Kissing Coffins (Vampire Kisses, Book 2)($24.97Value)

Description

Life in "Dullsville" has become far from dull for goth-girl Raven. After meeting Alexander Sterling—a night-thriving, shadowy dream guy—her dark world suddenly has a bright glow. But as in her favorite movie, Kissing Coffins , Raven knows that love always has its complications. And Alexander has a secret—a secret she must quietly guard. When he mysteriously disappears, Raven finds herself on a dangerous chase to find him. What she encounters is more terrifying than she could have imagined—including a life-transforming decision she may not be ready to sink her teeth into. In Kissing Coffins Ellen Schreiber presents a chilling and suspenseful sequel to her popular tale of an unusual teen romance, Vampire Kisses . Grade 7 Up–This sequel to Vampire Kisses (HarperCollins, 2003) continues the love story between Goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend. As this book opens, Alexander has left town and Raven decides she must hunt him down. She finds out that he is probably in a nearby town and it just so happens that she has an aunt who lives there AND it's spring break AND her parents allow her to visit without any real explanation AND Raven's aunt is extremely gullible so that Raven can sneak around and do what she needs to do. After Alexander is located and comes back to town, his evil nemesis, Jagger, decides to get revenge by biting Raven. Goofy high jinks ensue. Every step that the protagonist and her cohorts take is predictable, right up to the cliff-hanger ending. Schreiber's sense of time is extremely skewed and the mentions of bands like the Smiths (Goth fare in the mid- to late '80s) make readers question when the book is actually set until they happen upon mentions of Slipknot and Good Charlotte. Goth girls would certainly be attracted to the book based on the photo on the cover, but only middle school Goth wannabes who are closet Sweet Valley High readers will actually finish the book. Raven is far too saccharine and has no sulky-fierce Goth appeal, and the love story falls flat. –Kimberly L. Paone, Elizabeth Public Library, NJ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Life in "Dullsville" has become far from dull for goth-girl Raven. After meeting Alexander Sterling—a night-thriving, shadowy dream guy—her dark world suddenly has a bright glow. But as in her favorite movie, Kissing Coffins , Raven knows that love always has its complications. And Alexander has a secret—a secret she must quietly guard. When he mysteriously disappears, Raven finds herself on a dangerous chase to find him. What she encounters is more terrifying than she could have imagined—including a life-transforming decision she may not be ready to sink her teeth into. In Kissing Coffins Ellen Schreiber presents a chilling and suspenseful sequel to her popular tale of an unusual teen romance, Vampire Kisses . Ellen Schreiber was an actress and a stand-up comedienne before becoming a writer. She is the author of the first two books about Celeste and Brandon, Once in a Full Moon and Magic of the Moonlight , as well as Teenage Mermaid , Comedy Girl , Vampire Kisses , Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing Coffins , Vampire Kisses 3: Vampireville , Vampire Kisses 4: Dance with a Vampire , Vampire Kisses 5: The Coffin Club , Vampire Kisses 6: Royal Blood , Vampire Kisses 7: Love Bites , Vampire Kisses 8: Cryptic Cravings , and Vampire Kisses 9: Immortal Hearts . She is also the author of the fully illustrated manga series about Raven and Alexander, Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives and Vampire Kisses: Graveyard Games . Vampire Kisses 2: Kissing Coffins By Ellen Schreiber HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Ellen Schreiber All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060776220 Chapter One Bleeding Heart It was like a final nail in a coffin. Becky and I were camped out in my darkened bedroom, engrossed in the eighties cult horror classic Kissing Coffins. The femme fatale, Jenny, a teenage, malnourished blond wearing a size negative-two white cotton dress, was desperately running up a serpentine rock footpath toward an isolated haunted mansion. Bright veins of lightning shot overhead in the pouring rain. Only the night before had Jenny unearthed the true identity of her fiancé when she stumbled upon his hidden dungeon and found him climbing out of a coffin. The dashing Vladimir Livingston, a renowned English professor, was not a mere mortal after all, but an immortal blood-sucking vampire. Upon hearing Jenny's blood-curdling screams, Professor Livingston immediately covered his fangs with his black cape. His red eyes remained unconcealed, gazing back at her longingly. "You cannot bear witness to me in this state," I said along with the vampire. Jenny didn't flee. Instead, she reached out toward her fiancé. Her vampire love growled, reluctantly stepped back into the shadows, and disappeared. The fang flick had gathered a goth cult following that continued toda