The Silver Kiss was first published in 1990, making it one of the oldest YA vampire novels around. The first book in the original Vampire Diaries quartet, The Awakening, would not be published until the next year, and the only other YA vampire novels preceding it are Meredith Ann Piece’s Darkangel series from the 80s and The Shiny Narrow Grin by Jane Gaskell which was published all the way back in 1964. Because of this, as well as its traditional gothic feel and heavy emotional weight, The Silver Kiss stands out among YA vampire novels – especially those of the post-Twilight era more than a decade later.
Browsing category Book Review
Every so often a book comes along that stays with you long after you turn the last page. Perhaps it is the beautiful writing, or the fascinating characters, or perhaps the message of the story itself. Allegedly is one of those books, still sticking with me after several days since I put it down. Allegedly grabbed me from the very first pages and wouldn’t let me go until the very last – and that was at 1am, after a very gripping two hours of fiction.
Stop me if you have heard this before: shy, outcast girl dreams of being liked, only to find that the only person in their school that realises how wonderful she is just happens to be the most popular guy there. It’s a set-up that has been used so many times that, like many other reused concepts, can very easily become trite, or lost in a sea of similar works. But there are stories out that that despite having a reused premise, are so well done that they shine in amongst the common rabble.
The Glass Demon is one of those books I knew was going to be good right from the very first lines. In just two sentences Grant effectively sets up a feeling of impending doom, and with the third sets up the first death – and thus the rest of the book. With such a strong opening, standards are high for the rest of the book. But Grant’s elegant writing and careful plotting make for a page-turning novel that gets better and better with each chapter.
In case you didn’t know, I am a big fan of anything vampire. I even run a podcast dedicated to the discussion of vampires in media. And in case you aren’t familiar with the Bloodsucking Feminists and our rantings opinions, you’ll know that vampire fiction tends to be about straight white pretty people. So when browsing Kickstarter for anything to do with vampires please somebody help me I discovered a kickstarter for a graphic novel about the same-sex romance between a 61 year old man and a vampire of colour I had to investigate.
A few years is a lifetime in YA: #YesGayYA is probably so far back that at least some people are not aware of what exactly happened.
The short version is this: Brown and Smith co-wrote a post-apocalyptic YA book, STRANGER, featuring a diverse cast and 5 POV characters. During their search for an agent for this book (they were already agented, only separately) they wrote a post on Publishers Weekly where they revealed that an unnamed agent had asked them to either remove the POV of one character, or change/hide an intrinsic part of him.
I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m not a picture book’s target audience. Right now I neither have children of my own nor do I work with children young enough to appreciate them anymore. (Protip: If you’re taking a dozen five year olds camping, always always take all the Hairy Maclary books. You’ll need them.) But there is one picture book that I pick up every so often and re-read solely as an adult who thinks it’s a great book.
Like the rest of the world it seems sometimes, I too got caught up in the wave that was Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin in Japan). There was an explosion of cosplayers at Armageddon immediately after, and I was infinitely grateful that Madman NZ had the entire subbed series on their site for viewing. I binged it then, and now that I have Netflix I’m watching it again (the dub this time, because I like to compare these things).
From the first time I saw the opening credits I knew the show was something special. I mean, how can Feuerroter Pfeil und Bogen not pump you up?
“The face in the mirror. From the moment Laura sees it, she knows it’s an omen. That very day, the sinister Carmody Braque touches and brands her little brother, and as Jacko fights for his life, Laura seeks out the one person who might help, even though the path she is about to take will change her forever.”
Anyone who knows me knows I am up for checking out any book that has to do with vampires. It’s just one of my things, you know? Some people like their billionaires, others their cowboys, and others still Highlanders or Vikings. Me, it’s vampires. So of course I was going to read a romance manga with vampires in it.