What a great surprise! I saw that this was about a werewolf (someone with lycanthropy), "friendship and the hairy side of chronic illness" and thought I was in for something campy and ridiculous. Instead, I found a spot-on, sensitive but funny (and yes, sometimes a little ridiculous) tale of contemporary friendship, online support groups, and the daily physical, administrative, and emotional struggles faced by those with chronic illness.

After severe Lyme disease crashes Priya's premed plans in the middle of her sophomore year, she moves back home, thankful for but mortified by the support she needs from her parents and younger siblings. When an informal online support group for people with chronic illnesses forms, she and her online friend, Brigid, both join. They find an emotionally intelligent, funny, diverse, and caring bunch of mostly high school and college kids (with the "mom" of the group being 26). With the help of the chat group and each other, they begin to fill some of their dark, lonely corners. Until Brigid suddenly goes silent, and Priya, impulsively deciding to check on her "in real life," finds something darker and more dangerous than she was expecting. It's all fun and games (and joint pain and meds) until an actual werewolf enters the chat.

I loved how authentically these online relationships were portrayed — as meaningful and important in their own right but also as bridges to significant in-person relationships. I also thought the escalation of the tension felt genuine and well paced, rooted in a sort of recognizable life cycle of frustration and emotional anguish that can go hand in hand with chronic illness (and early adulthood). The diversity of ethnicities, genders, sexualities, pronouns, and illnesses was excellent, but it did take me quite a while to sort out everyone in the chat group. It's been a minute since I participated in 10-person chats, but I'm not unfamiliar with them, so novices might struggle a bit more. Then again, I'm an old GenXer, so a YA reader might have no issues with it at all.

Platforms and chat issues aside, this was a funny, well-written, paranormal friendship tale with quirky characters and unexpected authenticity and emotional depth. And excellent representation.

Content notes: character contemplating suicide (discussing it within the context of the support group); discussions about pain, cognitive issues, social stigmas and misunderstandings, accommodation issues, burdensome bureaucracy, and emotional issues related to illnesses, including Lyme disease, EDS, fibromyalgia, cerebral palsy, endometriosis, celiac disease, and of course lycanthropy; reckless physical behavior and reckless use of herbs and supplements; mention of marijuana; BB gun and dart gun; ER and ICU visits; estranged grandparent; a feral cat is eaten (off scene but confirmed/reacted to in dialogue); mild body horror