Vivian Vande Velde

When sixteen-year-old Kerry Nowicki helps a young man escape from a group of men who claim he is a vampire, she finds herself faced with some bizarre and dangerous choices. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Companions of the Night

Aleena Korell

Well this was unexpectedly fantastic.

I don't actively seek out the vampire genre-- I think I got enough of it in the Twilight craze. But this year I've lucked out by stumbling upon two new favorites:  Sunshine by Robin Mckinley, and this little gem. 

Companions of the Night is a fast read-- I read it in two and a half hours. It only spans the length of a few days, but since it mainly consists of interactions between Kerry and her new vampire companion, we get to know our two leads pretty well. And both are just great.

Kerry, in an unfortunate case of terrible timing, stumbles onto the scene of vampire hunters and their prey-- a boy who's tied up, covered in blood. Not realizing that they are telling the truth about what he is, she helps save the poor victim, who, after their escape, acts the perfect, wounded gentleman and they part ways. That should be that.

Except the vampire hunters think she's with him. Possibly even a vampire also. And they come after her-- by way of her family. Now, she's stuck with Ethan-- who she discovers really is a vampire, and not as gentlemanly as he'd once seemed-- in order to get her family back along with his revenge.

Ethan may not be a gentleman, but he is hilarious. Once he showed his true colors, I settled down for the ride because I was here for it. No swoony, broody Twilight crap here. Ethan isn't what we'd call good. In fact, in the middle I was second-guessing my predictions of romance because he is decidedly not. Good, that is. But he's witty and snarky and his verbal sparring with Kerry made me laugh out loud more than once. 

Kerry starts off in shock, naturally, and then scared and timid... but she holds her own against Ethan's snark and condescension. And in the end-- bittersweet and perfect-- she's strong enough to make her own choices.

I don't remember how I found this one but I'm so glad I did. I'm tempted to wish there was a sequel... but I'm going to embrace the bittersweetness of the ending. Guess I'll just have to read it again.

The Edgar Award–winning author of Never Trust a Dead Man puts a terrifying spin on what should be a typical night in a small town. Sixteen-year-old Kerry has got a tough night ahead of her. What begins as a simple lost-and-found trip to the laundromat to rescue her little brother’s stuffed koala bear turns into a nightmarish odyssey of murder, vampires, and—quite possibly—true love. “Interview with a Vampire for the learner's permit set.” —The Horn Book “A freshly written thriller, an offbeat love story, an engaging twist on the vampire novel, and an exciting tale of moral complexity . . . . Point [this] book at the Lois Duncan fans as well as Anne Rice followers, and get out of the way.” —The Bulletin “[Vande Velde] is a master at taking traditional fairy-tale-like themes and making them fresh and totally unique. Companions of the Night . . . does that for the vampire story . . . . The narrative is tightly wound, keeping readers ready for excitement and action.” —Emma Carbone, New York Public Library

Diana

This book was a pleasant surprise. It was darker than I was expecting for a young adult book. Although I didn't appreciate the romance angle, the rest of the book was actually pretty enjoyable.

Companions of the Night

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