Raven was the daughter of two flower children. She loved her life until the day her mother gave birth to her brother. That's when everything changed. Her parents gave up their hippy lifestyles, got jobs, and settled down in Dullsville, where nothing *ever* happens- just ask Raven!
Raven dresses in all black, wears black lipstick and black nailpolish and is cordially shunned by most of the other kids. She spends her time tormenting and being tormented in turn by Trevor Mitchell, the golden boy of the soccer team. Everyone was scared of him when he was a child- all except Raven, who beat him up.
Now, a new boy named Alexander Stirling has moved into town, and into the spooky mansion on the top of the hill. The old lady who used to live there was thought a witch by the people of the town- especially the kids, and his parents strange ways are also the talk of the community- shunning garlic in their antipasto, avoiding the light and having huge boxes of soil in the vans that moved them into the house.
Raven despairs of ever having a boyfriend, but she can't stay away from Alexander, and his tall byronic, gothic good looks. But with Trevor convinced that Alexander is a real vampire and trying to stir up sentiment about him in town, will Raven ever find love with Alexander before he is driven away?
This was a cute book, and I liked it. Raven wants a boyfriend who is a vampire- indeed, when she was in grade school, her ambition was to be a vampire when she grew up. But she also knows that vampires aren't real. but it's like her goth clothes are a symbol of her mourning for the family she had before her brother, whom she calls "Nerd Boy" appeared on the scene. She dislikes that his arrival turned her hippy family into an 80's Yuppie family that seems to care more about work than anything else.
The only guy who really likes her is the town bully- not exactly a girl's dream, nor does he impress her at all. She doesn't like him, and she's not afraid of him. I liked the story and the background here, but the ending felt... muted, like it was just calling out for a sequel. It was almost painful for it to stop at the point it did- but it seems that the next novel is... a manga?
This a cute book and will appeal to girls who love vampires as well as those who have ever felt like an outcast, with no one who actually "gets" or understands them. The last dance in the novel is wonderful, and shows Raven she isn't so alone after all. I recommend this book as a light antidote to heavy, lengthy novels about vampires. like whipped cream on a pie, this is the perfect antidote and complement. Recommended.
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