The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause

The Silver Kiss
Annette Curtis Klause
This edition published July 28th, 2009 by Delacorte for Young Readers
Source: Swapped

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?-Goodreads

The edition I read also contained two short stories entitled Summer Love and The Christmas Cat, however I will only be commenting on the main story, The Silver Kiss.

This book is written with the dual narratives of Simon and Zoe. Zoe is constantly alone because her father is always visiting her terminally ill mother in the hospital. Not only is Zoe frightened to see her mother in such a state, it seems that both her mother and father has shut her out during this difficult time. She feels ashamed that she is complaining about not having anyone around her while her mother is wasting away in the hospital. Simon is also very much alone. He is a 300 year old vampire who is desperate to make a connection with someone or something in this life. His only reason for living is tracking down the evil vampire who made him and getting his revenge. On a dark night when Zoe feels stifled by her loneliness inside her house, she goes for a walk and meets Simon for the first time. Without a word, their eyes lock and curiosity stirs inside each of them. But can their love endure what lies ahead for both Simon and Zoe?

Since this story was originally published in 1999, I feel that it must have been a major influence and precursor to the YA vampire/werewolf books of today. Even though I like Simon's back story and character when he is by himself, where Zoe is concerned, he is just another stalker-ish, love sick puppy. I didn't feel like it suited him very well. What is even more weird is that when Zoe finds out that this boy she first saw sparkling in the moonlight (sounds oddly familiar) has been stalking her outside her window, she invites him in her house with barely a question! She doesn't seem frightened at all by him or his tale of vampires. She was quick to accept Simon's story and to even let him drink from her because she was so mesmerized by him. Because of this, I felt there was a real disconnect between their characters and they didn't gel well together. Aside from the fact that they were both extremely lonely and faced with death, I didn't get a real sense of who they were together.

The story is extremely fast, almost too much so at some points. That is too be expected, I suppose, since the actual story is less than 200 pages. There was just no time to get to know the characters because of this. I did feel that the plot where Christopher was involved was really interesting and I wanted more of that. This just wasn't my taste at all, but I am betting fans of Twilight and Shiver would enjoy it.

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory

Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day
Ben Loory
Published July 26th 2011 by Penguin

Source: Swapped

Loory's collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables is populated by people–and monsters and trees and jocular octopi–who are united by twin motivations: fear and desire. In his singular universe, televisions talk (and sometimes sing), animals live in small apartments where their nephews visit from the sea, and men and women and boys and girls fall down wells and fly through space and find love on Ferris wheels. In a voice full of fable, myth, and dream, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day draws us into a world of delightfully wicked recognitions, and introduces us to a writer of uncommon talent and imagination. -Goodreads

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This is my first attempt at reviewing a short story collection. I am a big fan of reading short stories because it isn't daunting at all to just read a couple of pages and have a feeling of completeness. In my opinion, the best short story writer is the great Stephen King. It is hard not to compare other collections to his work, especially if they are being marketed in the paranormal, fantasy, sci fi genre. It doesn't have to be scary like King's, but I feel his are the just the right length and the endings are almost always superb in their shock and awe value.

With that being said, it is completely possible that I am a bit bias towards those types of stories. What I loved about Ben Loory's short (and I mean SHORT) stories, are that they are extremely creative. Clever premises, talking animals, aware inanimate objects, and martians all find their place here. The stories had such great set-ups, most with the nice creepy element that I was expecting which did manage to create excitement in that short amount of time. Loory writes short, sweet, and to the point. However the big downfall to this collection is the endings.  One of the definitions of fable (and the one I feel was intended when calling these stories fables) is:

a short tale to teach a moral lesson, often with animals or inanimate objects as characters

The main issue I have with this is the fact that I couldn't really wheedle out any of the moral lessons that were being portrayed. Unfortunately, I felt that the writing was too esoteric, and the fact that most, of the 39 stories included, ended with me going, "What?", and that's not in a good way. I just didn't get it, plain and simple. I'm sure that there are plenty of others who got something from these stories, but I wasn't one of them.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Publisher: Razorbill (October 18, 2007)
My Rating: ★★
Description:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

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I have a couple issues with this book. Firstly, the supposed reasons Hannah has for killing herself....ridiculous. Wow, I was expecting something a bit more...deep or traumatizing. The two most affecting stories she had to tell, (and I truly HATE to say this) she really got into them herself, almost as if she knew what was going to happen. If you read it, I think you would see what I am referring to. Hannah really wasn't even likable either because of what she was doing to the people who really hadn't done anything wrong to her (Clay and Tony). As I was reading it I could definitely see that this is what a grown man felt a teenage girl would apparently kill herself over. I understand the need to warn kids about the pressures of high school and harm of bullying or creating rumors, but this particular instance was not really an enjoyable piece of writing. And like I said before, that is the reason for reading fiction books.

Secondly, the simultaneous narration of Clay and Hannah was hard to follow. I would say I read at a fairly moderate pace and since every other sentence was another narrator, I became confused quite easily and had to go back and reread to make sure I knew what was happening with each one of them. I understand the necessity for it and I can't say that it was done poorly, but it wasn't something I personally enjoyed.

I don't think this book would really help anyone in anyway if that was an underlying goal. It is just another piece of fluff in a genre that already has too much.

★★

Forgotten by Cat Patrick

Title: Forgotten
Author: Cat Patrick
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Rating: ★★

Each night at precisely 4:33 am, while sixteen-year-old London Lane is asleep, her memory of that day is erased. In the morning, all she can "remember" are events from her future. London is used to relying on reminder notes and a trusted friend to get through the day, but things get complicated when a new boy at school enters the picture. Luke Henry is not someone you'd easily forget, yet try as she might, London can't find him in her memories of things to come. 

When London starts experiencing disturbing flashbacks, or flash-forwards, as the case may be, she realizes it's time to learn about the past she keeps forgetting-before it destroys her future.

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The beginning of this book was one of the most confusing I have ever read.


Apparently, this girl, London, can "remember" the future. After she lives each day, she forgets the events of that day at 4:33 am. She is able to function by writing herself notes to remind herself of important past events that she has to read about every morning when she wakes up.


The part that bugged me the most was that her problem was referred to as "remembering" or having memories of the future, instead of something like future telling or seeing the future. So London would always say something like "I know, because I remembered it" referring to something that hasn't happened yet. It just sounds weird and is very confusing at the beginning because the author just dives into her life with no explanations or set-ups.


I did enjoy the 50 First Dates scenario that took place between London and Luke. She wouldn't remember him except from her notes everyday, yet when she sees him she instantly falls in love again. It is kind of cute, but mostly ridiculous. The second-half took a fairly dark turn when she has "memories" of someone dying and she can't seem to figure out who and how. At the same time, she attempts tracking down her father and her grandmother that she saw in her memory, but doesn't have any recollection of from her past.


You, later, do find out a potential reason for London's condition but it is sort of just thrown in there and then forgotten about. I had high hopes for the premise, but I don't feel like it was executed well. That's how I feel about most YA novels these days.

★★