100% Wolf by Jayne Lyons

Puffin Books, 2020. ISBN: 9781761040207. 231pp.
(Ages: 9 - 12) It is no surprise that 100% Wolf was made into a slapstick Australian animated film. The novel was originally published in 2008 but was republished in 2020 with the film's release. Freddy is a boy who lives in Farfang Castle with his traitorous uncle Sir Hotspur and his cousins Harriet and Chariot. They are all descendants of a nicer kind of werewolf called Fangen. When Freddy gets to the right age and on a full moon he is supposed to transform into a werewolf at a ceremony called a Transwolfation. Unfortunately this goes wrong and he becomes a poodle. His cousins make this permanent by attaching a moonstone to him and humiliating him with pink poodle styling. Freddy flees and makes friends with a noble stray but they end up in the Coldfax Dog Prison. This suits Sir Hotspur because Freddy's superior bloodline threatens his role as the Grand Growler and leader of the Fang Council. In prison Freddy is desperate to escape and alert the Fangen about his uncle. Another threat Freddy must deal with comes from Dr Cripps who is out to destroy the Fangen. There's a steady stream of more crazy events, a big reveal and Freddy and friends become heroes.
This is an over the top story with villainous characters and a semi interesting plot line when characters can't speak to each other in the same language of human, werewolf or dog. There's plenty of unsubtle bodily function humour and nudity designed to appeal to young readers. Freddy is a naive show-off who gradually shows more upright characteristics. The main message is really about being moral and brave in order to defeat the bad. It may be of interest to children who have watched the film and want a light funny read, bearing in mind it will differ from the film.
Jo Marshall