The main theme of The Silver Kiss by Annette Klause was death and learning to cope with it. The plot did not have much depth, but I welcomed its simplicity. I couldn’t put the book down, even if I only half-read some parts due to the gruesome details.

Zoe is our main character, and her mom is dying of cancer. Her father distances himself more and more from Zoe, and he seems to be trying to keep her from her mom’s side at the hospital as well. To add to her grief, her best friend moves away. Other people, teachers, neighbors, acquaintances, avoid her so they do not have to talk about her circumstances. Her only solace comes in the dark. She likes to take late night walks, and she crosses path with an intriguing, yet mysterious boy.

We also get to see the story from Simon’s side. When he meets Zoe, he finds himself drawn to her in way he has never felt before. Whether she befriends him or vice versa is one of the story’s puzzles, but they both discover a quality in the other person they desperately need – acceptance and friendship.

Simon confides in Zoe his secret. He is a vampire, has tracked his mother’s murder from centuries ago to her town, and is seeking revenge. Will he find what he’s looking for? Can she help him defeat the killer? You will have to read it to find out who wins in the end.

We see how she learns to deal with personal loss. We learn that people need to move on, both in death and in life. One of the things I appreciated about this novel was that the moral was not pushed down our throats. It may not even be what you would get out of the tale, but I felt that it could be a story of healing for those going through similar circumstances. Maybe I give the story too much credit, but I thought the perspective was fairly original.

Due to the dark and graphic content, I think the book is meant for an older teenage crowd. I’m not even sure I could have handled this when I was a teenager, and the fact that this young girl lets a strange boy into her empty house weirded me out. Altogether in terms of grammar, vocabulary and pace, it was breezy to read for those who aren’t squeamish in regards to the details.

Kate

The Silver Kiss by Annette Klause
(c) 2009 Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publisher Reading Level: Young Adult
ISBN: 0375857826
256 Pages