The Coldest Girl in Coldtown - Holly Black
Synopsis
Tana wakes up in the morning after a wild high school party, and goes downstairs to find she’s the only one who has survived a vicious vampire attack. As she escapes, she also helps her ex-boyfriend, who has been bitten, and a young mysterious vampire. Together they drive to a Coldtown: a place where vampires and those who are bitten are quarantined in an effort to keep the epidemic contained. Non-infected people can also enter, but once you go in, it’s almost impossible to get out. Tana is determined to get out, even if that means taking on the biggest, baddest, and most powerful vampire in Coldtown.
Review
Vampires aren’t really my thing, but Holly Black just made it WORK in this story and reminded me how seductive, intriguing, and terrifying they can be. In this story, vampires have become an epidemic. Once bitten by a vampire, a person goes “Cold", and if they drink human blood within that time, then they die and are reborn as a vampire. A Cold person can try and resist the urge, but the need for blood grows stronger and stronger until it drives the person insane.
The world Black creates was bleak and dark, but so real. She explores how--if vampires did exist and the risk of an attack was present in everyday life--would that that shift society? What would it be like growing up in that world? Normal life continues on as best as it can—teens going to parties, people watching TV and making blogs. But then the TV shows are centered around reality shows about vampires, schools have PSA assemblies about what to do if ever crossed with a vampire, and people carry anti-vampire tokens with them.
Tana is an interesting main character. She is haunted by the time her mother went Cold and tried to kill her. You get the sense that she tries to stay aloof and "cool", but she has a big heart. Her biggest asset, and failing, is that she wants to save others. This makes her extremely likable and sympathetic, especially as she gets into worse and worse situations. Other main characters include Gavriel, an insane vampire that talks in riddles and to whom Tana is romantically drawn.
The plot is fairly straight forward, always driven by Tana trying to find ways out of Coldtown, but each time something goes wrong and she's in it even deeper than before. This drive the tension higher and higher and while a satisfying resolution was reached, it isn't all happy. I felt it remained true to the book's overall feel.
The book is quite gory and violent and dark, but for me that was part of the appeal. And I think that comes with the vampire territory.
I really liked Holly Black's writing style and her ability to tackle dark subjects without getting bogged down in heavy prose. I look forward to reading more of her books.
Overall, I found the take on vampires refreshing and different, and the plot and main characters slightly twisted and compelling. Definitely recommend.
Rating
I give this book 4 stars
Details
Genre: YA, Horror.
Language: About a medium amount of swearing. Use of the F-word.
Sex: No sex, there's no time for that! There are some steamy kisses though.
Violence: As I mentioned above, very graphic and bloody descriptions of vampire killings.
Synopsis
Tana wakes up in the morning after a wild high school party, and goes downstairs to find she’s the only one who has survived a vicious vampire attack. As she escapes, she also helps her ex-boyfriend, who has been bitten, and a young mysterious vampire. Together they drive to a Coldtown: a place where vampires and those who are bitten are quarantined in an effort to keep the epidemic contained. Non-infected people can also enter, but once you go in, it’s almost impossible to get out. Tana is determined to get out, even if that means taking on the biggest, baddest, and most powerful vampire in Coldtown.
Review
Vampires aren’t really my thing, but Holly Black just made it WORK in this story and reminded me how seductive, intriguing, and terrifying they can be. In this story, vampires have become an epidemic. Once bitten by a vampire, a person goes “Cold", and if they drink human blood within that time, then they die and are reborn as a vampire. A Cold person can try and resist the urge, but the need for blood grows stronger and stronger until it drives the person insane.
The world Black creates was bleak and dark, but so real. She explores how--if vampires did exist and the risk of an attack was present in everyday life--would that that shift society? What would it be like growing up in that world? Normal life continues on as best as it can—teens going to parties, people watching TV and making blogs. But then the TV shows are centered around reality shows about vampires, schools have PSA assemblies about what to do if ever crossed with a vampire, and people carry anti-vampire tokens with them.
Tana is an interesting main character. She is haunted by the time her mother went Cold and tried to kill her. You get the sense that she tries to stay aloof and "cool", but she has a big heart. Her biggest asset, and failing, is that she wants to save others. This makes her extremely likable and sympathetic, especially as she gets into worse and worse situations. Other main characters include Gavriel, an insane vampire that talks in riddles and to whom Tana is romantically drawn.
The plot is fairly straight forward, always driven by Tana trying to find ways out of Coldtown, but each time something goes wrong and she's in it even deeper than before. This drive the tension higher and higher and while a satisfying resolution was reached, it isn't all happy. I felt it remained true to the book's overall feel.
The book is quite gory and violent and dark, but for me that was part of the appeal. And I think that comes with the vampire territory.
I really liked Holly Black's writing style and her ability to tackle dark subjects without getting bogged down in heavy prose. I look forward to reading more of her books.
Overall, I found the take on vampires refreshing and different, and the plot and main characters slightly twisted and compelling. Definitely recommend.
Rating
I give this book 4 stars
Details
Genre: YA, Horror.
Language: About a medium amount of swearing. Use of the F-word.
Sex: No sex, there's no time for that! There are some steamy kisses though.
Violence: As I mentioned above, very graphic and bloody descriptions of vampire killings.
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