The Wanderers

Gr 6 Up—As long as she can remember, 16-year old shape-shifter Flo has lived a life on the run, moving with the circus and hiding her ability to become a horse from humans and from the "hunters." The circus has seemed a safe, if not highly profitable, place for her and the other orphans in the pack, under the guidance and protection of a trio of middle-age lion-shifters. But now, since she has come of age, it is time for Flo to perform with the adults. Even with the support of Jett, a handsome young bear-shifter who loves her, and even after strenuous practice, Flo is nervous about jumping flaming hurdles. She is even more ill at ease after she becomes aware of the black-clothed men watching her and the other circus performers. When this anxiety causes her to make one small mistake, Flo's world explodes. The circus is destroyed, and she finds herself both prey and hunter. Along with Jett and a few survivors, she joins a small pack of itinerant shifters, running to avoid capture by the hunters, while struggling to unravel the almost unbelievable conspiracy that brought her and others to the circus in the first place. Ormand introduces readers to a large cast of characters, some more developed than others, and she makes their unusual circumstances plausible and exciting. This often-brutal tale unfolds through Flo's narration, allowing readers to experience her thoughts, fears, and developing attachment to Jett.