Hannah

Usually my self-diagnosed ADD prevents me from being able to read anything longer than a really compelling magazine article. Unless the story is fresh, the writing tight and the subject interesting, I can’t make myself slog through much in the way of written word these days. Chalk it up to my day job where I spend all day reading other people’s crap and trying to turn into gold when I can.

However, I believe I’ve found my saving grace. Teen Lit. I love it. Well, to be specific, the current series I’m reading: ‘Vampire Kisses’ by Ellen Schreiber. I’ve already devoured the first two, now I’m hunting down the next two in the series.

Quick synopsis: Raven is a 16-year-old Goth kid living in white-bread suburbia. She finds out that a family has moved in to the creepy abandoned mansion in town and immediately starts investigating. She meets and soon falls in love with the teenage boy residing in the mansion, Alexander. Raven then discovers that her ‘Gothic Mate’ is in fact a vampire. Shenanigans ensue, hearts are broken and then quickly mended, kisses are exchanged, etc. etc.

Raven is my favorite part of the whole thing. She’s plucky, funny and incredibly likable. She’s accepted her lot in life as the Goth kid and doesn’t let it bother her. Despite a tough, scary exterior, she’s an incredibly tender-hearted character with a vibrant sense of humor. I almost wish she were a real person because we totally would have been best friends when I was a kid. Whenever I picture her character, I think of Ellen Page in Goth gear.

Alexander’s character is also extremely interesting. Because the story is written from Raven’s first-person perspective, you learn about his personality in bits and pieces right along with her. From the descriptions, he sounds incredibly hot. Definitely the kind of dude my 16-year-old self (and hell, my 24-year-old self) would go insane over. I keep seeing a slick, polished Davey Havok in my mind’s eye. Sorry Sheena, but Davey’s way more convincing as a vampire than Gerard. It’s the facial structure, I think.

The actual writing is excellent as far as teen lit goes. A few spelling errors and typos marred the first book, but I found none in the second. Though the insistence on using excess serial commas annoys me, I’ve found that in every single book I’ve read. I don’t know if the publishing world chooses to ignore that rule or what. Raven talks as you would expect a teenager to talk. There’s no ridiculous slang which makes me think that the writer actually knows actual teenagers and didn’t just write a bunch of nonsense and go ‘That’s how the kids these days talk, right?’ (Diablo Cody, I’m looking at you.) A few pop culture references could be lost on some, like Raven’s ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ and ‘Edward Scissorhands’ accessories, but if you don’t know those two films, frankly you are dead to me, so that takes care of that. Some of the more veiled references made me giggle. There’s a store in the book called Hot Gothics. Anyone want to guess what that’s like?

‘Vampire Kisses’ is really a very fun, rewarding read. You’ll find yourself smiling and laughing right along with Raven in her various hijinks. It doesn’t take long to fall in love with the characters. According to the author’s Web site, she’s signed on to do write at least through Volume 8, so I look forward to reading a lot more about Raven and her gang.

Another series worth checking out, and one that I will be blogging on as soon as I get them ordered and in my hot little hands, is ‘The Last Vampire’ by Christopher Pike. I read it when I was in high school and actually did project for English class my junior year on the last one in the series. It’s more adult with sexual themes and death and destruction and the like, but still a very satisfying read.