Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova

Curse of the Winter Moon by Mary Cassanova is set in 16th century France. It is about Marius and his brother, Jean-Pierre. Jean-Pierre was born on Christmas Eve, and is suspected of being a werewolf because of it. As they grow up, the townspeople in their small village grow increasingly wary of the family. Eventually Marius's father is accused of being a heretic and is jailed. The church officials find him guilty and sentence him to burn at the stake. Jean-Pierre is also apprehended and held in order to determine once and for all if he is a werewolf. In the end, Marius has some difficult choices put before him and has to do some tough thinking for such a young boy. Marius promised his mother on her death bed that he would watch out for Jean-Pierre, but what if he really is a werewolf? How can he help his father escape judgement and execution? Should Marius take the evil Abbott up on his offer to become a monk and play his lute at the monastary?

I really liked this book. Our Vampire Book Club read it for our June meeting, and I can't wait to talk to the other members about it. The story was really more historical fiction - not fantasy, which is what we usually read. The way the village acted reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials. I wasn't familiar with what happened in France when Protestantism began to rise, so it was interesting to learn some new information about that time period. I also enjoyed the author's note at the end that went into more detail about the research that went into writing the story.