The Coldest Girl in Cold Town - Holly Black

The Coldest Girl in Cold Town
Holly Black
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ISBN 978031621310
eISBN 9780316213110

I have yet to read a book or short story by Holly Black that I have not enjoyed, in fact he books almost always end up in my Top ten List for the quarter or the year. But this book blew me away. It takes the original short story by the same name and expands upon it in such an amazing way. It is a story of revenge, of survivors' guilt, of hope and of love. It is a vampire story that asks lots of questions and leaves many things open to interpretation.

Coldtowns is the American response to a worldwide vampire epidemic. Vampires, and those infected are isolated into walled cities. Humans can enter but you can only get out with a token earned by turning in a vampire. Coldtowns have life feeds to the internet making them look like a part every night. But the reality is darker, bloodier and a mix of prey and predator.

Tana is a teenage but not typical. Her mother had become a vampire and attached her. She constantly deals with the guilt of that event. One morning she wakes up in a house full of corpses after a party, her and her overly charming and conniving ex-boyfriend are the only two left alive. Chained in the room with her ex is a vampire. Tana decides to tray and save them both. In order to try and save them she must race to the heart of the nearest coldtown but like so much in life not all is as it appears.

This story was gripping and compelling. I did not want to put it down. The story with take you through a range of emotions, from anger to sympathy, to angst to hope. But of all emotions hope is the most dangerous. This book will take you for a ride, and leave you wanting more.

Other Books by Holly Black:
The Poison Eaters and Other Stories (2010)
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown (2013)
Doll Bones (2013)

The Modern Faerie Tales
Tithe (2002)
Valiant (2005)
Ironside (2007)

The Spiderwick Chronicles
The Field Guide (2003)
The Seeing Stone (2003)
Lucinda's Secret (2003)
The Ironwood Tree (2004)
The Wrath of Mulgarath (2004)
Arthur Spiderwick's Notebook of Fantastical Observations (2005)
Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You (2005)
Care and Feeding of Sprites (2006)

Beyond Spiderwick
The Nixie's Song (2007)
A Giant Problem (2008)
The Wyrm King (2009)

The Good Neighbors
Kin (2008)
Kith (2009)
Kind (2010)

The Curse Workers
White Cat (2010)
Red Glove (2011)
Black Heart (2012)

Anthologies
Geektastic: Stories from the Nerd Herd (2009)
Zombies vs. Unicorns (2010)
Welcome to Bordertown (2011)