Book Banter -- Bitten

Title: Bitten (Women of the Otherworld, Bk. I)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Length: 379 pages
Genre: sci-fi/paranormal
Plot Basics: Elena Michaels is an oddity: she's the only female werewolf. Elena deals with being a werewolf, but she doesn't like her double life. When the Pack calls for her help, she ends up back in a lifestyle she tried to leave and wrestles with her loyalty to helping the Pack solve its current problem.
Banter Points: This is not your typical werewolf novel. It's not a string of fight scenes. There's no magic to being a werewolf, as Armstrong sticks to the classic idea that lycanthrophy is passed on either genetically or through biting. Bitten is smart and poignant as Elena has to figure out who she is and how to accept that identity.

Bummer Points: Apparently, in the future books in the series, Elena is not the only narrator.
Word Nerd recommendation: This was Word Nerd's second time reading this novel. When she read it first in 2002 when it was a new book, she didn't know it was going to be part of a series. Now that she discovered that, she needed a refresher before going on to book 2. But obviously, she remembered it was good enough the first time around to warrant a second visit. It's also a great book for readers who like the paranormal stuff but are looking for good plot and good characters to go with that element.