4 out of 5 Robots!
Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
Genre: YA Paranormal
Release: September 3, 2013
Hardcover: 419 Pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
My Copy: Purchased
Reviewer: Shannon
Buy the Book: Amazon
Book Summary:
Tana lives in a world
where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined
monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and
prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you
can never leave.
One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.
(Courtesy of the Publisher)One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.
Shannon's Thoughts:
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown starts off really well. Tana wakes up in a bathtub after a large house party. Thinking she is the first one awake she goes to find everyone but instead stumbles upon a massacre. She finds all of her friends dead at the hands of vampires. She discovers the only other survivors are her ex-boyfriend Aidan and a vampire named Gavriel. Aidan was bitten and is now "Cold" - infected by vampires and hungering for blood. Gavriel was left chained up by the other vampires for unknown reasons. The other vampires are still near by and Tana decides to save them both. They decide to head to Coldtown, a walled city for vampires.
I liked the "road trip" part of the book quite a lot. Something about a broken-hearted girl, a blood hungry guy, and a little insane vampire all working together really works. I liked that Tana was a girl who puts her head down and gets things done. I liked the push and pull of Tana and Aidan's relationship. I liked the beginning tenuous friendship between Gavriel and Tana. I liked the undercurrent of mystery and wondering what they will come across in their trip.
But then they get to Coldtown and things started to wan a bit. Not a whole lot, but enough where I was a little bored in the last half book. I really didn't like the inclusion of Winter and Midnight, two goth-y type teenagers who are running away to Coldtown to become vampires. I didn't like where the storyline went with that at all. And Tana, who was strong and stoic in the beginning, does some really dumb things. She becomes TOO stoic and doesn't properly react when faced with some horrible situations. In fact, she just goes back more. That push and pull between Tana and Aidan becomes tedious. They are completely co-dependent and it grew tiresome. Holly Black makes no apology for Tana. Tana has a lot of baggage and does not put herself in good situations. I can appreciate a heroine who is essentially good hearted, but doesn't take good care of herself. However, I wanted to see some kind of character arc and Tana never really changed. This will either make or break it for the reader. I think some readers will have a hard time with Tana as a protagonist.
Overall, I thought the premises was great. I always like it when authors have the world aware of paranormal creatures. I liked the idea of Coldtown and how it attracts lost souls who want to be immortal and beautiful. I liked the idea of vampire being celebrities. But I found the book lost focus in the plot towards the end and someone needed to knock some sense in Tana.
I liked the "road trip" part of the book quite a lot. Something about a broken-hearted girl, a blood hungry guy, and a little insane vampire all working together really works. I liked that Tana was a girl who puts her head down and gets things done. I liked the push and pull of Tana and Aidan's relationship. I liked the beginning tenuous friendship between Gavriel and Tana. I liked the undercurrent of mystery and wondering what they will come across in their trip.
But then they get to Coldtown and things started to wan a bit. Not a whole lot, but enough where I was a little bored in the last half book. I really didn't like the inclusion of Winter and Midnight, two goth-y type teenagers who are running away to Coldtown to become vampires. I didn't like where the storyline went with that at all. And Tana, who was strong and stoic in the beginning, does some really dumb things. She becomes TOO stoic and doesn't properly react when faced with some horrible situations. In fact, she just goes back more. That push and pull between Tana and Aidan becomes tedious. They are completely co-dependent and it grew tiresome. Holly Black makes no apology for Tana. Tana has a lot of baggage and does not put herself in good situations. I can appreciate a heroine who is essentially good hearted, but doesn't take good care of herself. However, I wanted to see some kind of character arc and Tana never really changed. This will either make or break it for the reader. I think some readers will have a hard time with Tana as a protagonist.
Overall, I thought the premises was great. I always like it when authors have the world aware of paranormal creatures. I liked the idea of Coldtown and how it attracts lost souls who want to be immortal and beautiful. I liked the idea of vampire being celebrities. But I found the book lost focus in the plot towards the end and someone needed to knock some sense in Tana.
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