Here's hoping a second pot of black tea will help me wake up, because I've got a bunch of stuff I need to do today. I've also been struck with an OVERWHELMING craving for a chocolate chip cookie. If I still am longing for one later on, I suspect my afternoon walk will take me down the hill to the little bakery, where I will hopefully find chocolate chip cookies.
I need to finish re-reading my beloved Vampire Kisses series, because
ailleann23 is a darling and agreed to go to the June 28th signing for the next book, which means I need to mail my books to her. (Plus a stack of GCS cards, because why not?) Oh hey, didn't I mean to write up some thoughts about why the Vampire Kisses series is far, FAR superior to the Twilight books?
For one thing, our heroine Raven is a far-better realized and rounded character than Bella Swan. Raven is a teen Gothling who has been a spooky eccentric her entire life. (She announced to her kindergarten class that she was going to be a vampire when she grew up - oh my heart. (People who have known me for decades, you can all stop giggling right now, thanks.)) Raven doesn't want to be a vampire because OMG GETTING OLD SUX! No, it's because she's grown up with vampire movies and books, and it sounds, well, exciting. But when she really starts to contemplate the possibility of unlife, she's conflicted. Does she really want to leave behind her family, her friends, any chance at a "normal" (if black-clad and spooky) life? As of the last book, she still hasn't made up her mind. (And her vampire boyfriend isn't sure if he should usher her into his world, even if they are crazy in love.)
Another thing that endears Raven to me is that knows she's an outcast in "normal" teen society, and you know what? She's okay with it. She knows who she is, and she refuses to put up with tormenting from the other kids. In fact, her main nemesis is the school golden boy, who she frequently gets the better of. Her parents love her just the way she is. They sometimes admit they wish she was a little more normal, but they don't try to force her to change.
She has agency. She doesn't let everyone else (even Alexander, her oh-so-dreamy vampire beloved) make decisions for her. Does she sometimes make poor choices? Oh yes. She's kind of self-centered and impulsive, just like real teenagers. (Just like most adults, really. Most of us have just learned to self-edit a bit more.) But she DOES make choices, and refuses to just drift along passively. More importantly, she makes choices and does things that don't center entirely around Alexander. She has her own life.
Oh, and the Goth thing. I'm pretty sure Ellen Schreiber is a Goth. She gets the Goth references and clothing descriptions right. She understands that most Goths aren't part of the black-clad subculture because they're trying to scare people, but because the gloom and the the sense of dark wonder are part of them.
(I do roll my eyes at some of the bands she mentions Raven and Alexander listening to, but then stop to remember that they're babybats. They're babybats of this current generation, so of course they listen to Goth-Metal (or whatever Marilyn Manson and Slipknot are currently labeled as), along with The Cure, Morrissey, and Siouxsie.)
The Vampire Kisses series is one of my favorite series of vampire novels; not just for YA books, but in general. When people ask me for recommendations, this is the series I will geeble on about.
Okay, more tea and editing. Whee.
I need to finish re-reading my beloved Vampire Kisses series, because
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For one thing, our heroine Raven is a far-better realized and rounded character than Bella Swan. Raven is a teen Gothling who has been a spooky eccentric her entire life. (She announced to her kindergarten class that she was going to be a vampire when she grew up - oh my heart. (People who have known me for decades, you can all stop giggling right now, thanks.)) Raven doesn't want to be a vampire because OMG GETTING OLD SUX! No, it's because she's grown up with vampire movies and books, and it sounds, well, exciting. But when she really starts to contemplate the possibility of unlife, she's conflicted. Does she really want to leave behind her family, her friends, any chance at a "normal" (if black-clad and spooky) life? As of the last book, she still hasn't made up her mind. (And her vampire boyfriend isn't sure if he should usher her into his world, even if they are crazy in love.)
Another thing that endears Raven to me is that knows she's an outcast in "normal" teen society, and you know what? She's okay with it. She knows who she is, and she refuses to put up with tormenting from the other kids. In fact, her main nemesis is the school golden boy, who she frequently gets the better of. Her parents love her just the way she is. They sometimes admit they wish she was a little more normal, but they don't try to force her to change.
She has agency. She doesn't let everyone else (even Alexander, her oh-so-dreamy vampire beloved) make decisions for her. Does she sometimes make poor choices? Oh yes. She's kind of self-centered and impulsive, just like real teenagers. (Just like most adults, really. Most of us have just learned to self-edit a bit more.) But she DOES make choices, and refuses to just drift along passively. More importantly, she makes choices and does things that don't center entirely around Alexander. She has her own life.
Oh, and the Goth thing. I'm pretty sure Ellen Schreiber is a Goth. She gets the Goth references and clothing descriptions right. She understands that most Goths aren't part of the black-clad subculture because they're trying to scare people, but because the gloom and the the sense of dark wonder are part of them.
(I do roll my eyes at some of the bands she mentions Raven and Alexander listening to, but then stop to remember that they're babybats. They're babybats of this current generation, so of course they listen to Goth-Metal (or whatever Marilyn Manson and Slipknot are currently labeled as), along with The Cure, Morrissey, and Siouxsie.)
The Vampire Kisses series is one of my favorite series of vampire novels; not just for YA books, but in general. When people ask me for recommendations, this is the series I will geeble on about.
Okay, more tea and editing. Whee.
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