Cold Kiss

July 11, 2011
Adult romance writer Garvey makes her YA debut with an introspective paranormal story about holding on when one should let go. Seventeen-year-old Wren has inherited her family's ability to tap into the energy of the world to make magical things happen. She's never been one to think things through, but has outdone herself by raising her boyfriend from the dead after he is killed in a drunk-driving accident. As Wren becomes less certain about how to deal with what she's done, the reanimated Danny (who isn't exactly the boyfriend she remembers) is recovering his memories and becoming more difficult to control. Wren is thrown even further off-balance when new student Gabriel, who has supernatural abilities of his own, uncovers her secret. After more lies tumble together and escalate, Wren confronts her attraction to Gabriel, the reality of her inadvertent cruelty, and her failing relationships with friends and family. Garvey sidesteps zombie tropes by keeping the focus on Wren's emotional state and the consequences of her actions, painting a delicate portrait of first love, loss, and a "girl who thought love came with ownership papers." Ages 13âup.

November 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-When her boyfriend dies in a car accident, Wren is so inconsolable that she uses her budding supernatural gifts to raise Danny from the dead. He waits patiently for her nightly visits to their little nest in the loft above her neighbor's garage, and she endures his cold kiss. Wren slowly realizes that she made a mistake, and that the boy she loved is gone though his reanimated body remains. Then Gabriel arrives at school, and he seems to know more about Wren's mysterious powers than she does. She feels an undeniable attraction to Gabriel, who can see into her mind, where he discovers what she's done. Danny, meanwhile, grows restless as he remembers more about the night he died, and he escapes from the garage to find answers. Suddenly, he's more than a gruesome secret-he's a danger to Wren and Gabriel. Because he is already undead at the beginning of the book, and the courtship is relayed through Wren's memories, readers miss out on many of the qualities that made the prickly teen fall so hard for Danny, and the narrative lacks emotional intensity. Nonetheless, this novel succeeds on many levels, especially as a cautionary tale about the all-consuming power of first love and the need to move on after it ends.-Amy Pickett, Ridley High School, Folsom, PA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.