Content levels
Trigger warnings
Positive tags
Protagonist archetypes
Synopsis
From the back cover of Timescape Books paperback March 1980: THE BEAST PROWLED IN THE NIGHT, a wild-eyed, five clawed creature with a taste for blood. But the strange ways of destiny changed his form. When he found he could be human, he became little Robert, hid in a barn and was adopted by a farm family. Robert had his own will and wanted to stay human. Still the beast arose unbidden, shifting form without warning. Neither beast nor child could conceal the danger, as their dual nature threatened to reveal itself, to destroy their cover -- and to leave them at the mercy of forces unknown!
Is The Orphan appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
A shapeshifter who can become human struggles to maintain his human form while living with an adopted family. Contains violence related to the beast form and themes of loss of control and body transformation.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, no sexual content, and clean language. Content notes include body horror, blood, and violence (see the full list above).
Who'll love this
Teens will find the struggle between two identities compelling as the protagonist fights to remain human while battling his beast nature.