The Silver Kiss

Klause, Annette Curtis.  The Silver Kiss.  New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1990.  Paperback.  ISBN: 978-0-440-21346-8.  US $6.99.

Annotation:

       Sixteen year old Zoe feels alone and angry because her mother is dying, her father seems to have withdrawn from her, and her best friend is moving. Then she meets Simon who seems to understand what she's going through. Only he's a vampire and someone in town in is murdering women.  Recommended for ages 14+.


Cover from Goodreads.com

Book Talk:

~Girl meets boy (vampire)
~Zoe
~Lonely, angry, grieving
~Her mother is dying of cancer.
~Simon
~Also lonely and angry
~Searching for his mother's murderer.
~Each soothes something in the other
~But Zoe is human, Simon is undead
~And someone in town is killing women.

Book Review:

            Although this book was written over twenty years ago it has held up well to the test of time due to the richness of Klause’s characters.  Zoe is a typical 16 year old girl who is forced by circumstances to be more responsible than she should have to be.  She’s torn, however, between trying to not cause her parents worry and the overwhelming feelings of loneliness and anger caused by her mother’s disease.  Simon also shows great depth of emotion while trying to reconcile the remains of his humanity with surviving as a vampire.  If Klause falls short anywhere in her character development it’s with her villains who seem to be motivated only by self interest and show no remorse.  This is a small short coming since the book really only uses the villains as minor plot devices to further expand the other characters’ growth.  Overall, I would highly recommend The Silver Kiss to anyone looking for a classic teen vampire novel or who is feeling lonely or angry due to family illness or death.

Awards and Honors:

       1999, 2009-YALSA Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults

       1994 - Selected by the American Library Association as one of the 100 "Best of the Best"
       1993 - The South Carolina Young Adult Book Award
       1993 - The California Young Reader Medal
       1993 - The Maryland Black-eyed Susan Award
       1993 - The Sequoyah Young Adult Award, Oklahoma
       1991 - American Library Association Best Books For Reluctant Readers
       1991 - American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults
       1990 - Best Book of the Year Honor Book, Michigan Library Association
       1990 - Booklist Best Books, and Editor's Choice
       1990 - School Library Journal Best Books

Interested in knowing more about this author or book?  Check these out:

Author Blog: http://humanoddity.blogspot.com/

Author Interviews:

       Dec. 2001 Interview by Cynthia Leitich Smith

      June 2008 Interview on Reviewer X blog

Try a preview of The Silver Kiss on Scribd.