Perma-Bound Edition ©2013 | -- |
Paperback ©2014 | -- |
Starred Review What happens in Coldtown stays in Coldtown, because once anyone enters this Vegas-like prison for vampires and their infected human pets, there's little chance of leaving it. After a fairly ordinary high-school party, Tana awakens to discover that she is surrounded by the corpses of her friends and classmates, who have all been drained of blood. While trying to leave, she finds her ex-boyfriend, Aidan, tied up but still alive, his eyes intense with the infection that will fully "turn" him if he receives the human blood he craves. Tana is saved from Aidan's bite by a mysterious, red-eyed boy, Gavriel, who also materializes in the party's gruesome aftermath. With hungry vampires scraping at the door, she escapes with both guys in tow to find a way to save them all: by somehow making it in d out Coldtown. In this novel, inspired by her short story of the same name, Black returns with another dark, fast-paced thriller starring a sharp-witted, brave girl who does all the right things when faced with monsters. With rapid-fire dialogue, lavish details, and a wildly imagined world, this will enthrall Black's fans from start to finish and leave them hoping for another bone-chilling, vicarious tour of Coldtown.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Vampires plus reality TV plus romance plus Holly Black (plus a multiplatform marketing campaign) equals a potential mega-bestseller that fans are already waiting for.
Starred Review for Kirkus ReviewsThis eagerly anticipated novel (based on Black's short story of the same name) bears little relation to the sparkle-infused vampire tales of the last decade. Ten years ago, a vampire "started romanticizing himself" and went on a rampage, turning people until new vampires were everywhere. As much as possible, they are contained in walled Coldtowns, along with humans who idolize them--or were trapped when the walls went up. Outside, people avoid going out after dark, watch endless feeds from Coldtown parties and idolize vampire hunters. When nihilistic Tana, whose emptiness seems to stem from events surrounding her mother's infection with vampirism, wakes up in a blood bath to find her ex-boyfriend infected and a terrifying but gorgeous vampire chained beside him, she is determined to make things right. What follows is a journey that takes her into Coldtown and out of the grief that has plagued her for years, with plenty of sharply observed characters and situations that feel absurdly, horribly believable. There's dry humor and even a relationship (to call it a romance would be too easy; this is something entirely more complex). Perhaps most unexpectedly, there is no happy ending, just a thread of hope in humanity. You may be ready to put a stake in vampire lit, but read this first: It's dark and dangerous, bloody and brilliant. (Horror. 14 & up)
School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)Gr 9 Up-A dystopian thriller with a chilling twist. Tana, 17, passes out at a party and wakes up in a house filled with corpses. Her friends lie in crusted pools of blood as she searches through piles of belongings for her keys and boots. Her first thought is that someone must have left a window open. In Tana's world, vampire attacks happen. At the tender age of six, she witnessed her mother's transformation from a loving parent to a creature so desperate for blood it would lure and attack its own daughter. It is because of things like this that Coldtowns, quarantined cities where the infected go to live and die, exist. Along with Tana, the only other survivors of the party are Gavriel, a handsome and mysterious vampire, and Aidan, her newly infected ex. She decides to take them directly to Coldtown, but if crossing the barricades means staying there indefinitely, Tana's not sure she's ready to leave life as she knows it behind. Twilight fans will enjoy the drama , but its fan base need not be limited to those who read paranormal romance. Teens with a yen for dark, futuristic novels, and maybe even a few Anne Rice readers, will find this a refreshing take on vampire lit. As always, Black's writing is quick paced and thought-provoking. A must-have for any teen collection.— Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)This eagerly anticipated novel (based on Black's short story of the same name) bears little relation to the sparkle-infused vampire tales of the last decade. Ten years ago, a vampire "started romanticizing himself" and went on a rampage, turning people until new vampires were everywhere. As much as possible, they are contained in walled Coldtowns, along with humans who idolize them--or were trapped when the walls went up. Outside, people avoid going out after dark, watch endless feeds from Coldtown parties and idolize vampire hunters. When nihilistic Tana, whose emptiness seems to stem from events surrounding her mother's infection with vampirism, wakes up in a blood bath to find her ex-boyfriend infected and a terrifying but gorgeous vampire chained beside him, she is determined to make things right. What follows is a journey that takes her into Coldtown and out of the grief that has plagued her for years, with plenty of sharply observed characters and situations that feel absurdly, horribly believable. There's dry humor and even a relationship (to call it a romance would be too easy; this is something entirely more complex). Perhaps most unexpectedly, there is no happy ending, just a thread of hope in humanity. You may be ready to put a stake in vampire lit, but read this first: It's dark and dangerous, bloody and brilliant. (Horror. 14 & up)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)In Black-s exquisitely imagined contribution to vampire lore, the creatures have shaken off centuries of clandestine existence and gone public, turning thousands into bloodsuckers like themselves. In an attempt to control their spread, the U.S. government has restricted vampires to ghettolike Coldtowns, where a glamorous, high-octane culture has developed, broadcasting its debauched parties to the world and creating a subculture of humans who fetishize eternal life and long to be turned themselves. Seventeen-year-old Tana wakes up after a wild night of partying to discover that almost everyone in attendance has been killed by vampires, -dried blood crusted on their clothing like rust... dotting their skin like freckles.- Wandering through the carnage, she finds her infected ex-boyfriend, Aiden, and a mysterious, half-mad vampire named Gavriel chained in a bedroom. Escaping the massacre, Tana drives them to the nearest Coldtown, knowing that if she enters, a quick death might be the best outcome. Replete with grisly violence, an intriguingly complex take on the mechanics of vampirism, and well-developed and memorable characters, this superior, dread-soaked tale will satisfy vampire addicts of all ages. Ages 15-up. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary Agency. (Sept.)
Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)
Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews
School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Apr 28 00:00:00 CDT 2022)
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Wilson's High School Catalog