Sharp teeth

Review by Booklist Review

It's a dog's life and death in the canine underworld of Los Angeles. Barlow unfolds a tale of romance and rival gangs using the form of epic poetry, the beat of rock 'n' roll lyrics, and the pace of a poetry slam. Anthony, a good man with a sore heart, finds work in the local animal-control office and meets a mysterious woman harboring a secret that could destroy men and beasts alike. The woman, who goes unnamed, has just abandoned the dog pack led by Lark, a smooth businessman with a Zen philosophy and a mobster's acuity for laundering money. Lark is on the prowl for revenge after having been betrayed by his lieutenant, Baron, to a pack of rival dogs on their own revenge mission against a peace-loving pack of surfer-dogs. As spicy as a taco, as relentless as the pounding surf, and as lulling as a moon-drenched beach, Barlow's hip werewolf saga is highly recommended for adults and YAs who just don't get all the fuss about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.--Mediatore Stover, Kaite Copyright 2009 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Barlow's gut-wrenching, sexy debut, a horror thriller in verse, follows three packs of feral dogs in East L.A. These creatures are in fact werewolves, men and women who can change into canine form at will ("Dog or wolf? More like one than the other/ but neither exactly"). Lark, the top dog in one of the packs who's a lawyer in human form, has a master plan that may involve taking over the city from the regular humans. Anthony Silvo, a dogcatcher and normally a loner, finds himself falling in love with a beautiful and mysterious woman ("Standing on four legs in her fur,/ she is her own brand of beast"). A strange small man and his giant partner play tournament bridge and are deep into the drug trade. A detective, Peabody, investigates several puzzling dog-related murders. The irregular verse form with its narrative economies proves an excellent vehicle to support all these disparate threads and then tie them together in the bittersweet conclusion. 5-city author tour. (Jan.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Sweet-natured dogcatcher Anthony doesn't know that his girlfriend is a werewolf no longer with her pack, whose ousted leader is doing time as a family pet while plotting his revenge. With a five-city tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Adult/High School-Barlow's debut novel innovatively mixes horror, noir, and epic poetry, creating a uniquely thrilling read. Ruled by competing packs of werewolves, the seedy underside of LA is far stranger than anyone ever imagined. Lycanthropes hire themselves out as hit men and pushers, both driving and feeding off the criminal world. At the center of the story is Anthony Silvo, a self-professed loner and dogcatcher who falls in love with a mysterious woman; she leads a second life as a werewolf and works for Lark, the leader of the most dangerous werewolf pack on the streets. Her growing relationship with Anthony causes her to regret the wild choices of her past and seek out a new life. Meanwhile, Lark suspects that competing packs of lycanthropes are after his power and he prepares for a massive, citywide conflict. Other subplots include a detective's investigations into werewolf-related murders and a comic bridge tournament that might have ties to the LA drug trade. Some readers might be initially intimidated by Barlow's free-verse poetry, but, after a page, they will be swept into the rhythm. It's also to Barlow's credit that the touching moments between the woman and Anthony work as powerfully as the most graphic violence in the story. The dark humor and grim story line will immediately draw in fans of other neo-horror novels, such as Christopher Moore's You Suck: A Love Story (Morrow, 2007), but Barlow's deeper style is wholly his own.-Matthew L. Moffett, Pohick Regional Library, Burke, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Rival gangs of werewolves duke it out for control of Los Angeles in this dark but oddly tender free-verse novel. The werewolves of Barlow's imagined world don't adhere to traditional rules--descendents of the ancient lycanthropes, they feed on flesh and are able to change from man to dog whenever they please, regardless of the lunar cycle. Unofficially, there is room for only one woman in each pack, and she tends to link herself to the leader. Lark is the dominant dog in the beginning, until his girl (who remains unnamed) strays, and he is betrayed by Baron, a member of his pack. There are a few changes in leadership, but eventually Baron pairs with Sasha, a darkly seductive female werewolf, to form a dangerous rival gang. Lark's former girl hides out in human form with Anthony, a fully human dogcatcher. The girl is desperately worried that her new love will uncover her secret, yet she continues using her charms to seduce and murder threatening members of the werewolf community. Lark, meanwhile, seeking temporary refuge, turns himself over to the Pasadena Animal Shelter, where he is adopted as a pet by Bonnie, an insecure and lonely suburban woman. While Bonnie is at work, Lark organizes a new pack, made up of an unlikely cast of characters, including the token woman, an abused bartender named Maria. In other events, just as Lark's former girl gets ready to leave the werewolf life and flee Los Angeles with Anthony, she is attacked by Sasha, who is trying to bump her off. Though the fight ends in the girl's favor, it compromises her hopes for a simpler future. Lark is left with his own struggles, as he juggles his role as pack leader and his (unexpectedly content) life with Bonnie. Though the free-verse form takes getting used to, it serves to heighten Barlow's visceral imagery. A refreshing leap across genres. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Sharp Teeth Chapter One Let's sing about the man there at the breakfast table brown skin, thin features, white T, his olive hand making endless circles in the classifieds "wanted" "wanted" "wanted" small jobs little money but you have to start somewhere. Here. LA East LA a quarter mile from where they pick up the mariachis on warm summer nights two miles from La Serenata de Garibaldi's where the panther black cars pause on their haunches while their blonde women eat inside wiping the blood red mole from their quiet lips "wanted" "wanted" "wanted" he circles the paper then reaches for the phone breathes deep, begins. "nope, sorry" "job was taken already, good luck" "you got experience?" "leave a message" "forgettaboutit" "you sound Mexican, ola, you Mexican?" "call back Monday" "mmmn, I don't know nothing about that" "no" "no" "no" Then his barbed hook catches. A thin gold vein is struck. Buds of hope crack through the dry white earth: "oh sure, come on by, what's your name?" Dogcatcher. His father was not a man but a sleepy bull with sledgehammer hands and a soft heart. He once brought a dog home from the pound for Anthony. Sipping coffee by the phone now that little yapping note of hope still rings in his ears. Anthony smiles, remembering the way the puppy sat between his father's strong legs as they stood looking down like gods at the cowering little creature. They laughed. The pup relaxed, wagged its fat tail. His father was kind to the dog, to the kids, to his wife until a week later when he went through the windshield on Sepulveda. Hit so hard it didn't matter where he landed. And after that nothing was kind it was every man for himself and there were no men just a widow, some kids and a dog who went back to the pound, taking his chances with no chance at all. C'est la guerre. Pondering his path, Anthony wonders now, if maybe that dog wasn't just some real bad luck. "Packs of thirty or forty at a time wander loose like gauchos in their own damn ghost town. They come from the hills, up from the arroyos. We don't know how many, estimates vary, but each time they come in a few house dogs go back with them. Anytime you got toy poodles breeding with coyotes it's gonna get interesting." Calley is so white, he's red with blanched features pickled and burned. He shows Anthony how to wrangle, how to pull hoops, slip a wire. They sit at the firing range. "You'll be shooting tranqs, but might as well practice with live rounds." Calley shows bite marks on his hands, legs and arms. His breath bites too: coffee, cigarettes, and just plain old rancid. "I'll ride partner with you for a bit, but with all the cutbacks they're making us all ride solo now." "What happens if I hit a pack?" "Hit a pack, hit the radio." Calley pauses, draws on a smoke the red in his eyes almost matches the blood vessels spidering across his face It's a foggy, milky, bloodshot stare, but it still holds a mean light. He rasps, "You like dogs?" "Yeah, sure." "Mmmn," he nods. "You won't." The "animal control" logo makes Anthony wonder. Animals have no control, they run, they fuck, they eat, they kill to fuck, they kill to eat and they sleep in the noonday sun. Anthony's not afraid of the dogs, he's not afraid of the work, he just hates the other guys. He sits apart, trying to stay clean. Perhaps over time he will become like them with their permanent stains and bitter dispositions. But Christ almighty, he thinks, I hope not. Sharp Teeth . Copyright © by Toby Barlow. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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