The Silver Kiss

Gr 9 Up—Sixteen-year old Zoe's mother has cancer, her dad is barely coping with his wife's impending death, and her best friend is moving in Annette Curtis Klause's debut ovel (Delacorte, 1990). Enter Simon, a vampire who has learned that he can love. Simon is willing to listen, to protect, and to help Zoe navigate her own emotions about her mother's illness. Zoe joins with Simon as he seeks to avenge the death of his own mother three centuries earlier. While packaged as a vampire tale, this novel is primarily about Zoe's experiences with loss and death. Also included are two short stories by Klause: "The Summer of Love," which tells of Simon's life before he meets Zoe, and "The Christmas Cat," which focuses on Zoe's life after Simon leaves. Ali Ahn's vocal tone maintains the darkness, intensity, and mystery of the story. At times her accent for Simon is not true or consistent, but this does not detract from her narration overall. Unlike the author's excellent later novel, Blood for Chocolate (Delacorte, 1997), this one is a mediocre tale for fans of fantasy and the vampiric genre.—Amy Olson, formerly Lexington Public Library, KY