The Silver Kiss [Hardcover]

Annette Curtis Klause (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1990

A mysterious teenage boy harboring a dark secret helps Zoèe come to terms with her mother's terminal illness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Zoe is 16 and facing bereavement: her mother is dying of cancer, and her father seems to be excluding her from her mother's hospital bedside. No one dares speak to Zoe about the family tragedy, and she is isolated by grief, anger and fear. Then she meets the alluring, enigmatic Simon ("His eyes were dark, full of wilderness and stars"), who has an uncanny ability to recognize her feelings. After a series of nocturnal meetings, Zoe learns that Simon is a vampire kept alive by his thirst to avenge the death of his own mother three centuries ago. Drawn to him by an empathy charged with both longing and fear, Zoe agrees to participate in a dangerous scheme to trap Simon's mother's supernatural killer. The two emerge from their encounter able to mourn and acknowledge their losses. First-novelist Klause is excessively ambitious in her juggling of genres and themes; as a result, her suspense is uneven, her love story inadequately rooted and her resolution just a bit pat. Nevertheless, the use of the vampire figure to exorcise Zoe's complex feelings and often striking prose attest to an intelligent and original eye. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Strangely persuasive...at once a grisly and graphic tale of monstrous death and a sweet and compelling story of love."
--Entertainment Weekly

ò "A mesmerizing first novel...with lyrical writing and a rich sensibility...a fascinating story."
--Kirkus Reviews, pointer

*"A well-drawn, powerful, and seductive novel."
--School Library Journal, starred

*"Both sensuous and suspenseful."
--Booklist, starred

"Move over, Anne Rice."
--Publishers Weekly

*"...Blood and Chocolate is gripping, thrilling and original. It is delicious and smooth, like chocolate, but only a good novel, like good chocolate, is this satisfying."
--School Library Journal, starred


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 198 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers; First edition. edition (September 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038530160X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385301602
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (211 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,880,674 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definately, the best book I've ever read!, December 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silver Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

It's been a while since I've read a book that wasn't for school. So when I was at Barnes & Noble looking through the Young Adult section two days ago, something just kept drawing me back to the book. The fact that it's won several awards and had wonderful reviews on the inside cover also convinced me into getting it. I started reading it that night, and I instantly fell in love. The characters were so awesome, and the pages were going by so fast. I never wanted the story to end, and especially not the way it did. Even though the author may have stretched some details about how vampires are, it doesn't matter. It's her book and I love the way she wrote it. I wouldn't change anything. The way the author used imagery, suspense, and foreshadowing kept me hooked the whole way. It's action packed, romantic, and absolutely a beautiful story. By the time I got to the end this afternoon, I was in tears. Not just because of what happened, but because the story was over. I'll never forget "The Silver Kiss." It will always have a special place in my heart. And I plan on reading it again. I would recommend this story to anyone.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Silver Kiss" is Pure Vampire Gold, August 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Silver Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

Wow, whenever someone will dare try and tell me that a book about vampires can't be powerful, I'm going to just hand them this book and say "read this and just try saying that again." This book is truly a beautiful, moving piece of writing. Zoe's life seems to be falling around her. With her mother battling life-threatening cancer, her father seeming not to truly listen to her anymore, and her best friend moving to Oregon, things just don't seem to be looking up. Then Simon walks in. Strange, mysterious, silver-haired, beautiful Simon. Simon. The Vampire. Who will change her life forever.

The characters in "The Silver Kiss" are well developed, easy to identify with, and completely unforgettable. Every tear, laugh, surprise and kiss, you feel along with them. The language of the book is so beautiful and lyrical, sometimes you catch yourself thinking... wait... THIS is a vampire novel?????

I don't care if you don't like vampires, or if you don't like reading romances, or teen dramas, or if you don't like reading books at all.

You won't be able to put this book down, and like a good kiss, you won't want it to end.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was a lovely book., February 11, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Silver Kiss (Mass Market Paperback)

Poetic in its own right, with a small, almost-slice-of-life story captured in its pages, this was indeed a lovely book, and a must-read for fans of the darker stories. The two protagonists balance each other, making for an interesting reading experience: lost and lonely Zoe: whose mother fights cancer while she fights her own darkness, and ereatheal Simon, the forever-child. (In other words, the vampire.) Clause takes the world of cliched vampires and molds it into something she can work with, which in the end is more believable than any Bela Lugosi. (Spelling?) And the questions Clause addresses: whether immortality can be greater than a soul--- are handled skillfully. One would have to read it to fully understand why I, among many others, enjoyed it so. And yes, I am thirteen. X3