A Dangerous Friendship (Woodwalkers 2) by Katja Brandis, Rachel Ward (Translator)

What worked:

Carag attends Clearwater High where all of the students and teachers are woodwalkers with the ability to morph into various animals. The school is designed to help the students survive among humans. Carag is a puma and his best friends Brandon and Holly are a bison and squirrel. Animal personalities still come through even when characters are in their human forms. Carag has a crush on Lou, an elk woodwalker, but pumas attacked her family in the wild. There’s a pack of bullying wolves that detest Carag since he seems to be the only character willing to stand up to them. Dogs and cats don’t get along. Carag has excellent vision and strong legs while some other characters have acute senses of smell and another character can give off an odor when frightened. Classes focus on “life skills” such as controlling their morphing abilities, dealing with stressful situations, and using their talents in combat settings.

An interesting school activity this year finds the students working in groups of three to perform expeditions within the human world. These tasks may seem very simple to readers but the woodwalkers find them stressful as they require unfamiliar social skills. In one, Brandon needs to stand by a road in bison form and not freak out when cars honk and drive by, and in another task, Carag’s group must walk around town and talk to strangers three times. They get grades on how well they succeed and keep their identities secret from humans. However, Carag is vulnerable to Milling every time he leaves the school grounds.

The conflict with Andrew Milling underlies the whole plot as his minions are lurking everywhere Carag goes. There’s even a spy in the school but the identity isn’t revealed until later in the book. Milling’s wife and daughter were killed by hunters so it’s understandable that he wants revenge against humans. Carag becomes more concerned with Milling’s obsession when he learns the man is running for senator. Milling’s specific plans aren’t shared but holding a political office can only make things worse. Carag knows his former mentor wants him to do something but he doesn’t know why it needs to be him. Perhaps it’s because Milling is also a puma but Carag knows the woodwalker is plotting something dangerous.

What didn’t work as well:

The opening pages share a memory Carag has with his older sister Mia but Carag has now decided to live among humans. His family isn’t really part of the plot in this book but there are frequent reminders of them throughout the story. It’s important to remember these characters but perhaps not so much at this time.

The Final Verdict:

I hadn’t read the first book but this series is innovative and entertaining. The most interesting part is how the animal personalities complicate some interactions but paint amusing mental pictures in other situations. Overall, animal fans should love this book and I recommend you give it a shot.