NOTES: YA Suspense/Horror Novels
Wendy E. Betts
Don't Scream by Joan Lowery Nixon
* Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde
NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1996 Wendy E. Betts.
Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this
copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited
without permission. Mail w...@armory.com with comments or questions.
For info and archives, see http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html
Vol. 4, No. 10c Young Adult Novels: Suspense 10/14/96
__ Don't Scream_ by Joan Lowery Nixon. Delacorte, 1996
(0-385-32065-5) $15.95
A fairly predictable but nonetheless engrossing thriller, this
book is narrated by Jess, a good-hearted, smalltown girl who is
flattered but also slightly disturbed by the constant attentions
of two new boys in school. Unbeknownst to Jess (although not to
the reader), one of the boys is almost certainly a dangerous
sociopath. As frightening things begin happening in her
neighborhood, Jess begins to feel suspicious--but will she trust
the wrong boy?
This light story is enjoyable reading for those who like books
that are more creepy than downright horrifying. The cover is
rather off-putting, showing an unattractive, hyper-realistic
painting of a girl's terrified face, but the book actually ends
on a much stronger note, with the heroine putting up a great
fight: "I can shout if I want to! If I'm going to die, I'm
going to scream as I go."
__ Companions of the Night_ by Vivian Vande Velde. Harcourt Brace,
1995 (0-15-200221-9) $17.00; Laurel-leaf, 1996 (0-440-21979-5)
$3.99 pb
(reprinted from the hardcover review, volume 3, number 5c)
Vivian Vande Velde's last book, _Dragon's Bait_, was an
entertaining and romantic look at a relationship between a human
girl and a far-from-human boy. _Companions of the Night_ uses
that pattern again, but this time with a tenser, more explosive
awareness of what the differences between human and non-human can
really mean. The result is a breathtakingly suspenseful story
which is also an intriguing exploration of moral ambiguity.
Kerry Nowicki is very much in the wrong place at the wrong time
when she goes to an all-night laundromat and runs into three men
carrying a gagged and bloodied figure. But what she assumes is a
drug deal gone wrong is actually something much more bizarre and
horrifying: the men claim that their prisoner is a vampire, and
they're planning to videotape him as he dies at sunrise. Terrified
for both of their lives, Kerry seizes a chances to rescue the
prisoner, whose name is Ethan. But their escape is only the
beginning. . . because the three men were right. And now Kerry
is also suspected of being a vampire, her family is in grave
danger--and her only chance to save their lives and hers seems to
be to keep helping the possibly amoral, certainly attractive, and
totally unknowable Ethan.
In many ways a classic hostage story, _Companions of the Night_ is
utterly gripping, as both Kerry and the reader try to understand
what Ethan truly is and how far--if at all--she can trust him.
With the mythical sensual power of vampirism beginning to invade
her dreams, her choices become even more difficult. Is it safe
to follow her feelings? Or is she, as a vampire hunter claims,
being "seduced by the glamor of evil"?
Through its taut and subtly erotic story, _Companions of the Night_
raises questions about the unexpectedly slippery slope between
good and evil, human and inhumane. The ending satisfyingly
combines a realistic uncertainty about moral absolutes with a
clear and forthright message that, nonetheless, there is always a
choice. *
* indicates a book the reviewer feels is outstanding in its genre
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Don't Scream by Joan Lowery Nixon
* Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde
NOTES FROM THE WINDOWSILL ISSN 1078-8697
An electronic journal of book reviews. Copyright 1996 Wendy E. Betts.
Reproduction for personal and non-profit use is permitted only if this
copyright notice is retained. Any other reproduction is prohibited
without permission. Mail w...@armory.com with comments or questions.
For info and archives, see http://www.armory.com/~web/notes.html
Vol. 4, No. 10c Young Adult Novels: Suspense 10/14/96
__ Don't Scream_ by Joan Lowery Nixon. Delacorte, 1996
(0-385-32065-5) $15.95
A fairly predictable but nonetheless engrossing thriller, this
book is narrated by Jess, a good-hearted, smalltown girl who is
flattered but also slightly disturbed by the constant attentions
of two new boys in school. Unbeknownst to Jess (although not to
the reader), one of the boys is almost certainly a dangerous
sociopath. As frightening things begin happening in her
neighborhood, Jess begins to feel suspicious--but will she trust
the wrong boy?
This light story is enjoyable reading for those who like books
that are more creepy than downright horrifying. The cover is
rather off-putting, showing an unattractive, hyper-realistic
painting of a girl's terrified face, but the book actually ends
on a much stronger note, with the heroine putting up a great
fight: "I can shout if I want to! If I'm going to die, I'm
going to scream as I go."
__ Companions of the Night_ by Vivian Vande Velde. Harcourt Brace,
1995 (0-15-200221-9) $17.00; Laurel-leaf, 1996 (0-440-21979-5)
$3.99 pb
(reprinted from the hardcover review, volume 3, number 5c)
Vivian Vande Velde's last book, _Dragon's Bait_, was an
entertaining and romantic look at a relationship between a human
girl and a far-from-human boy. _Companions of the Night_ uses
that pattern again, but this time with a tenser, more explosive
awareness of what the differences between human and non-human can
really mean. The result is a breathtakingly suspenseful story
which is also an intriguing exploration of moral ambiguity.
Kerry Nowicki is very much in the wrong place at the wrong time
when she goes to an all-night laundromat and runs into three men
carrying a gagged and bloodied figure. But what she assumes is a
drug deal gone wrong is actually something much more bizarre and
horrifying: the men claim that their prisoner is a vampire, and
they're planning to videotape him as he dies at sunrise. Terrified
for both of their lives, Kerry seizes a chances to rescue the
prisoner, whose name is Ethan. But their escape is only the
beginning. . . because the three men were right. And now Kerry
is also suspected of being a vampire, her family is in grave
danger--and her only chance to save their lives and hers seems to
be to keep helping the possibly amoral, certainly attractive, and
totally unknowable Ethan.
In many ways a classic hostage story, _Companions of the Night_ is
utterly gripping, as both Kerry and the reader try to understand
what Ethan truly is and how far--if at all--she can trust him.
With the mythical sensual power of vampirism beginning to invade
her dreams, her choices become even more difficult. Is it safe
to follow her feelings? Or is she, as a vampire hunter claims,
being "seduced by the glamor of evil"?
Through its taut and subtly erotic story, _Companions of the Night_
raises questions about the unexpectedly slippery slope between
good and evil, human and inhumane. The ending satisfyingly
combines a realistic uncertainty about moral absolutes with a
clear and forthright message that, nonetheless, there is always a
choice. *
* indicates a book the reviewer feels is outstanding in its genre