Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Volume 1
The absolute last thing goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend, Alexander, need is another hitch in their nighttime-only romance—but dark trouble hovers on the horizon when Raven and Alexander discover four freshly dug graves filled with empty coffins. When a crew of sketchy vampires takes up residence in Dullsville's lonely graveyard, Alexander finds this motley bunch led by his very own blood-sucking cousin, Claude Sterling. Shocking! Claude and his creepy crew can only spell out more...
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The absolute last thing goth-girl Raven and her vampire boyfriend, Alexander, need is another hitch in their nighttime-only romance--but dark trouble hovers on the horizon when Raven and Alexander discover four freshly dug graves filled with empty coffins. When a crew of sketchy vampires takes up residence in Dullsville's lonely graveyard, Alexander finds this motley bunch led by his very own blood-sucking cousin, Claude Sterling. Shocking! Claude and his creepy crew can only spell out more problems for the pair, especially when Raven finds them in daylight in the very last place she could ever imagine. What could Claude and his invaders be doing--or searching for--in Dullsville?KLIATTRaven is a Goth girl. She dresses in black spandex with skull hairpins and a bat necklace and except for her bff (best friend forever) Becky she is an outcast in the town of Dullsville. Her life changes with the arrival of Alexander, a tall, handsome guy from Romania who lives in a spooky old mansion overlooking the graveyard. To her delight, Raven discovers that Alexander is a vampire. They start dating, and all's well in Dullsville until one of their midnight trysts is interrupted by the arrival of Alexander's cousin. Claude is not a full vampire--he has mortal blood running through his veins. He and his gang seek the four vials of blood stashed away by his grandmother that will make them true vampires, and they've decided the best way to get them is through Raven. Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives is based on the Vampire Kisses series written by Ellen Schreiber. The art is typical manga, with almost nonexistent backgrounds and detailed character designs. Everyone in this manga, human or otherwise, is attractive. The romance between Alexander and Raven consists of hugging and kissing; instead of sexual tension we have Raven wondering if she will ever bare her neck to Alexander. In this Age Range: Ages 12 to 15. REVIEWER: George Galuschak (Vol. 42, No. 1)
Vampire Kisses \ Blood Relatives, Volume I\ \ By Ellen Schreiber TokyoPop \ Copyright © 2007 Ellen Schreiber\ All right reserved.\ ISBN: 9780061340819\ \ \ Chapter One Little Monster\ It first happened when I was five.\ I had just finished coloring in My Kindergarten Book. It was filled with Picasso-like drawings of my mom and dad, an Elmer's-glued, tissue-papered collage, and the answers to questions (favorite color, pets, best friend, etc.) written down by our hundred-year-old teacher, Mrs. Peevish.\ My classmates and I were sitting in a semicircle on the floor in the reading area. "Bradley, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Mrs. Peevish asked after all the other questions had been answered.\ "A fire fighter!" he shouted.\ "Cindi?"\ "Uh . . . a nurse," Cindi Warren whispered meekly.\ Mrs. Peevish went through the rest of the class. Police officers. Astronauts. Football players. Finally it was my turn.\ "Raven, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Mrs. Peevish asked, her green eyes staring through me.\ I said nothing.\ "An actress?"\ I shook my head.\ "A doctor?"\ "Nuh, uh," I said.\ "A flight attendant?"\ "Yuck!" I replied.\ "Then what?" she asked, annoyed.\ I thought for a moment."I want to be . . . "\ "Yes?"\ "I want to be . . . a vampire!" I shouted, to the shock and amazement of Mrs. Peevish and my classmates. For a moment I thought she started to laugh; maybe she really did. The children sitting next to me inched away.\ I spent most of my childhood watching others inch away.\ I was conceived on my dad's water bed - or on the rooftop of my mom's college dorm under twinkling stars - depending on which one of my parents is telling the story. They were soul mates that couldn't part with the seventies: true love mixed with drugs, some raspberry incense, and the music of the Grateful Dead. A beaded-jeweled, halter-topped, cutoff blue-jeaned, barefooted girl, intertwined with a long-haired, unshaven, Elton Johnspectacled, suntanned, leather-vested, bell-bottomed-and-sandaled guy. I think they're lucky I wasn't more eccentric. I could have wanted to be a beaded-haired hippie werewolf! But somehow I became obsessed with vampires.\ Sarah and Paul Madison became more responsible after my entrance into this world - or I'll rephrase it and say my parents were "less glassy eyed." They sold the Volkswagen flower power van that they were living in and actually started renting property. Our hippie apartment was decorated with 3-D glow-in-the-dark flower posters and orange tubes with a Play-Doh substance that moved on its own - lava lamps - that you could stare at forever. It was the best time ever. The three of us laughed and played Chutes and Ladders, and squeezed Twinkies between our teeth. We stayed up late, watching Dracula movies, Dark Shadows with the infamous Barnabus Collins, and Batman on a black-and-white TV we'd received when we opened a bank account. I felt secure under the blanket of midnight, rubbing Mom's growing belly, which made noises like the orange lava lamps. I figured she was going to give birth to more moving Play-Doh.\ Everything changed when she gave birth to the playdough - only it wasn't Play-Doh. She gave birth to Nerd Boy! How could she? How could she destroy all the Twinkie nights? Now she went to bed early, and that creation that my parents called "Billy" cried and fussed all night. I was suddenly alone. It was Dracula - the Dracula on TV - that kept me company while Mom slept, Nerd Boy wailed, and Dad changed smelly diapers in the darkness.\ And if that wasn't bad enough, suddenly they sent me to a place that wasn't my apartment, that didn't have wild 3-D flower posters on the walls, but boring collages of kids' handprints. Who decorates around here? I wondered. It was overcrowded with Sears catalog girls in frilly dresses and Sears catalog boys in tapered pants and perfectly combed hair. Mom and Dad called it "kindergarten."\ "They'll be your friends," my mom reassured me, as I clung to her side for dear life. She waved good-bye and blew me kisses as I stood alone beside the matronly Mrs. Peevish, which was as alone as one can get. I watched my mom walk away with Nerd Boy on her hip as she took him back to the place filled with glow-in-the-dark posters, monster movies, and Twinkies.\ Somehow I made it through the day. Cutting and gluing black paper on black paper, finger painting Barbie's lips black, and telling the assisant teacher ghost stories, while the Sears catalog kids ran around like they were all cousins at an all-American family picnic. I was even happy to see Nerd Boy when Mom finally came to pick me up.\ That night she found me with my lips pressed against the TV screen, trying to kiss Christopher Lee in Horror of Dracula.\ "Raven! What are you doing up so late? You have school tomorrow!"\ "What?" I said. The Hostess cherry pie that I had been eating fell to the floor, and my heart fell with it.\ "But I thought it was just the one time?" I said, panicked.\ "Sweet Raven. You have to go every day!"\ Every day? The words echoed inside my head. It was a life sentence!\ That night Nerd Boy couldn't hope to compete with my dramatic wailing and crying. As I lay alone in my bed, I prayed for eternal darkness and a sun that never rose.\ Unfortunately the next day I awoke to a blinding light, and a monster headache.\ I longed to be around at least one person that I could connect with. But I couldn't find any, at home or school. At home the lava lamps were replaced with Tiffany-style floor lamps, the glow-in-the-dark posters were covered with Laura Ashley wallpaper, and our grainy black-and-white TV was upgraded to a twenty-five-inch color model.\ \ \ Continues...\ \ \ \ Excerpted from Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber Copyright © 2007 by Ellen Schreiber. Excerpted by permission.\ All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.\ Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. \ \
\ KLIATT - KLIATT Review\ Raven is a Goth girl. She dresses in black spandex with skull hairpins and a bat necklace and except for her bff (best friend forever) Becky she is an outcast in the town of Dullsville. Her life changes with the arrival of Alexander, a tall, handsome guy from Romania who lives in a spooky old mansion overlooking the graveyard. To her delight, Raven discovers that Alexander is a vampire. They start dating, and all's well in Dullsville until one of their midnight trysts is interrupted by the arrival of Alexander's cousin. Claude is not a full vampire--he has mortal blood running through his veins. He and his gang seek the four vials of blood stashed away by his grandmother that will make them true vampires, and they've decided the best way to get them is through Raven. Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives is based on the Vampire Kisses series written by Ellen Schreiber. The art is typical manga, with almost nonexistent backgrounds and detailed character designs. Everyone in this manga, human or otherwise, is attractive. The romance between Alexander and Raven consists of hugging and kissing; instead of sexual tension we have Raven wondering if she will ever bare her neck to Alexander. In this Age Range: Ages 12 to 15. REVIEWER: George Galuschak (Vol. 42, No. 1)\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalGr 7 Up\ Schreiber's "Vampire Kisses" prose series gets a manga-style treatment and the new look fits it like a long black glove. Raven is a cute Goth girl who just happens to have a vampire for a boyfriend. And what a guy Alexander is; he's described as "handsome," "elusive," "kind," "gentle," "sensitive," "soulful," "hot," and "dreamy," not to mention "broodingly quiet and mysterious." That kind of over-the-top romanticism will turn off some, but will be devoured with relish, and maybe a little ketchup, by teens who like their horror more sweet than scary. The plot, such as it is, follows Raven's troubles when Alexander's evil cousin Claude and his gang of Goth fashion plates show up in town and start causing trouble. The rampant stereotypes may actually work in the story's favor, as its brief length and visual focus do not leave much time for character development. Despite the book's flaws, the stylized artwork is an excellent match for this vampire-lite romance.\ —Douglas P. DaveyCopyright 2006 Reed Business Information.\ \ \
