Mongrels

A coming-of-age tale about being an outsider (and, of course, werewolves)

As someone who otherwise has no specific interest in werewolf stories, I deeply enjoyed this literary take on the genre. It's a coming-of-age tale (the narrator is waiting to see if the family lycanthropy has been passed on to him) that's encased in the dynamics of a patchwork, lower-class family who are constantly on the move in the Southern United States. The author, a member of the Blackfeet Native American tribe who grew up in Texas, has called this book somewhat autobiographical; despite its supernatural themes and sometimes surreal tones, its sense of lived reality keeps it grounded. At its core, Mongrels is an Americana-tinged story about being outsiders — one that just so happens to be couched in unique, visceral, and sometimes humorous werewolf lore.