Hair in All the Wrong Places 2 by Andrew Buckley

[Jax14]

Hair in All the Wrong Places 2 is the sequel to Hair in All the Wrong Places, but could be read as a standalone novel.

Colin is a 13-year-old boy living in Elkwood with his grandmother. Elkwood is no ordinary town, and Colin is no ordinary boy. After being bitten by Silas and turned into a werewolf, Colin is adjusting to his new life in a town filled with supernatural beings. While working with the Night Watch, a unit tasked with fighting rogue supernaturals, Colin encounters a being with red eyes, floating in the air. Things escalate and the situation ends badly. No one will believe Colin about the being and he is sent off in disgrace.
Colin and his witch girlfriend are back at school when a new principal arrives. Something is very off about him though. Soon stranger than normal strange things occur, and with the Night Watch away, it is up to Colin to save the day. It’s a huge burden to place on a young werewolf who hasn’t even transitioned at full moon by himself. Is Colin up to the task? And if not, is there anyone available to help?

Another great piece of writing by Andrew Buckley! He has taken the generally overworked supernatural sensation and put his spin on it. To be able to ensure that a middle grade book has enough substance to entertain an adult takes skill, and this series certainly entertains. You get action, humour, a clever storyline and a moral or two thrown in for good measure. Sometimes characters and plots can become cumbersome with descriptions or just too much info. Here we are presented with just enough so that the flow of reading is very comfortable. The author has a very easy to read writing style, which makes reading the book a pleasure. A clever little twist on the end definitely leaves you wanting more. Colin’s character is growing and many of his decisions are indicative of a good role model. New characters have entered the story, some good and some bad; but they all have their place.

I highly recommend this book and look forward to see what happens with Colin and Elkwood.

[K_Robinson]

The title of this book had me intrigued! This sounds like a book I would have enjoyed as a youngster. What would you rate this book out of 4 stars?

[Jax14]

For a middle grade audience I would definitely say 4 stars, but as an adult you would have to enjoy this sort of story to warrant that. I loved it's simplicity yet subtle cleverness, so it would really be up to the specific reader! To get the full story try and get hold of the first book though, as it does set a good scene.