Review: The Vampire Kisses Series

Seriously what is the deal with two-post-Tuesdays? I just finished the third book in The Vampire Kisses series by Ellen Schreiber and wanted to post a blog about the series while it was fresh in my mind. Basically this is a YA series about a goth girl (Raven) who lives in a dull town and is obsessed with vampires. She and her best friend (Becky) are both social outcasts but for different reasons. One day a dark and twisty goth guy moves into the "haunted" house in town. Girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love, boy turns out to be a vampire. In the second book the boy's (Alexander) moral enemy (Jagger) shows up and tries to turn Raven into a vampire. In the third book Jagger's twin (Luna) shows up and tries to turn Raven's mortal enemy (Trevor) into a vampire. Yes, I know that is a lot of vampire-making attempts. However, these books were pretty good. If you like Twilight you will like these books. They are short and the story moves quickly. The series should be read in order so that the reader isn't confused, and the writer doesn't spend a lot of time going over what has happened in the previous books. She does remind the reader of big events that happened in the past books, which is nice if you didn't read them one after the other like I did this weekend. The story is good though. The plot tends to be a little predictable, but overall it's a good series. If you are into vampires, the goth scene, being on the outside of society, blood feuds, or dark and twisty teen angst then this series is for you.

Now for my own personal statement to vampire obsessed girls and the authors who write for them. SERIOUSLY??? You meet a guy, on your first date you realize that your true love is a vampire, and you go out with him again. That in and of itself is insane. Trust me any normal person, social outcast or not, would run screaming in the other direction. She would move to Central America and never come home. But not our heroines, they go on a second date, and ask the vampire to turn her into a vampire too! WHAT?!?!?! You have known a guy for like two weeks and you want to turn into a vampire for him? SERIOUSLY??? I know that teenagers fall in love at the drop of a hat, but eternity with a guy that you have known for less than a month?That makes no sense to me. Maybe I am jaded by recent events in my own life, and my horrible dating history, but there is no way that on date two I am throwing in the mortal towel. What do you even know about the vampire dreamboat that is makes it worth leaving everything in your life behind? The answer...nothing, except that he has to drink blood to survive and that he is "the most beautiful person I have ever seen." Whatever happened to the adage that beauty is only skin deep? Don't get me wrong, I love Twilight, I told everyone I know to read it. I like the Vampire Kisses series, and I like all the other vamp series/books that are out right now. I guess I just wish that one of the heroines of these "girl+vampire=love" books would wake up one morning and say "Hey...I love the sun, and my family, and my best friend, and my dog...maybe I shouldn't turn into a vampire." Unfortunately that doesn't happen, or rather if the heroine does take a moment to question her decision it is because boy/vamp/dreamboat refuses to "take away her humanity," and the girl always says "...eh who cares if I am ostracized from society for the rest of my life and that I am going to have an overwhelming desire to suck my little brother's blood...it is totally worth it!" On the other hand-it is entertaining to shake your head in disbelief at the insanity of these girls. Also, I am really loving the "vegetarian vamps" who never eat human blood. It is a really funny alternative and it does allow for the vampires to live in small towns without attracting (too much) attention.

New Books

Two posts in one day!!! Wow, we never have so much excitement. I just wanted to get a list up of new YA fiction that came in today.

YA Fiction

• Hacking Harvard by Robin Wasserman
• The Lost Queen by Frewin Jones
• The Sorcerer King by Frewin Jones
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• Oracle of the Morrigan by Tiffany Trent
• What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
• The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson
• Love Is Hell by Melissa Marr/Scott Westerfeld/Justine Larbalestier/Gabrielle Zevin/Laurie Faria Stolarz
• Queen of the Masquerade by Tiffany Trent
• Dragonspell by Donita K. Paul
• Silverwing by Kenneth Oppel
• Sunwing by Kenneth Oppel
• Firewing by Kenneth Oppel

YA Audiobooks

• The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson
• Stardust by Neil Gaiman

YA CDs

• Twilight Soundtrack
• High School Musical Soundtrack

YA Movies

• Picture This

Twilight The Movie

Okay guys and girls...who all watched the new Twilight movie? It's been out a week and there have been a huge amount of tickets sold across the country. Did you hate it? Did you love it? Did the cast live up to your expectations? Are you glad that New Moon will soon be made into a movie as well? Would you keep the entire original cast or are there changes that you would like to see? Personally, I was really impressed with the movie, and I thought that Summit did a great job. I am hoping that New Moon is done just as well. I went into this movie fully expecting to be disappointed by the story and the cast. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I think that Kristen Stewart was wonderful as Bella, and while I was really not looking forward to picture perfect Edward being played by the goofy guy from Harry Potter, I think that in the end Robert Pattison did Edward justice. True, there were some parts that were tweaked and some stuff that was just left out, but all in all I think this is one of the best Book-to-Movie films that I have seen in a long while. Hopefully everyone who saw this movie was just as impressed as I was, and if you haven't seen it then read the books and go buy a movie ticket!!!! Let us hear your thoughts and feelings about the book, the movie, and the other three books in the series....

Upcoming Events

So...there are a lot of events coming up at WCPL and we would love to see you there. First, I am sure you all know that TWILIGHT premieres on November 21, 2008!!!!!! Ally and I will be at Marquee Cinema on Saturday November 22, 2008. We will be promoting The Bolt and Twilight. There will be tons of free stuff available for everyone who stops at our booth. On December 19th school lets out early. Starting at 1pm that day we will be showing movies at the library until 5:30 pm. There will be free drinks, popcorn, and snacks all day long. Also, in January we are starting a teen volunteer program. Colleges and employers love people who are active in their communities guys. There are tons of things to do here. If you are interested in working with kids one day this is the perfect opportunity for you to get some experience. We will have more information available about our volunteer program once the program is 100% approved. Also beginning in January we will be having regular teen meetings where you all have the chance to tell us what you want. So...if you want your voice heard we are ready to listen, stop by the Wythe County Public Library Monday-Friday from 9-6 to tell us how you feel, to ask questions, or just to find a good book.