My Animal

The story unfolds in a small-town America during the 1980s, a time of close-knit communities and social strain. We see late-night shifts at the diner, local hockey games, and casual nightlife that illuminate the characters' routines. Personal struggles, alcoholism, and family tensions are set against the era's cultural backdrop. The full moon cycles intersect with a period when supernatural threats are entwined with everyday life.

A working-class small town serves as the backdrop for Heather's turbulent life. The local diner where Heather's father Henry and she work anchors everyday life, while the ice rink is a place of escape and skill for Heather as she bonds with Jonny. The casino and the bar become theatres for the town's temptations and dangers, and Heather's house and the surrounding woods frame her growing isolation and fear as the werewolf curse takes hold.

🐺 Transformation

Heather's transformation under the full moon drives the plot, revealing a curse inherited from her father Henry. The wolf form literalizes the conflict between her inner urges and social expectations. Each moonlit event exposes vulnerability, fear, and the consequences of a community that fears what it cannot control. The transformation also strains family bonds as Patti, Henry, and the twins grapple with what Heather becomes.

👪 Family

The story centers on a fractured family under pressure: Patti's alcoholism, Henry's authority and eventual death, and Heather's struggle to fit in with her younger brothers. The family dynamic highlights loyalty, blame, and the cost of keeping secrets. Siblings Cooper and Hardy react to Heather's changes in different ways, revealing how trauma reshapes kinship. The werewolf condition amplifies familial tensions and the town's judgment.

💞 Love & Identity

Heather's bond with Jonny introduces a fragile exploration of attraction and self-definition. The relationship is marked by tenderness and secrecy, complicated by Jonny's existing connection and Heather's feared otherness. Fantasies and intimate moments test boundaries and vulnerability, leading to heartbreak and social fallout. The narrative uses romance to probe how identity is shaped by desire, risk, and the fear of abandonment.