Shadow of the Wolf

Goss'-swappin', channel-hoppin', boy-clockin' Danni is your archetypal adolescent in most respects. She's in and out of relationships. That's normal. She shelf-stacks at a supermarket. That's normal. She doesn't appear to own a mobile phone ... How, like, weird! No matter. When old school friend Leah shows up out of the blue, Danni meets her match, or rather her metaphor. Superficially streetwise though she is, Leah is the eponymous predatory loner, a damaged child who craves a settled family life and secure friendships with others. Peppered with the language of pubescence - life crises are 'full on', people are 'up themselves', 'reality checks' abound - and punctuated with pathetic fallacy to spell out the characters' see-sawing moods, Shadow of the Wolf might appeal to a (double-spaced) magazine readership, but is, in short, a depressingly undemanding read