among them. Suddenly Tremorglade isn’t boring any more. Sel, Elena and a girl named Ingrid who has hated Sel for years, are thrown together in a war of lies, truth, and horrible discoveries.

Maybe the Rippers in town aren’t the real monsters?

A gripping read with an intriguing spin on Werewolves. The main characters, aged around 13, have the responsibility along with many other young people, to keep their small town safe from adults who turn once a month into slathering, freakishly-strong monsters. This being the norm in a small town is instantly engaging as the characters are just the same as any other teens – enjoying hanging out, bending the rules and wondering about the world outside their town.

The background history of this small town is laid out by the point of view character Ansel as he tells the story of Tremorglade and what happens there. He’s no hero, in fact his friends Elena and Ingrid are much braver throughout the novel, but he’s an excellent narrator in first person, present tense.

Big Pharma is nodded at in the plot, as is internet privacy, making this novel all the more real despite its supernatural creatures. 

Bite Risk is a thrilling dystopian read and not too scary for readers aged 11+

I love the cover!

Author – S J Willis

Age – 11+

(2023, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Horror, Family, Friendship, Secrets, Betrayal, Courage, Responsibility, Lies, Small Town, Discoveries, Truth, Escape, Who is Watching? Internet, Privacy, Control, Cages, Monster, Thriller, Big Pharma, Internet Privacy, Online  Privacy, Dystopian, Virus, Scary, Freaky)