THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN: Yes, I still read vampire books.

“Even from the beginning, that was the problem. People liked pretty things. People even liked pretty

things that wanted to kill and eat them.” 

Wow, it's been a while! So sorry for the delay - I've read many books since my last post in January, and I'm going to try to review a few before the end of the semester! So, here goes the first recap, which I just happened to finish last night.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown begins with the main character, Tana, waking up after a party in an old farmhouse to find every single classmate in attendance dead on the scene. The culprit? Vampires. Tana lives in a world where vampirism has erupted, and all vampires who can be caught, as well as those who might be infected (or are going "cold") are quarantined in Coldtowns. In an attempt to rescue the only other survivor and a vampire who was being held prisoner be the attackers, Tana gets bit on the heel and is at risk of being infected. She, the lone survivor (also her ex-boyfriend, because of course your jerk ex-boyfriend is the only other survivor), and the mysterious vampire make their way to the nearest Coldtown. 

Holly Black clearly loves vampire mythology, which really comes through in passages of the novel where characters muse on the nature of vampirism and what it really is. A disease? Demonic possession? A conversion to our most cruel and uninhibited selves? The characters The Coldest Girl in Coldtown often find themselves asking themselves the same question. My favorite thing about this book is that the culture that Black creates around the vampire "epidemic" seems so close to what I imagine our own society's response to the phenomena would be: a dangerous mixture of wonder and sheer terror. People living in Tana's world often find themselves drawn to the beauty of these creatures, despite the fact that humans are much lower on the food chain. It's easy to imagine our own culture reacting similarly. Just look at how we chase Bigfoot and romanticize serial killers.

I know that vampire books are so over for the cool crowd, who are now too busy reading fairy-tale spin offs or whatever hot YA trend is happening this year, but I can't help myself. Sometimes I just need a good story about my favorite type of undead character. So, when a YA librarian at the amazing Johnson County Library gave this book a shining review, I put it on my "to read" list. Turns out, I'm glad I did. The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is not just another vampire book. It's a great story with some new takes on a world the humans share with vampires. Check it out before you move on to the next trend!