Curse of a Winter Moon

In a change of pace, Mary Casanova takes us to 16th century France for the story of Marius and his younger brother Jean-Pierre who the local villagers believe is marked with the curse of a werewolf because he was born on Christmas Eve. Each year as Christmas approaches, the fear and hysteria around Jean-Pierre gets worse, until finally Marius must show his true character and defy the ruling institutions, including the church, in order to save himself and his brother. A short book, and a gripping read, this won the Minnesota Book Award for Young Adults in 2001. It may also be useful as supplemental material for world history classes studying the middle ages and early events of the Reformation.