The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause

THE SILVER KISS
Author: Annette Curtis Klause
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (July 28, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0375857826
ISBN-13: 978-0375857829

SUMMARY:

Zoe is wary when, in the dead of night, the beautiful yet frightening Simon comes to her house. Simon seems to understand the pain of loneliness and death and Zoe’s brooding thoughts of her dying mother. Simon is one of the undead, a vampire, seeking revenge for the gruesome death of his mother three hundred years before. Does Simon dare ask Zoe to help free him from this lifeless chase and its insufferable loneliness?

MY THOUGHTS:

Remember those young adult books from the early 1990’s?  Even the ones from the late 1980’s?  Remember how sometimes they could just be so cheesy and over the top?  Now imagine finding a book like that and stepping back in time with the writing.  That is how I felt when I was reading this book.


While the plot was interesting and I found the characters to be okay, the writing of the book made me feel like I was reading a young adult book from a different time.  Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy some of the early books in this genre, but there are always a few that left me with the question of why?


The first thing I noticed was how the author didn’t seem to know what fit into the category of young adult theme when it comes to supernatural and vampires.  One moment everything is sweet like a teen romance should be, then we fall into the depression of Zoe’s mother dying from cancer.  One moment we have Simon being the perfect gentleman towards Zoe, then the next we have him ripping rats apart and blood with gore all over the pages.  The author seemed to go from one extreme to the other with no middle ground in between. 


Yes it has the cliched vampire lore of misting, daylight can give serious sunburn, even an aversion to a cross when the story calls for it.  I can understand that back in the day that this was how authors explained vampires, but it seemed the author couldn’t step out of the normal box and get creative with it.  The writing of the personalities was borderline overdone as well.  Simon wanted to be released from the vampire curse but wanted friendship and love as well.  Zoe was the typical teen girl who instantly falls for his good looks and charm, yet she was also naive and selfish at times.  The ending also was a let down for me.  It wrapped up within a few pages and wondering where the rest of the story went.  After reading 230+ pages, I expect a climatic ending that lasts more than 2 pages with an ending that leaves the reader cheated.


Not a book I would reread again, and frankly not an author I will go out and seek again.  Would I try another book written by this author?  Only if her writing has improved and has decided to step out of the box a little.  


MY RATING: