Thicker Than Water

January 30, 2006
Seventeen-year-old art student Kia has just moved in with her non-custodial father in New York City because her mother's unspecified cancer has reached the terminal stage. Floundering at school, the teen has been "hitting the blades regularly," hiding the cuts she makes in her arms under long-sleeved shirts. At her mother's hospital she meets Hecate, whose grandfather is undergoing treatment, and the two girls strike up an instant friendship. Levelheaded Hecate gets Kia a job at the Goth clothing store where she works and introduces her to an edgy club scene where the preferred beverage is a red wine concoction known as the "bloodbath." This is also where Kia first lays eyes on Damon, a pale, "sizzling hot" disc jockey who becomes her obsession. School, friends, her dad-even her mother's illness-recede into the background for two-thirds of Jablonski's (The Invitation) book, which segues awkwardly from familiar problem novel to campy vampire mystery. Unfortunately, the "cutting" issue is handled as if it is a symptom of latent vampirism, which is to say it is not addressed seriously, and a party scene in which a handcuffed couple, naked to the waist, are slashed while others watch-and feed-is dismissed as "kinky weirdness." Teens tired of Buffy reruns may enjoy this, but it's a mish-mash of motifs and messages. Ages 14-up.

April 1, 2006
Gr 10 Up -Kia, a 17-year-old New York City teen, cut herself for years before she stopped. Now, with her mother ill with cancer for the second time, she has started again. She meets an older, goth girl at the hospital, who invites her to -vampire night - at a club in Brooklyn. She quickly alienates her two best friends, begins neglecting her schoolwork and her mother, and becomes obsessed with Damon, the older, seductive DJ and leader of the vampire scene, who has a taste for sadistic, kinky parties. Kia's descent into this world is a strong metaphor for her sense of alienation and her need to belong, but most of the story is told rather than shown, and the protagonist herself is often unlikable. Characters are flat, even Kia's best friends, who are merely sketched in, and dialogue is sometimes clunky. Strange occurrences make Kia (and readers) believe that Damon may be a real vampire, leading to the climax. The concept is tackled more effectively in Annette Curtis Klause's "The Silver Kiss" (Delacorte, 1990). The ending -therapy, reconciliation with her friends and her father, and possible acceptance of her mother's death -is too quick and easy for the lengthy buildup. While there is always an audience for vampire books, even if the vampires turn out to be fakes, teens will prefer Pete Hautman's "Sweetblood" (S & S, 2003), which covers similar territory." -Karyn N. Silverman, Elizabeth Irwin High School, New York City"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 6, 2006
Seventeen-year-old art student Kia has just moved in with her non-custodial father in New York City because her mother's unspecified cancer has reached the terminal stage. Floundering at school, the teen has been "hitting the blades regularly," hiding the cuts she makes in her arms under long-sleeved shirts. At her mother's hospital she meets Hecate, whose grandfather is undergoing treatment, and the two girls strike up an instant friendship. Levelheaded Hecate gets Kia a job at the Goth clothing store where she works and introduces her to an edgy club scene where the preferred beverage is a red wine concoction known as the "bloodbath." This is also where Kia first lays eyes on Damon, a pale, "sizzling hot" disc jockey who becomes her obsession. School, friends, her dad-even her mother's illness-recede into the background for two-thirds of Jablonski's (The Invitation) book, which segues awkwardly from familiar problem novel to campy vampire mystery. Unfortunately, the "cutting" issue is handled as if it is a symptom of latent vampirism, which is to say it is not addressed seriously, and a party scene in which a handcuffed couple, naked to the waist, are slashed while others watch-and feed-is dismissed as "kinky weirdness." Teens tired of Buffy reruns may enjoy this, but it's a mish-mash of motifs and messages. Ages 14-up.

Copyright 2006 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2006
Gr. 12+. When 17-year-old Kia discovers a network of Manhattanites who embrace their "shadow selves" as role-playing vampires, she thinks she has found a niche where her occasional self-mutilation might be acceptable, as well as a respite from grief at home. Despite concerned pals who see the detachable fang-wearing crowd as "freaks . . . working out some deep dark secret inner weirdness," Kia finds herself drawn to the elaborately staged parties (and to their alluring DJ), hardly noticing as the lines between reality and fantasy dangerously erode. Although Jablonski's storytelling prompts intriguing contemplation of the allure of rituals and cults, her interweaving of subplots feels strained, and her graphic descriptions of the vampires' sadomasochistic revels (notwithstanding Kia's position as observer rather than participant) may widen the eyes of some readers, even those accustomed to graphic YA fare. All the same, a huge population of older teens (and some twentysomethings), especially fans of Pete Hautman's " Sweetblood "(2003), will exult in the rococo tour of a bizarre subculture and respond to the questions Kia's intense experiences invite about the nature of true belonging.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)